Photo by Katherine Turner.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Isaiah Brookshire
(206) 616-2045

June 15, 2016 Seattle—Reşat Kasaba, Director of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and the Stanley D. Golub Chair of International Studies, announced the creation of the Jack and Rebecca Benaroya Endowed Fund for Excellence in Israel Studies. The $5 million gift will support a faculty chair in Israel Studies as well as an annual lectureship and public programming and will be based in the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies.

”This generous investment by Becky Benaroya allows the School to hire a distinguished scholar who will make it possible for students, faculty and the community to broaden their understanding about this region,” stated Kasaba. “We are truly excited about the possibilities this gift provides to the School.”

“I’m grateful to Becky Benaroya for her generosity and vision in creating this endowment,” said Ana Mari Cauce, president of the University of Washington. “As a home to diverse scholarship and learning, the world-class scholar we’ll bring to the UW through the Benaroya Fund will expand the breadth of our curriculum.”

The Jackson School of International Studies is a national leader in providing information that students can apply to world issues. The Benaroya gift will enhance the School’s ability to recruit and retain distinguished faculty with expertise in modern Israel, and who possess multiple disciplinary perspectives such as historical, sociological, legal, environmental, technological, scientific and cultural. This chair in Israel Studies will increase the breadth and depth of the Jackson School’s curriculum on the Middle East and further distinguishes the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies as a leader among Jewish Studies programs in the country.

“This remarkable support empowers us to create academic relationships with Israeli institutions, to support opportunities for students to study in Israel, and to facilitate scholarly interchange between Israeli academics and UW faculty,” stated Noam Pianko, Director of the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies and the Samuel Stroum Chair and Herbert and Lucy Pruzan Professor.

About The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and Stroum Center for Jewish Studies

The Jackson School is a national leader in international studies teaching and research. It specializes in the comprehensive study of the world’s regions and has an extensive curriculum on the Middle East. The Stroum Center for Jewish Studies is a thought leader among Jewish Studies programs and is renowned for the education it provides on Jewish history, society, politics, and culture.

The Jackson School was founded in 1909 and is one of the oldest and largest schools of international and area studies in the country. With 14 research centers, nine master’s programs, an executive 10-month master’s and accelerated and applied Ph.D. for professionals, the Jackson School has long been recognized as a leading institution for the study of world regions in their historical and modern contexts. For more than 40 years, the Jackson School has also held the distinction of hosting the highest number of federally funded national resource centers in areas studies in the U.S.

About The College of Arts & Sciences

The College of Arts & Sciences, founded in 1861, provides an education of tremendous breadth and depth to more than 27,000 students while advancing research and scholarship in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. The College has more than two dozen interdisciplinary centers and ties to many other centers, enabling scholars in diverse fields to collaborate on complex research questions in the humanities, demography, labor studies, human rights, astrobiology, and other areas.

The College’s faculty generate more than $105 million in research funds annually, through public and private grants. The College also serves the community through the more than 280 performances, 60 exhibits and 100 public programs annually offered through the School of Art + Art History + Design, School of Music, School of Drama, Dance Program, Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media, Henry Art Gallery, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, and the Meany Center for the Performing Arts.