The Shalem Center has received a $12.5 million challenge grant from the Tikvah Fund to help establish Israel’s first liberal arts college, the Jerusalem-based institution announced Tuesday.
The grant, intended to galvanize other major philanthropists to support the launching of Shalem College, provides a one-to-one match for gifts that are received during the college’s first four years. Shalem’s application for accreditation from Israel’s Council for Higher Education is pending, and it is anticipated that the college will open in fall 2012.
“We are profoundly grateful to the Tikvah Fund, which for over a decade has been the Shalem Center’s most generous backer,” said Yair Shamir, chairman of the Shalem Foundation Board.
While institutions of higher education in Israel generally focus on disciplinary study aimed at training students for careers, Shalem College will be the first college in Israel dedicated to a curriculum that will provide a common basis of knowledge and understanding for all students.
The program of study uses a “Great Books” approach to cover Western tradition, Jewish texts and ideas, and essential issues facing contemporary Israel.
Shalem College will initially offer a pair of majors specially created for Israeli society: An interdisciplinary program of Philosophy and Jewish Thought, which seeks to integrate the best of the Western and Jewish traditions; and a course of study in Middle East and Islamic Studies, presenting a gateway to understanding this critical region through intensive study of Arabic and of the foundational texts and ideas that play a pivotal role in shaping its future.
Roger Hertog, chairman of the board of the Tikvah Fund, said. “Tikvah, which means ‘hope’ in Hebrew, focuses on bringing the richness of Jewish ideas to the very best young minds. We try to invest in the people who are conceiving the best ideas, in the institutions that are transmitting them, and in the young minds that are receiving them.”