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Cohen named director of Jewish institute
By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor
Richard A. Cohen, Isaac Swift Distinguished Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, has been named director of UB’s new Institute of Jewish Thought and Heritage.
Founded this spring, the institute is a multidisciplinary research and academic degree-granting center focusing on the critical role that Judaism has played in the development and communication of Western thought. It is closely aligned with the strategic strength in culture and texts identified in the UB 2020 strategic planning process.
The creation of the institute in the College of Arts and Sciences is expected to establish UB as a leader in Jewish studies and the first campus within the SUNY system to establish master’s and doctoral degree programs in the field.
Cohen says his vision for the institute is to focus its activities on ethics—“the high importance of morality and justice as being key to the spiritual inspiration and aspirations of Jews and of all humanity.” He calls this “one of the core teachings of Judaism over its long and varied history.”
“Of course, this will be done through academic study—classes, lectures, exhibits, conferences, etc.—which is the spirituality proper to the university,” he says.
He anticipates hiring four more faculty members within the next few years. “It is my hope that we can hire the best people with the highest scholarly standards to quickly establish the University of Buffalo as a world class center of Judaic studies,” he says.
Cohen says the job at UB was attractive to him for several reasons: the opportunity to help create “from the ground up” a new center for Jewish studies, the overall high quality of the university and the friendliness of members of the university community and the Jewish community of Buffalo who he met during the interview process.
And it was “time for me to return north after 18 years in the south,” he says.
Plans for the institute already are under way, which include hiring a second faculty member in the coming year and establishing a bachelor’s degree program in Judaic studies.
“After that, and after hiring a third professor, we will apply to establish a M.A. degree in Judaic studies,” he says. “There will be two annual lectures series that will start in spring 2009, and a photograph exhibit is in the works for April 2009.
“Let me say, too, that I welcome input from students and faculty to let me know how they think the program can serve their educational needs,” he adds.
Cohen, who has been a faculty member at UNC-Charlotte since 1994, has been directly involved over the years in establishing Jewish studies programs. He created—and currently serves as coordinator—of the Judaic studies minor at UNC-Charlotte, and also is director of the Alice Tate Lecture Series in Judaic Studies at the university.
In addition, he created and directed the Judaic studies minor at the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa, where he served for five years as Aaron Aronov Chair of Judaic Studies and associate professor of religious studies.
Other faculty appointments include positions at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio; Loyola College in Baltimore; and Pennsylvania State University. He also has been a visiting faculty member at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, and at Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
His scholarly interests include ethics, modern and contemporary continental philosophy and Judaism, and the 20th century philosopher and Talmudic commentator Emmanuel Levinas.
He has published two books—“Elevations: The Height of the Good in Rosenzweig and Levinas” (1994) and “Ethics, Exegesis and Philosophy: Interpretation After Levinas” (2001)—and has three forthcoming that deal with issues of philosophy, ethics, science, morality and politics.
Cohen received bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and political science from Penn State, and master’s and doctoral degrees in philosophy from Stony Brook University. He also studied philosophy for a year at Universite de Paris, Paris-Sorbonne.