World-Renowned Biblical Scholar Gary A. Rendsburg to Hold the First Endowed Chair in Rutgers’ Rapidly Growing Department of Jewish Studies
October 11, 2004
Dr. Gary RendsburgAbout this image. Go to larger image. Alternate image available. |
Established by a generous donation from the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the position is the first endowed chair in the department of Jewish studies at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Rendsburg, who joined the Rutgers faculty this summer, also chairs the department of Jewish studies.
The establishment of this position and the prestige of its first occupant reflect the growing popularity of Jewish studies at Rutgers.
Since the university launched the department in 2000, the number of Rutgers students majoring or minoring in Jewish studies has increased 73 percent, while the number enrolled in Hebrew-language classes has risen more than 17 percent. Rutgers also has greatly expanded the Jewish studies curriculum, adding courses on the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls and rabbinic literature. Each academic year, approximately 1,400 Rutgers students enroll in Jewish studies classes. Rutgers is the only university in New Jersey to offer a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jewish studies.
“It is very gratifying to know that a growing number of Rutgers students want to study the foundations of Judaism, which has played such a vital role in shaping faith and civilization throughout the world,” Rendsburg said. “The rapid growth of the department of Jewish studies at Rutgers demonstrates the renewed interest of young people in the subject and its relevance to contemporary life.”
Rendsburg, 50, is a prolific scholar whose research includes the history, languages, literatures and religions of the ancient Near East, with a special focus on ancient Israel and the Bible. He has written five books and more than 100 articles.
A native of Iselin in Woodbridge Township, Rendsburg received a bachelor’s degree in journalism and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1975. He received a master’s degree in 1977 and a doctorate in 1980 from the Institute of Hebrew Culture and Education at New York University.
In the 1986-87 academic year, Rendsburg received a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to write a historical grammar of biblical Hebrew.
Before coming to Rutgers, he was the Paul and Berthe Hendrix Memorial Professor of Jewish Studies in the department of Near Eastern studies at Cornell University. He also held visiting positions at the University of Pennsylvania, Colgate University, the State University of New York at Binghamton and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Rendsburg’s installation ceremony, called an investiture, is the first at Rutgers under the leadership of President Richard L. McCormick.
"Professor Gary Rendsburg has been acclaimed worldwide for his research and scholarship,” President McCormick said. “Gary’s decision to come to Rutgers is a major achievement for the department of Jewish studies, and his appointment continues this university’s commitment to attract and retain the finest faculty.”
The department of Jewish studies works in partnership with the Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life to provide a wide range of academic programs and community outreach initiatives.
The investiture will take place in Kirkpatrick Chapel on the College Avenue campus.
In his first public lecture since coming to Rutgers, later this month Rendsburg will discuss the historical factors that led to the writing of the Bible. The Oct. 28 lecture, “The Genesis of the Bible,” also will look at the literary style of the Bible and the intellectual tradition that lies behind it. The lecture will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Trayes Hall, Douglass College Center.
Contact: Greg Trevor
732/932-7084, ext. 623
E-mail: gtrevor@ur.rutgers.edu
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Photo courtesy of Gary A. Rendsburg.
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