UNC Asheville’s Center for Jewish Studies celebrated its 35th anniversary in March, and recognized Rick Chess, professor of English, for his 25 years of leadership as the center’s director.
“The Jewish experience has been part of the human experience for a long time,” Chess said. “There’s a lot that one could learn that would be valuable to a person trying to become a fully developed mature adult and citizen of the world by studying Jewish history, culture, thought, and practice.”
The celebration consisted of a series of events and performances from March 23-26, including The Passion, the Beauty, the Heartbreak: Israel through Poetry and Music, by Israeli writer and recording artist Danny Maseng, a screening of a short film documenting the history of the Center for Jewish Studies, and the 2017 Phyllis Freed Sollod Memorial Lecture, presented by Chess.