$250,000 Raised for Post in Jewish History

UC Irvine and Orange County’s Jewish community have raised $250,000 for an endowed professorship in Jewish history.

History department chairman Michael Johnson said he hopes that a scholar will be named as early as the fall of 1992 for the post, the first endowed professorship in UCI’s School of Humanities.

“This endowment makes it possible for UCI to seek an historian of the highest caliber . . . in this extremely competitive area of historical study,” Johnson said. “The demand for Jewish history scholars results in part from the traumatic lessons World War II impressed upon the world about the importance of understanding and preserving Jewish history and culture.

“The enduring impact of those lessons was evident in the strong community support we have received for this professorship.”

The fund-raising drive began in March, 1990, when UCI Chancellor Jack W. Peltason and biological sciences professor Howard Lenhoff and other UCI officials met with Jewish community members to discuss the proposed professorship. At the meeting, Lenhoff, former Vice Chancellor Leon Schwartz and Prof. Seymour Menton all pledged individual donations to launch the campaign.

Their promises sparked a $125,000 pledge from Rita and Robert Teller, who founded the Orange County Marketplace in Costa Mesa. In recognition of their support, the professorship will be named after the Teller family.

This month, thanks to additional contributions of $102,000 from the county’s Jewish community and $23,000 from UCI faculty and staff, the university reached the $250,000 mark, the minimum required to establish an endowed scholar’s post.

Interest earned on endowments provide research funds to augment a professor’s salary, while the principal donation remains invested to help support ongoing historical study.

University officials have said they would like to double that amount and create a chair in Jewish history.

The endowment does not limit the area of study to any particular area of historical study.

“The focus might be on World War II and the Holocaust, or some other aspect of Jewish history,” Johnson said. “It will depend largely on the expertise of the scholar we select.”