skip to content

Reports and Policies

April 15: In an announcement forwarded on behalf of Ross MacKinnon, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:

Doris and Simon Konover made a commitment last fall to fund an endowed chair and the Board of Trustees has approved the creation of the Doris and Simon Konover Chair of Judaic Studies.  

Today, on April 15th, the Board named Professor Arnold Dashefsky as the first holder of the Doris and Simon Konover Chair of Judaic Studies.
 
The provision of the gift agreement with the Konovers gives a period of several years for them to fulfill their financial commitment. It is the College’s practice to recommend faculty only after the chair or professorship is fully funded. However, there are a several reasons why Professor Dashefsky’s appointment now is appropriate:

  1. There is over $450,000 currently in the endowment principal. This will generate income for the endowment’s spending account that should be used right away by the Konover Chair for programmatic support.
  2. The next appointment will be carried out by the incoming dean and an international search like this could take as much as two to three years to complete. Steps include assembling a committee, defining the academic plan, conducting the search, and allowing for transition time of the selected candidate.  
  3. The College will also need time to identify a faculty line underlying the chair. Professor Dashefsky’s line is in sociology, but the next chair could come from any of several humanities or social science disciplines. In general, the faculty line covers the academic year salary and benefits of the chair holder, while the endowment supports programmatic activities such as travel, graduate student and research support, conference sponsorship, etc.
  4. With Professor Dashefsky’s recent reappointment as Director of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life, the Konover Chair gives good visibility and some working capital for Center programs.

Also, it seems fitting that after years of building the Judaic Studies program and his long-term personal friendship with the Konovers, that Professor Dashefsky serve as the inaugural chair holder. Please join me in congratulating Arnie as he is asked to fill one of the nation’s most prestigious chairs in Judaic Studies.

April 7: The UConn Advance features a story on the UConn-Menoufia University partnership to promote women in development in Egypt, an initiative funded by the U.S. State Department and directed by UConn's Office of International Affairs. The project has led to plans for the development of a new Women's Center at Menoufia University, which may eventually house a Women's Studies professional degree program. Read More