The Stroum Center for Jewish Studies is pleased to announce the recipient of its 2023 Outstanding Student in Jewish Studies Award: Liv Fowler, a Jewish Studies major focusing on Jewish cultural history who plans to graduate in spring 2024.

The Outstanding Student Award was established in 2020 to recognize exceptional students in Jewish studies at the University of Washington. The criteria for the award are:

• Dedication to Jewish studies as a field of study, regardless of official minor or major
• Excellence in academic achievement
• Active citizenship in the UW campus community and beyond

Stroum Center faculty who worked with Liv praised her keen insights, her strong motivation to learn independently, and her kindness as a classmate. Writes faculty member Hadar Khazzam-Horovitz, “she is an incredible student and deserves a recognition. Not only that she is a hard worker, but she is also dedicated and passionate about her Jewish studies classes. Stellar student indeed.”

Faculty member Brendan Goldman also praised her, writing “Liv’s love of and commitment to Jewish Studies is palpable. Her thoughtful and informed reflections provided the basis for countless discussions in my Intro to Judaism course. I was delighted when she received a scholarship to study Jewish texts at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem. I am excited for her to apply her growing knowledge of Judaism to her burgeoning research and to continue to develop her leadership in our student community.”

This summer, with support from the Arthur A. Jacobovitz  Scholarship for the Advancement of Jewish Studies, Liv is visiting Israel (for the first time!) to study at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem. She is making her real first foray into studying Talmud, and is excited to ponder topics like war, death, food ethics and history, queer theory, and anger management — all within a Jewish context.

Liv writes that she “believe[s] wholeheartedly in the value of scholarship for its own sake”, and “think[s] that what the Stroum Center and all the people who make Jewish Studies at the University of Washington possible have cultivated is something very special.”

In the near future, she hopes to follow her passion by pursuing a graduate-level degree in Jewish Studies.

Congratulations to Liv on her excellent academic work and her enthusiasm for learning. Mazel tov!