Cornell University in Ithaca, New York is an interdisciplinary program. The scope of the Jewish studies curriculum covers Jewish civilization from its ancient Near Eastern origins through its contemporary history and culture in Israel and the diaspora communities around the world. Instruction is offered in Semitic languages; the Hebrew Bible; medieval and modern Hebrew literature; ancient, medieval, and modern Jewish history; and Holocaust studies. Emory University The Tam Institute for Jewish Studies (TIJS) at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, established in 1999 to bring together students and scholars in the interdisciplinary exploration of Jewish civilization and culture, is the largest Jewish studies program in the southern United States. The Institute’s core endowment was generously provided by the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. The Blank family named the Institute in honor of its beloved spiritual leader, Rabbi Donald A. Tam, the founding rabbi of Atlanta’s Temple Beth Tikvah and a community leader known for his wisdom, compassion, and public service (click here for a full bio of Rabbi Donald A. Tam). TIJS boasts nineteen core faculty members in seven departments across the Emory College of Arts and Sciences, plus one each in the Law School and the Candler School of Theology. In addition, seventeen affiliated faculty members offer occasional courses. Strengths of the program include modern and American Jewish history, Jews in Eastern Europe and in Islamic Civilizations, the Jewish textual tradition, modern Judaism, Jewish ethnography, Holocaust studies, Hebrew and Yiddish literatures and cultures, and Israel studies. TIJS offers an undergraduate major and minor, graduate fellowships and a graduate certificate program. The Institute also supports undergraduate and graduate students with a wide range of grants for travel and research, study abroad, and intensive language study. In addition to its robust academic program, TIJS engages with the broader community through public events, most notably the Tenenbaum Family Lecture Series in Jewish Studies and the Rabbi Jacob M. Rothschild Memorial Lecture, which bring distinguished visiting scholars to campus. Fairfield University The Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies at Fairfield University in Connecticut was founded in 1994 with an initial endowment of $1.5 million from Carl and Dorothy Bennett. The Bennett Center's goal is to provide Fairfield University students exposure to and contact with Jewish ideas, culture, and thinking through lectures and other events. Fairfield University also offers a minor in Judaic studies within the Religion Department. Courses cover the Jewish faith,