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AJA Fellowship Program
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The Jewish Reformer, January 15, 1886. 
ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM The Marcus Center's Fellowship Program was founded with the intent of creating a forum where students and scholars of the American Jewish experience could gather together to research, discuss, and study their chosen topics. Under the auspices of this unique program scholars come to Cincinnati to conduct in-depth research at the American Jewish Archives and to take part in the academic community of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. The program provides fellows with an opportunity not only to pursue their own research, but also to interact and exchange ideas with research peers as well as with the faculty and students of HUC-JIR. Today, The Marcus Center administers twelve endowed fellowships, all funded by generous friends and supporters of the American Jewish Archives. Marcus Center fellows are teachers, students, scholars, and practitioners who, both individually and as a group, come to the American Jewish Archives to study some aspect of the American Jewish past. It is The Marcus Center's hope that this Fellowship Program will advance our understanding of American Jewish history and, simultaneously, of the American nation as a whole. CALL FOR APPLICATIONS Applicants for the Marcus Center Fellowship program must be conducting serious research in some area relating to the history of North American Jewry. Typically, Marcus Center Fellowships will be awarded to post-doctoral candidates, Ph.D. candidates who are completing dissertations, and senior or independent scholars. Applicants must submit a fellowship application (see below) together with a five-page (maximum) research proposal that outlines the scope of their project and lists those collections at the American Jewish Archives that are crucial to their research. Applicants should also submit two letters of support, preferably from academic colleagues. For graduate and doctoral students, one of these two letters must be from their dissertation advisor. Download a fellowship application or and request to have one sent via postal mail. The submission deadline for applications is no later than March 18, 2009. All inquiries and application materials should be forwarded to: Mr. Kevin Proffitt
The Marguerite R. Jacobs Memorial Fellowship Marguerite Jacobs, born in 1904, was a lifelong resident of Jonesboro. In fact her family, the Rosenfields, were Arkansas pioneers who helped found the city of Jonesboro. (Julius Jacobs, born in 1903, was originally from Nashville, Tennessee.) In the early 1920s, Mrs. Jacobs helped save Jonesboros Temple Israel from financial ruin by collecting dues, attending to business matters, and assisting in the financial growth of the Reform congregation. In later years, she served as both president and treasurer of the Temple sisterhood, and as superintendent of the religious school. Julius Jacobs was elected president of Temple Israel in 1948 and held that position for a decade. Additionally, he was president and secretary of the local chapter of Bnai Brith and chairman of the Jewish Cemetery in Jonesboro. Marguerite Jacobs passed away on April 14th, 1969. Julius Jacobs survived his wife by one year and died on October 26, 1970 at the age of 67. The Loewenstein-Wiener Fellowship The Loewenstein branch of Mrs. Berkmans family arrived in New York from Germany in 1868 – eventually relocating to Waco, Texas following a fire that destroyed the familys textile company. The Wiener family began its American journey when Mrs. Berkmans paternal grandfather, Samson Wiener, emigrated from Germany to Buffalo, New York in 1854. Samson then migrated to Mississippi where he fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. Samsons two sons, Sam and Eli (Mrs. Berkmans father), went on to found the town – and the Jewish community – of Keltys, Texas. Later, Eli Wiener moved his family to Shreveport, Louisiana and then on to Dallas, Texas. In Shreveport and Dallas, Eli served as president of the local synagogues – Bnai Zion Temple in Shreveport and Temple Emanu-El in Dallas. Selma Loewenstein Wiener was born in 1916. She married Allen Berkman (born in 1912), an attorney, in 1938. After moving to Pittsburgh, the Berkmans became involved in numerous Jewish and civic causes. Mrs. Berkman was a founder of the Jewish Archives of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. She served on the local board of the National Council of Jewish Women and on the Temple Rodef Shalom Sisterhood board as both president and as a trustee. Mr. Berkman, the recipient of numerous honors for his outstanding community work, served as president of Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh and is a Life Trustee of that congregation. He is a member of the National Board of Governors for the American Jewish Committee, and is on the Board of Directors of the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ). He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and