Penn named its inaugural Georgia and Jesse Feldman Associate Professor of Jewish Studies last week following a $3 million gift.
The School of Arts and Sciences received the donation from 2000 College graduate Georgia Feldman and her husband, Jesse Feldman, to expand its Jewish Studies program. Simcha Gross — an associate professor of Ancient Rabbinics — was appointed to the professorship role, according to an Oct. 13 announcement.
In an interview, Gross explained that SAS Dean Mark Trodden “very generously” selected him to fill the role, adding that he was “very honored” to accept the title.
The professorship, according to Gross, will provide him with “greater resources to play with” and increased research — including funding for conference travels and the ability to hire students and research assistants.
His research focuses on Jewish communities during the first millennium of the Common Era — specifically focusing on their relationships with the Roman, Persian, and Islamic empires. Gross explained that his studies examine how Jewish people are “categorized and treated in different eras and different societies.”
“Oftentimes the way we study the past is through the dominant voices,” he said. “But in the period that I, at least, focus on, Jews are often marginal, and so it gives us really an access to what it was like to not be at the center of society.”
For Gross, the “principal benefit” of the professorship is that it creates more opportunities for him to work with students who can support his research.
He highlighted that his appointment is an indicator of Penn’s support for his work and could “hopefully” be “an invitation” for students to enroll in his classes.
In the press release, Trodden wrote that the school’s “faculty members are the foundation of our excellence,” adding that “Simcha is a perfect example of that.”
For Gross, the investment in Jewish studies is important because it supports “a living community” with “many students and graduates and stakeholders who are still deeply invested in the University and in their history.”
“I think Jewish history is a particularly fascinating history,” he said, adding that it opens the door to a historical analysis of three to four millennia, while also allowing researchers “to ask really granular questions about their day-to-day life in any given moment.”
Gross described the expansion as “exciting,” adding that the Feldmans are “really committed to the work we’re doing.”
In addition to the professorship, the Feldmans endowed a scholarship for students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
