By 1980 , Dropsie College was near failing , its building in need of repairs and many of its books missing . On November 9 , 1981 , newly elected president David M. Goldenberg was notified of an arson attack , taking place on the forty-third anniversary of Kristallnacht . Attempts to put out the fire irreparably damaged the library and its contents , including rare books and ancient cuneiform tablets . Goldenberg launched an extensive campaign to recover and restore the library , while board member Albert J. Wood worked to transform the College into a post-graduate research center . Wood attracted the support of philanthropist Walter Annenberg . Wood became the founding chairman of the board of the briefly renamed Moses Aaron Dropsie Research Institute , followed by Walter Annenberg as of September 13 , 1985 . As of September 1986 , Dropsie College ceased to be a degree-granting college . Also in 1986 , Dropsie was renamed the Annenberg Research Institute . Annenberg funded the construction of a new building , to which the institution moved in 1988 . The new location was just three blocks south of the new location of congregation Mikveh Israel , as well as the National Museum of American Jewish History . The proposed goal of the new institution was to support dialogue among the mono-theistic faiths of Judaism , Christianity and Islam . Its directors were Bernard Lewis ( 1986-1990 ) , Eric M. Meyers ( 1991-1992 ) , and as acting director , David M. Goldenberg ( 1992-1993 ) . In 1993 , the Annenberg Research Institute ceased to be an independent organization . It became part of the University of Pennsylvania , as the Center for Judaic Studies . In 1998 , it was renamed the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies , and in 2008 , the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies . It is part of the Penn libraruy system
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning