The University of Arizona will establish the Edwin and Alma Lakin Holocaust, Human Rights, and Comparative Genocide Endowed Chair in the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies with a $2 million gift commitment from a lead anonymous donor and additional gifts from Tucson community members. 

The creation of the endowment was also supported by prominent Tucson-area and U of A philanthropists Paul and Alice Baker.

"I am deeply grateful to the Tucson community members who have funded the Edwin and Alma Lakin Holocaust, Human Rights, and Comparative Genocide Endowed Chair," said Lori Poloni-Staudinger, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, which houses the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies. "Their vision and generosity will broaden the college's expertise and outreach on these crucial topics."

The focus of the Lakin Endowed Chair will be Holocaust studies research, teaching courses related to the Holocaust, human rights, and comparative genocide, and engaging in significant community outreach. The inaugural holder is Leonard Hammer, a senior lecturer in the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies. 

Hammer will serve as a point of contact for collaborations between the Jewish communities in Tucson and Southern Arizona. He will also support local educators in implementing state-mandated Holocaust education, participate in genocide awareness initiatives, and collaborate with colleagues across various disciplines and academic units at the university. 

Hammer's research focuses on international law, human rights, the Middle East and sacred spaces. A 2022 College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Teaching Award recipient, Hammer previously was the David and Andrea Stein Visiting Professor of Modern Israel Studies. He co-founded and now serves as director of outreach and program development for the U of A Human Rights Practice degree programs. Hammer has a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University, a Master of Laws in international law from New York University, and a doctorate in international human rights from the University of London.

"I am eager to take on the responsibilities of this chair, especially at such an important juncture in both world and Jewish history," Hammer said. "I am both honored and grateful to carry on the legacy of Eddie and Alma Lakin, specifically to cultivate the means for proper Holocaust memorialization and education, as an inroad to foment better insights into future atrocity prevention." 

The Lakin Endowed Chair benefits from the U of A Eminent Scholars Program, established to help the university recruit and retain top faculty. The program matches philanthropic investments with state funding and funds a one-time $100,000 award to support graduate students working with the holder of the chair.

Preserving Jewish Memory: The Vision Behind the Lakin Chair

The leading donor of the Lakin Endowed Chair has an abiding sense of responsibility for preserving knowledge of the Holocaust and promoting humane values, said David Graizbord, professor of Judaic studies and director of the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies. The donor lived and worked on an Israeli kibbutz in the 1970s. In the U.S., the donor has focused on supporting higher education and helping children and adults with physical and mental disabilities.

The donor – a voracious reader of books on Jewish history and the history of the Holocaust – has long enjoyed attending academic lectures sponsored by the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies and its supporters, Graizbord said. The donor views the establishment of the chair as a crucial investment in the quality of scholarship, and the quality of life, at the U of A. 

The late Edwin and Alma Lakin, for whom the chair is named, wanted to preserve Jewish history and memory and cultivate critical thinking regarding the origins of human cruelty, Graizbord said. They were among the founding supporters of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. They also spearheaded and underwrote the establishment of the Edwin & Alma N. '51 Lakin Holocaust Library & Resource Center at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. 

Strengthening Community Ties 

The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies, housed in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences School of Global Studies, was established in 2004 and offers a wide range of courses in Jewish history, religion, culture and language, including a Hebrew language program. Its mission contributes to the university's goals by advancing scholarship, providing dynamic undergraduate instruction, and engaging in community outreach, Graizbord said. He added that the center's strong relationships with other departments, and with Tucson's Jewish community, facilitate opportunities to explore Judaic culture across different places, times and disciplines.

"The creation of the Lakin Chair is the result of a long-term partnership between the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies and its friends in Tucson's Jewish community," Graizbord said. "We, the faculty and staff of the center, are deeply grateful for the success of this partnership, on which the center's success depends." 

Stuart Mellan, retired CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and a long-time community partner of the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies, expressed his enthusiasm for the creation of this new endowment and the work it will support. 

"It's been thrilling to see the center grow and thrive through the years. This newly expanding area of focus will be incredibly relevant not only in academia but also in the center's outreach to the community, where it has distinguished itself and made such a powerful impact."

"This gift helps the U of A advance its land-grant mission, both through supporting vital research and meaningfully growing community engagement, in this case, with Southern Arizona's Jewish community," said John-Paul Roczniak, president and CEO of the University of Arizona Foundation. "I couldn't be more grateful to our lead donor and those who rallied together to make this endowed chair possible." 

The $2 million gift commitment is part of the Fuel Wonder campaign, the university's $3 billion fundraising effort. Gifts already made to the campaign are giving every student access to a cohesive ecosystem of support, powering new insights into the human immunome and transforming research in areas including cancer, engineering, space sciences and the humanities.