The Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies sponsors a variety of public programming, supports the development of courses related to Jews and Judaism at the University, and houses the Jewish Studies major and minor. Building on UWM’s mission of access, the
Stahl Center engages members of the Milwaukee community in Jewish culture and learning by holding events off campus as well as on campus, cosponsoring events with Milwaukee organizations, and inviting engaging speakers and performers who can build bridges
across identities and experiences.

Our “Colors of Jewishness” series, made possible by the generous support of Bader Philanthropies, explores the diversity of the Jewish community and the connections between Jews and other minority groups. Recent luminaries brought to Milwaukee through this series
include culinary historian Michael Twitty, singers Anthony Russell and Sarah Aroeste, and painter Siona Benjamin.

The yearly Faye Sigman “Woman of Valor” lecture, made possible by the generous support of the Taxman and Temkin families, highlights the contributions of Jewish women. Past speakers have included Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Hasia Diner, Jill Dolan, and UWM’s
Lisa Silverman.

Thanks to the generosity of the Baye Foundation and Bader Philanthropies, the Stahl Center features an annual Distinguished Lecture. Among the notable scholars who have presented the Distinguished Lecture are Michael Twitty, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Kimblett, and Jeffrey
Shandler.

Partnerships with many departments and programs on campus, and a wide variety of community organizations, are vital to the success of the Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies. On campus, we collaborate with many academic programs, as well as the LGBT Film Festival,
the Festival of Films in French, the Latin American Film Series, and the UWM Libraries. Off-campus partners include 88.9 Radio Milwaukee, Boswell Books, the Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, Jewish Museum Milwaukee, Latino Arts, the Milwaukee
Art Museum, the Milwaukee Film Festival, the Milwaukee Public Library, the Milwaukee Public Museum, and the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education and Resource Center.

The academic program in Jewish Studies offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jewish Studies, with the option of a Hebrew Studies or Jewish Cultural Studies track. Students may also choose to minor in Jewish Studies. Both the major and minor may be completed fully
online, and special pricing is available for out-of-state students who are completing their degree fully online. Our Hebrew program is one of the only programs in the country that allows students to learn Hebrew fully online.

Through the generosity of our donors, the Stahl Center grants financial scholarships to outstanding majors and minors.