Helen Diller Family Programs in Jewish Studies

The Helen Diller Family Program was created to ensure the future excellence of Jewish and Israel Studies on the UC Berkeley campus. Established in 2002 through gifts from the Helen and Sanford Diller Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund, the program was created with two components: the Helen Diller Family Program in Jewish Studies, administered by Jewish Studies, and the Helen Diller Family Program in Israel Studies, administered by the Center for Middle East Studies.

1.The Helen Diller Family Grants Program in Jewish Studies

The Helen Diller Family Grants Program in Jewish Studies awards grants to support research and teaching in Jewish Studies in the College of Letters and Science at UC Berkeley. The purpose of the Diller Grants is to bring campus-wide attention to Jewish Studies and to stimulate interest in pursuing research and/or teaching in related areas. The Diller Grants support an annual competitive grants program for undergraduates, graduates, post-doctoral students, and faculty. Stipends and awards shall be made for research, travel, fieldwork, innovative teaching, and curricular development in Jewish Studies. Recipients must demonstrate outstanding academic ability and promise in the area of Jewish Studies. This grant opportunity is only available to current UC Berkeley students.  Calls for proposals are sent out annually.

2.The Helen Diller Family Fellowships in Jewish Studies

The Helen Diller Family Fellowship in Jewish Studies provides financial aid to support meritorious graduate students focusing on Jewish Studies in the College of Letters and Science at UC Berkeley. The purpose of these fellowships is to attract top-caliber graduate students who might otherwise be drawn to other universities able to offer more generous support. This fellowship is administered annually by a faculty committee.

3.The Helen Diller Family Visiting Israeli Scholar in Jewish Studies

This new program will bring to campus a high-potential Israeli post-doctoral teaching fellow in Jewish Studies. Nominations will be solicited from Israel. Similar to the prestigious Andrew W. Mellon and American Council of Learned Societies post-doctoral teaching programs in the humanities, Diller Family Scholars will spend one to two years at UC Berkeley and will be required to teach two courses per year and participate in the activities of the Jewish Studies Program. The Diller Family Scholar will offer an annual public lecture about his/her post-doctoral research. For more information please contact Erik Nelson at erik_nelson@berkeley.edu.