CUNY Launches Faculty Fellowship to Expand Holocaust Education Across Campuses

CUNY Launches Faculty Fellowship to Expand Holocaust Education Across Campuses

August 26, 2026

Consortium among three CUNY colleges will support faculty-led Holocaust curriculum development

Left to Right: CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez; Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor; Baruch College Professor Sarah Valente; Baruch College President S. David Wu.

City University of New York (CUNY) today announced the CUNY Faculty Fellowship on Holocaust Distortion, a new initiative aimed at addressing the growing issue of Holocaust distortion-the minimizing, exaggeration or misrepresentation of Holocaust terminology, imagery, and analogies.

This initiative establishes a first-of-its-kind consortium among CUNY colleges-Baruch, Queens, and Hunter-to build knowledge and awareness across participating campuses, ensuring that administrators, faculty, and students are equipped to recognize and address Holocaust distortion. The Sandra K. Wasserman Jewish Studies Center at Baruch College will lead the project.

The yearlong fellowship is supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), a 75-year-old nonprofit that secures a measure of justice for Holocaust survivors worldwide. Through the Rabbi Israel Miller Fund for Shoah Research, Education and Documentation, this grant will enhance faculty expertise in Holocaust education and critical dialogue.

The program will support six full-time faculty members in developing new or revising existing courses that incorporate Holocaust history and examine how it is represented in academic and contemporary contexts. By embedding this work directly into coursework, the initiative aims to expand student engagement and support informed classroom discussion. It will also equip faculty and students to engage with the subject in meaningful ways.

"This fellowship stands to empower CUNY faculty to combat Holocaust distortion through innovative scholarship and firsthand study in Eastern Europe," said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. "We thank the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany for supporting this vital initiative to advance our curriculum and equip CUNY students to uphold historical truth."

"Baruch College is proud to take the lead on this fellowship and to bring together faculty from across our CUNY community in this shared mission," said Baruch College President S. David Wu. "The Sandra K. Wasserman Jewish Studies Center has long been a home for this important work, and this collaboration with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany deepens our commitment to Holocaust education at a moment when it has never been more necessary."

Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor said, "Antisemitism and Holocaust denial and distortion are flourishing around the world. We know all too well how words of hate quickly escalate to acts of violence. And we know from our studies that the public today - 80 years after Holocaust survivors were liberated - worries that something like it could happen again. The Holocaust cannot be a static discipline that is discussed and forgotten. We must not only remember the 6 million Jews murdered but also learn from the acts that allowed this horror to happen. We are proud to support initiatives that advance much-needed Holocaust education to college students with the rigor and care it is due."

"Education remains one of our most powerful tools," said Professor Sarah Valente, Newman Director of the Sandra K. Wasserman Jewish Studies Center at Baruch College and Principal Investigator of the project. "This fellowship creates an opportunity for faculty across disciplines to engage deeply with the history of the Holocaust and translate that learning into innovative teaching, bringing new perspectives, firsthand experiences, and rigorous scholarship into the classroom while helping students understand the enduring relevance of the past to the challenges of the present."

Program Structure

Fellows will participate in two day-long seminars led by subject matter experts, attend monthly cohort meetings, and engage in experiential learning, including a cohort study trip to Holocaust sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. The program will run from Fall 2026 through Summer 2027, following a Spring 2026 planning and recruitment phase.

Faculty are selected through a competitive application process requiring a course proposal, CV, and departmental approval, with final recommendations made by a cross-campus selection committee. Participating colleges will offer the newly developed or revised courses through their academic departments.

Expanding Impact

The initiative will culminate in a 2027 summit hosted by Baruch College, showcasing new courses and teaching approaches, along with opportunities for collaboration across campuses. The fellowship is also intended to inform potential expansion across the broader CUNY system.

Each fellow will receive a stipend and full travel support. The program includes ongoing evaluation through faculty feedback, course assessments, and measures of student engagement.

By investing in faculty development and curriculum design, CUNY aims to strengthen Holocaust education and support deeper academic engagement with the subject.

About the Claims Conference: The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), a nonprofit organization with offices in New York, Israel, Germany and Austria, secures material compensation for Holocaust survivors around the world. Founded in 1951 by representatives of 23 major international Jewish organizations, the Claims Conference negotiates for and disburses funds to individual survivors and organizations and seeks the return of Jewish property stolen during the Holocaust. As a result of negotiations with the Claims Conference since 1952, the German government has paid more than $95 billion in indemnification to individuals for suffering and losses resulting from persecution by the Nazis. For 2025, the Claims Conference distributed approximately $530 million in compensation for survivors globally and $960 million for survivors' welfare needs such as home care, medicine and food.

About the Sandra Kahn Wasserman Jewish Studies Center at Baruch College

The Sandra Kahn Wasserman Jewish Studies Center (WJSC) at Baruch College advances the study of Jewish history, culture, and contemporary life through interdisciplinary scholarship, teaching, public programming, and community engagement. Reflecting Baruch's historic role in educating generations of New Yorkers and its extraordinarily diverse student body, the Center brings the study of global Jewish experiences into conversation with some of the most consequential questions facing Jewish communities and society today. Through courses spanning Sephardic and Latin American Jewish studies, Holocaust literature, Yiddish theatre, and Jewish history and culture; lectures and conversations with leading scholars, writers, and public intellectuals; conferences, films, experiential learning, and institutional partnerships; the WJSC creates opportunities for Baruch students, faculty, and the broader New York community to encounter Jewish life across histories, geographies, disciplines, and perspectives.

The WJSC is also home to the Antisemitism Studies Lab (AS Lab), the first initiative of its kind within CUNY, established to advance rigorous, interdisciplinary research and education on historical and contemporary antisemitism. Bringing together faculty, students, scholars, and institutional partners, the Lab approaches antisemitism not through a single disciplinary lens but across fields including history, law, literature, cognitive science, communications, marketing, and digital media. Through original research, student engagement, scholarly programming, and external partnerships, the AS Lab serves as a hub for innovative antisemitism scholarship at Baruch while connecting that work to pressing local, national, and global challenges. With the support of philanthropic partners and a growing network of academic and community collaborators, the WJSC and AS Lab together position Baruch as an important center for the study of Jewish life and antisemitism in one of the most diverse cities in the world.

About Baruch College

Ranked among the top public institutions in the nation, Baruch College of The City University of New York provides a high-quality, affordable education to a diverse community of over 20,000 students. Located in the heart of New York City, Baruch offers rigorous undergraduate and graduate programs through the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and the Zicklin School of Business. Baruch's mission is to empower students to transform their lives and their communities through academic excellence, experiential learning, and a deep commitment to equity and inclusion.