is a member of the Board of Overseers for that schools Cincinnati campus. Selma Berkman died on December 5, 1995 at the age of 79. Her husband, their five children and 15 grandchildren survive her. The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Fellowship A graduate of the University of Texas, Bernard is the Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer for the American Income Life Insurance Company – a company which he joined in 1951 and has guided to unprecedented successes. Together with his wife Audre – also an alumna of the University of Texas – the Rapoports have devoted their lives to community service. Bernard has served as the Chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of Texas. He has been a member of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, the Jerusalem Foundation, the United Cancer Foundation, the United Negro College fund of Waco as well as numerous other organizations. Bernard has described his term as President and board of trustees member at Temple Rodef Sholom in Waco as one of his greatest honors. He has also served as a distinguished member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, and as a member of the Board of Overseers of the Cincinnati School of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Audre Rapoport has served as a dedicated member of the Temple Rodef Sholom Sisterhood for many years, working on committees for adult education, finance, and the religious school, among others. The couples Rapoport Foundation is responsible for a multitude of community enhancement projects in the Waco area. Foundation funding enabled a faltering area elementary school to be transformed into the Rapoport Academy – which provides a top-rate education to the communitys children. The Rapoport Foundation also provided funds to refurbish the Economics Building of the University of Texas. The Rabbi Fredric A. Doppelt Memorial Fellowship Rabbi Fredric Doppelt was born in Sanok, Austria-Hungary in 1906. He moved to the United States as a teenager and settled in the Chicago area. Rabbi Doppelt received his ordination from HUC in Cincinnati in 1931. For 30 years, Rabbi Doppelt was the spiritual leader of Congregation Achduth Vesholom in Fort Wayne, Indiana. During his tenure, he distinguished himself as a gifted orator, teacher and scholar. Rabbi Doppelts dedication to his family, his congregation and the community soon became legendary. His service on the Fort Wayne Interracial Committee, the USO (during the war years), the American Red Cross and as a board member of the Parkview Memorial and Lutheran Hospitals was deeply valued by the community he loved. Nationally, Rabbi Doppelt served on the executive boards of the National Red Cross Campaign, the American Jewish Historical Society and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He was also a member of the governing board of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion – through which he became involved with the American Jewish Archives and its founder, Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus. Rabbi Doppelt also authored a number of books, including On the Eve of Chaos, published in 1941; and Dialogue With God, published in 1948. In 1957, he co-authored A Guide for Reform Jews with colleague David Polish. Rabbi Doppelt died in 1972 while attending the Jewish Historical Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. He was survived by his loving wife, Lucille, his daughter, and a granddaughter. The Ethel Marcus Memorial Fellowship The Marcus family arrived in the United States in the late 19th century. Ethels parents, Aaron and Jennie Marcus, grew up within a few miles of each other near Vidz (Widzy) in the Lithuanian province of Kovno. Aaron Marcus (ne Markelson, 1865-1932) arrived in New York in 1889 where he worked for a short while as a laborer. After earning enough to purchase a “basket of notions,” Aaron became a peddler and worked his way to Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, Aaron became a merchant and eventually settled in West Virginia. Jennie Rader (nee Reider, 1870-1971) arrived in New York at about the same time as Aaron, together with her sister and father. Jennies sister soon married and moved to Connellsville, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh). During one of her trips there to visit her sister, Jennie met Aaron in Pittsburgh and they were married in the early 1890s. In addition to Ethel, Aaron and Jennie had three other children: Isaac, Jacob, and Frank, who was Ethels fraternal twin. Ethel Marcus, and her fraternal twin Frank, were born on January 20, 1899. Ethel Marcus lived with her mother until her mothers death in 1971. For many years Ethel worked at Franks Haberdashery in Pittsburgh. Later, she was supported by her loving brother, Jacob. Ethel Marcus died in February, 1990. The Rabbi Levi A. Olan Memorial Fellowship Rabbi Levi A. Olan was born in 1903 in the Ukraine. Three years later his family was forced to flee the pogroms and immigrate to the U.S., eventually settling in Rochester, New York. In 1929, Olan received his rabbinnic