A new gift of $500,000 from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund will further support San Francisco State University’s endowed chair in Jewish studies and social responsibility.
The gift strengthens the existing endowment, according to Marc Dollinger, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman chair in Jewish studies for eight years, and his department overall.
He said the money was an “utter surprise” that left him “humbled, touched and inspired.”
“In these economic times, when the endowment portfolios are in a challenging market, to get a half-million-dollar boost helps ensure the longtime stability of the endowment,” Dollinger said.
Amy Lyons, executive director of the Goldman Fund, called the gift “important” because it helps continue the study of Jewish topics on a San Francisco campus that has experienced issues related to anti-Semitism.
In 1997, the Goldman Fund established the chair in Jewish studies with a $1 million gift. In 2008, it created a chair in Israel studies with a donation of $3.75 million, which expanded the Jewish studies curriculum to include Israel and elevated it to department status.
The university is in the process of hiring the Richard and Rhoda Goldman chair in Israel studies, expected to start in the fall.