Brandeis University

Brandeis University is uniquely positioned, by virtue of its history and present resources, to provide effective education and support for Russian-speaking Jews that will nurture their nascent Jewish ties and make them effective community leaders of the future. Brandeis is also a place where Russian-speaking Jews' heritage and unique form of secular Jewish culture can flourish and ultimately enrich the Jewish experience at Brandeis and beyond.  As a secular university founded and supported by the American Jewish community, Brandeis is committed to the very highest academic standards in all fields: from the arts, to computer science, to the life sciences, to psychology, as well as in Jewish studies.  Brandeis combines the best qualities of a small liberal arts college and a major research university.  Brandeis is well represented in the scholarly fields of Judaic Studies, Russian Studies, and Russian-Jewish studies, as well as European studies in general. Its faculty includes historians of Russian Jewry, experts in Jewish education (formal and informal) and social scientists who specialize in the study of Jewish communities.

The Brandeis Genesis Institute (BGI) at Brandeis University has been established with a grant from GPG to provide scholarships at Brandeis for Russian-speaking Jewish undergraduate and graduate students.  The Institute will be the focal point of a Brandeis-wide initiative to develop academic and supplemental programming to support Russian-speaking Jewish students at Brandeis. The BGI will prepare Russian-speaking Jews from around the world for accomplishment in professional life and leadership in their communities, fortified by Jewish knowledge, a systematic understanding of Russian Jewry, and a commitment to the future of the Jewish people.

In addition, GPG is providing funding for:

• Genesis and BIMA, two summer programs, provide high school students with high-quality arts (BIMA) or college-level courses (Genesis) alongside creative, pluralistic Jewish living and learning. This will help strengthen the Jewish identity of the Russian-speaking high-school students. Via their coursework and experiential learning opportunities, they also have a greater understanding of Jewish identity, Hebrew language, Israel, the arts, culture, politics, and world history.
• The Hornstein Program is the foremost Jewish professional leadership program in the United States. GPG-sponsored fellowships will aim to increase participation in this acclaimed program by Russian-speaking Jews and develop the next generation of professionals and leaders in the field.
• Brandeis offers doctoral degrees in a variety of areas in which students can pursue Jewish studies topics, including Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, history, politics, and social policy, among others.
• Ph.D. fellowships will allow Russian-speaking students to enter and complete doctoral programs at Brandeis in the area of their choice, with the understanding that they are undertaking Jewish studies topics. Brandeis offers doctoral degrees in a variety of areas in which students can pursue Jewish studies topics, including Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, history, politics, and social policy, among others.