Vanderbilt University has established the Eugene Greener Jr. Chair in Jewish Studies, and the first holder will be David J. Wasserstein, director of the university’s Jewish Studies program.
Wasserstein will deliver his inaugural lecture at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, in Wilson Hall on the Vanderbilt campus.
The lecture, “The Date-Seller and the Rabbi: Fictions of History,” will look at relationships between Muslims and Jews in the Middle Ages through analysis of anecdotes about Jews from Arabic sources.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Terrace Place Garage off 21st Avenue South on Terrace Place.
The Eugene Greener Jr. Chair in Jewish Studies is a gift from Cynthia Greener Edelman and Daniel Edelman in honor of the memory of her father, Eugene Greener Jr., who died last September. The 1942 graduate of Vanderbilt had a lifelong dedication to his alma mater.
“My father loved learning and he taught us to value it and practice it every day,” said Cynthia Greener Edelman, a 1974 Vanderbilt graduate.
“We found this way to merge our love of our faith and our love of Vanderbilt, and it felt like a natural fit. We see it as a way to honor our father as a student, lawyer, engaged community citizen and volunteer.”
Wasserstein, who came to Vanderbilt in 2004 as a professor of Jewish studies and history, has written extensively on medieval Islamic and Jewish topics.
“The Greener Chair in Jewish Studies is wonderful for Vanderbilt, for Jewish studies at Vanderbilt and for me personally,” Wasserstein said. “It is a great honor to be the first holder of the Greener Chair; its endowment demonstrates Vanderbilt’s commitment to Jewish studies and it is a tremendous omen for our future development.”
Media Contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu