Pull Up Another Chair
by Sally Baker

A gift announced at the October meeting of the Board of Trustees will help make Colby a leader among liberal arts colleges in the area of Jewish studies.
The Pulver Family Chair in Judaic Studies, a $1.1-million endowed professorship that will be filled during the academic year 1997-98, will allow Colby to proceed with plans for a program in Jewish studies. The chair is a gift of David and Carol Pulver of Mendham, N.J. David Pulver, a member of Colby's Class of 1963 and of the College's trustee board, is president of Cornerstone Capital Inc. The Pulvers' daughter, Stephanie, graduated from Colby in 1993.
Colby already is a leader in interdisciplinary and cross-cultural studies, offering majors and minors in fields such as African-American studies, Latin American studies, East Asian studies, French studies and international studies. The Pulver professorship will augment other Jewish studies funds at Colby, including the Bronstein Fund for program and course development in Jewish studies and Holocaust studies; the Berger Fund for Holocaust studies; the Lipman lecture fund, which brings to campus speakers on Jewish-related topics; and the Lipman Library Fund for purchasing materials for Jewish studies.
"The United States is becoming increasingly multicultural, and it is critical that colleges like Colby respond to that reality and offer majors and minors in as many of these areas as possible," David Pulver said. "Carol and I are extremely excited about the development of a Jewish studies program at Colby."
Few colleges of Colby's size offer programs in Jewish studies. A 1993 study by President William Cotter found that among NESCAC colleges, only Tufts had a formal Jewish studies program, with some of the other colleges offering a few courses in related topics. Colby's course offerings in this area have been by far the most extensive among its NESCAC peers.
The Pulver chair will be filled by a scholar selected by a search committee of faculty members chaired by Professor of History Robert Weisbrot. According to Weisbrot, the new professor will be qualified to teach European Jewish culture and civilization from the 18th century on, as well as courses in at least two other areas of Jewish studies. Courses for the chair holder will be designed to augment a current list that includes, among other offerings, Biblical Literature; Romans and Jews; a seminar in ancient and modern Judaism; Biblical Hebrew; The Holocaust in Poetry, Fiction and Drama; Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Accommodation; and Introduction to Yiddish Language and Culture.
The Pulver gift also comes as Colby strengthens its cocurricular commitment to multiculturalism, and the ideal Pulver professor will have "the interest and energy to help promote a lively Jewish cultu-ral presence that can enhance the diversity of the College," Weisbrot said. This fall Colby opened the Pugh Center addition to the Student Union, a wing of offices and common rooms shared by a dozen cam-pus groups that focus on multicultural issues. Among those groups is Colby Hillel, primarily composed of Jewish students. The newly constructed Hillel facilities include an area for worship services and a kosher kitchen. The Pugh Center, to which the Pulvers also made a significant financial contribution, was built by recommendation of a trustee commission that examined ways to make members of minorities, as well as other students interested in multicultural issues, most comfortable on the campus.
"Colby is fortunate to be the beneficiary of David and Carol Pulver's lifelong dedication to Jewish and Middle Eastern studies," said Cotter. "This gift responds to one of Colby's most important institutional priorities and opens up remarkably rich opportunities for interdisciplinary study and collaboration for both faculty and students. It is a far-sighted gift that will have a lasting impact on our curriculum."
The Pulver chair brings to 26 the number of endowed professorships at the College--up from four in 1990 and the 17th chair received by the College since it began its $100-million capital campaign, The Campaign for Colby.

June 1993
Establishment of the Berger Fund for Holocaust Studies, given by Robert L. Berger and Patricia Downs Berger '62.

1995
Construction of the Pugh Center, including a new Hillel Room given by Trustees David Pulver '63 and William Goldfarb '68 and their families.

January 1996
Establishment of the Bronstein Family Fund for Jewish/Holocaust Studies given by Barry and Judith Bronstein P'96 to support program and course development in Jewish studies.

August 1996
Establishment of the Bernard H. Lipman '31 Library Fund for Jewish Studies, given by Bernard H. Lipman '31 and Thelma Lipman to endow the purchase of books and research materials in Jewish studies. The Lipmans also have established the Lipman Lecture Fund.