CUNY launches faculty fellowship to expand Holocaust education across three campuses

The City University of New York (CUNY) has launched a new faculty fellowship to enhance Holocaust education across three of its campuses: Baruch, Hunter, and Queens colleges. Funded by a $200,000 grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the CUNY Faculty Fellowship on Holocaust Distortion will involve six faculty members in a year-long program of seminars, meetings, and a study trip to Holocaust sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. The fellows will develop or revise courses to integrate Holocaust history and address the growing problem of Holocaust distortion, which includes minimizing or misrepresenting its terminology and imagery. CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez stated, “This fellowship stands to empower CUNY faculty to combat Holocaust distortion through innovative scholarship and firsthand study in Eastern Europe.” The initiative, led by the Sandra K. Wasserman Jewish Studies Center at Baruch College, aims to serve as a model for potential expansion to other universities, addressing concerns about rising antisemitism and gaps in Holocaust knowledge among younger generations.