ordination from Hebrew Union College (HUC) in Cincinnati. After serving as the spiritual leader of Congregation Emanuel in Worcester, Massachusetts for 20 years, Olan became the senior rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in Dallas. As he had done in Worcester, Rabbi Olan became deeply involved in the Dallas community. His weekly radio program was renowned for the thought-provoking religious issues it raised – often tackling topics such as racial segregation and civil rights during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. Olan, who became president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis in 1968, was also a highly respected scholar. He was a visiting lecturer at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University as well as at the department of Religion at Texas Christian University. During his retirement, Rabbi Emeritus Olan was invited to lecture at the University of Texas, Emory University in Atlanta, the Institute of Religion in Houston, as well as at the Leo Baeck College in London, England. Rabbi Levi A. Olan died on October 17, 1984 at the age of 84. He was survived by Sarita, his wife of 53 years, and his three children: Elizabeth, Francis and David. The Rabbi Theodore S. Levy Tribute Fellowship Rabbi Theodore Levy was born on April 16, 1926 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1945, his mentor, Rabbi Solomon B. Freehof of Pittsburghs Rodef Shalom Temple, convinced a reluctant Levy to enter Hebrew Union College. At Hebrew Union College, Levy met Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus, who strongly encouraged Levy to complete his rabbinical studies. Following ordination, Rabbi Levy went on to serve four congregations with great distinction – including the Temple Society of Concord in Syracuse. His exemplary spiritual leadership was characterized by powerful commitments to education, family, community and social justice. He established social action committees in his congregations and initiated many civil rights education programs. He also was a participant in the 1963 civil rights march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington D.C. Rabbi Levy and his wife Ina Rae spent the summers of 1952 and 1962 on archival exhibitions with Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus. These expeditions enabled the American Jewish Archives to secure many important records which are now part of the AJAs permanent Burdman-Levy Archival Expedition Collection. Together, Rabbi Levy and Ina Rae raised three children, Seth, Cynthia, and Jonathan. The Starkoff Fellowship Bernard began his career in the 1940s as a congregational rabbi in Nashville, Tennessee. Eventually, Bernard left the rabbinate and the couple, along with their three children, returned “home” to Cleveland. They began work at Chemical Rubber Company (CRC), the chemical laboratory supply firm that Florences father, Arthur Friedman, founded, owned and operated. In the 1950s, CRC published a booklet of chemical tables to give to its customers. Today, the hardback version of The Handbook of Chemistry and Physics is one of the oldest continuously published reference books still in print. The publishing division of CRC ultimately became an independent business entity. In the late 1970s, the Starkoffs relocated both companies to Florida. Throughout their lives, the Starkoffs have been generous supporters of many philanthropic organizations in South Florida. Mrs. Starkoff has served as a trustee of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Florida, the Palm Beach Council for the Arts and the Mae Volen Senior Center. Mr. Starkoff has served on the boards of the South County United Way, the FAU foundation and the Kravis Performing Arts Center. The Joseph and Eva R. Dave Fellowship In 1907 Joseph Dave immigrated from Poland to the United States with his mother and sister. Philip Dave, Josephís father, had arrived in America the year before and settled in Durham, North Carolina. In 1916 Joseph Dave graduated from Durham High School and entered Trinity College, now Duke University. After studying there for two years, Mr. Dave decided to enter the Co-op System in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Cincinnati. As a freshman there, Joseph Dave had the opportunity to meet and befriend Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus, founder of the American Jewish Archives. After his graduation in 1923, Mr. Dave moved to Asheville North Carolina, where he worked as a sales manager for the Southern Steel and Cement Company and in 1929, he founded the Dave Steel Company. Not only an astute businessman, Joseph Dave was also deeply invested in a number of civic organizations. He was instrumental in the construction of the Religious School for Ashevilleís Congregation Beth Ha Tephila where, in 1923, he worked to secure the services of Rabbi Sidney Unger to be the Templeís spiritual leader. Mr. Dave also became the first Jewish president of the Asheville Lionís Club in 1932, an organization in which he continued to be active throughout his life. During his residence in Cincinnati, Mr. Dave served on the Board of Trustees of Rockdale Temple, the Jewish Hospital, the Jewish Community Center, and Glen Manor. While living in Miami Beach, Florida both Mr. and Mrs. Dave served on the board of the Greater Miami Jewish Home for the Aged. Joseph and Eva Dave are survived by their two loving sons, Bernard and Jerome, and five grandchildren. The Natalie Feld Memorial Fellowship Members of the Feld family have resided in the Cincinnati, Ohio area since the mid-nineteenth century. Natalie Feld was born in 1909 to Abraham and Katie Feld. Abraham Feld, whose father was one of the founding members of Cincinnatis Adath Israel Congregation, was a real estate investor and an entrepreneur who owned a furniture store in Cincinnati. Natalie, a gifted public speaker, chose education as a career path and became a high school mathematics teacher after earning two Bachelors Degrees and a Masters Degree from the University of Cincinnati. She retired from teaching in the 1950s following the death of her mother. Later, Natalie herself entered the world of business and achieved a notable measure of success as both a business person and an investor. Her public speaking skills allowed her to advocate eloquently for the causes she believed in most. She was an amateur photographer, a musician and an avid reader of great literature. A lifelong member of the Friends of the Public Library, Ms. Feld bequeathed $2.5 million to the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County – the largest bequest in the librarys nearly 150-year history. She was also fascinated by history and genealogy, and became the official Feld family historian. She enjoyed communicating with her extended family by letter, writing long, descriptive missives about her trips throughout the world and the intriguing people she always seemed to meet along the way. She was also a supporter of the arts as evidenced by her tireless work on behalf of the Opera Guild and the Society for the Preservation of Music Hall in Cincinnati. Natalie Feld passed away in 1999 at the age of 90. The Rabbi Harold D. Hahn Memorial Fellowship Ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1955, Rabbi Harold D. Hahn served in the Air Force Chaplaincy stationed in Rabat, Morocco. Upon returning to the United States, he served congregations in Broomall Pennsylvania; Detroit, Michigan and Norfolk, Virginia before coming to Cincinnatis Rockdale Temple. Rabbi Hahns love of the College-Institute was a strong incentive for him to come to Cincinnati when he was offered the historic pulpit in 1969. He embraced the opportunity to serve on the HUC-JIR Admissions Committee, its Board of Alumni Overseers and its Board of Governors. He served as Chairperson of its Student Affairs Committee, reflective of his earlier tenure as Student Body President in the 1950s. When encouraged during the last days of his illness to express an unfulfilled wish, he asked that he be granted the honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree – due to be awarded by his beloved College-Institute in 1980 – ahead of schedule. The degree was presented on Founders Day, 1978, in association with a tribute dinner sponsored by the congregation, and the gift of a family visit to Israel. Although in failing health, Harold was able to make the trip with Nancy and the children shortly before his death in May, 1979. The establishment of the Rabbi Harold D. Hahn Fellowship will perpetuate the loving legacy of a man whose passion for Jewish thought and knowledge was boundless. The Rabbi Joachim Prinz Memorial Fellowship Rabbi Dr. Joachim Prinz (1902-1988), who served as President of the American Jewish Congress (AJC), was a gifted orator with a passion for racial and religious equality. Dr. Prinz was among the first to speak out against the rise of National Socialism in his native Germany and with the advent of the Hitler regime in 1933, he urged Jews to leave the country. Dr. Prinz was arrested several times during the rise of the Third Reich and was eventually expelled from Germany by the Gestapo in the summer of 1937. In the fall of 1939 ñ at the recommendation of mentor and friend Rabbi Stephen S. Wise ñ Dr. Prinz became the rabbi of Temple Bínai Abraham in Newark, New Jersey. During his nearly 40-year tenure at Temple Bínai Abraham, Dr. Prinz, who also served as Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, attracted a great following, primarily because of his outspoken views on both Judaism and on the events of the day. He saw the issue of civil rights as one of tremendous importance and related the struggle of African Americans to that of Jews seeking to repel majority oppression. The Rabbi Dr. Joachim Prinz collection at Cincinnatiís Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives contains recordings, photos and other materials relating to the life and work of Dr. Prinz providing compelling insights into some of the 20th centuryís most defining moments. 2008-2009 MARCUS CENTER FELLOWS: Avril Alba
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©1990-2006: The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
