Collage showing portraits of grant recipients

Center: Katja Schatte, 2021 recipient of the Finish Line Fellowship for Ph.D. candidates; left and top right: Emily Thompson, Pablo Jairo Tutillo Maldonado and Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano, past recipients of the Sreebny graduate fellowship; bottom right: Marissa Gaston, 2019 opportunity grant recipient studying abroad in Israel

The Stroum Center for Jewish Studies is pleased to announce new funding opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in Jewish studies at the University of Washington, thanks to our generous community supporters.

A new endowed graduate fellowship, a new fellowship for late-stage Ph.D. candidates, and expanded support for language study, study abroad, and research projects for undergraduate students and others will promote deeper scholarship by Jewish studies students of all levels.

Leo and Mickey Sreebny Endowed Memorial Scholarship for graduate students

The Leo and Mickey Sreebny Endowed Memorial Scholarship in Jewish Studies was established this year by brothers Oren and Daniel Sreebny in honor of their parents, Leo and Mickey. The endowed scholarship will fund an annual graduate fellowship in Jewish studies, building on a tradition started in 2009 by the Sreebnys’ father, Leo.

Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano and Leo Sreebny togther, smiling

Leo Sreebny (right) with Mickey Sreebny Memorial Fellow Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano (left) in 2014.

Dr. Leo Sreebny initially established the Mickey Sreebny Memorial Graduate Fellowship in 2009 in honor of his late wife, Mickey Sreebny. Leo and Mickey were long-time members of the UW community, first arriving on campus in 1957 when Leo was invited to Seattle to establish the University’s department of oral pathology. Leo later joined the Stroum Center’s Advisory Board, helping to guide the center and shape its programming, and was an active member of the Stroum Center community.

Following Leo’s passing in 2020, Oren and Dan decided to honor their parents’ love of learning and commitment to Jewish studies by endowing this fellowship, which will ensure that talented graduate students are able to engage in high-level research in Jewish studies every year in perpetuity.

The Sreebny fellowship’s accomplished alumni include Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano, now Assistant Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, Pablo Jairo Tutillo Maldonado, now a member of the United States foreign service, and Emily Thompson, now a real estate project manager, metadata specialist for the Washington State Jewish Archives and freelance translator.  Learn more about our annual graduate fellowship program.

Finish Line Fellowship for Ph.D. candidates

The Finish Line Fellowship — the first fellowship of its kind at the Stroum Center — was also established this year by an anonymous member of Seattle’s Jewish community in honor of her late grandfather, a former track and field hurdler who valued education above all.

The goal of this fellowship is to recognize outstanding UW Ph.D. candidates who show the potential to positively impact the field of Jewish studies upon graduation, and to support these students through the final stages of completing their dissertation.

The fellowship recognizes the scantness of funding sources for late-stage doctoral students in the humanities, and aims to make “crossing the finish line” easier for these developing scholars.

We are pleased to announce that Katja Schatte, a doctoral candidate in history who will complete her dissertation in 2022, is the inaugural recipient of the fellowship. Schatte’s dissertation explores Jewish life in East Berlin before and after reunification (1945-2016), with a focus on the experiences of Jewish women. Read essays by Schatte about writing post-Holocaust German history and remembering the Holocaust on our website, and learn more about our annual Finish Line Fellowship for Ph.D. candidates.

Mitchell F. and Sophie Wise Ehrlich Scholars Endowed Fund for students in Jewish studies

Finally, the Mitchell F. and Sophie Wise Ehrlich Scholars Endowed Fund also expanded this year, thanks to a generous additional donation from its creator, Arlene B. Ehrlich.

Black-and-white photograph shows Mitchell Wise with glasses, tie, dress shirt and coat, next to Sophie, smiling, wearing a suit jacket

Mitchell and Sophie Ehrlich in 1945

Ehrlich, a UW alumna and long-time member of the Stroum Center’s Advisory and Honorary Boards, first established the endowment as a student support fund in 2007 in honor of her parents, Mitchell and Sophie Ehrlich. The endowment will now provide additional funding for undergraduate and graduate students for learning Jewish languages, studying abroad in international hubs of Jewish culture, and undertaking research projects in Jewish studies.

Since 2007, this fund has supported dozens of students’ engagement with Jewish languages, history and culture through twice-annual opportunity grants of up to $1,500. Learn more about applying for an opportunity grant in Jewish studies.

The fund has supported students in Jewish studies in other ways, too, including by offering financial resources to students of Jewish studies whose academic plans were disrupted because of financial or technological issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This support allowed students to continue their studies uninterrupted during a difficult and chaotic time.

The Stroum Center is incredibly grateful for the generosity of its community supporters, whose investment in learning will support Jewish studies students of all levels at the University of Washington for years to come. Learn more about supporting the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies.

Have you seen an attractive girl, but are you afraid that she will refuse to meet you? In vain. If you follow certain rules, then acquaintance with any free beauty will be doomed to success. Andrey Oleinik, a professional seduction coach, author of the Pickup Encyclopedia, told us how listcrawler to get acquainted with girls correctly. Tip 1. Remember: they are greeted by clothes. The first thing a girl sees is, of course, your appearance. You don’t have to be Apollo. But be sure to be well-groomed and tidy.

Want to see more articles like this?  Sign up for our newsletter!
⇒ Learn more about the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington, our Sephardic Studies Program, or our Israel Studies Program.
Note: The opinions expressed by faculty and students in our publications reflect the views of the individual writer only and not those of the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies.