College of Saint Elizabeth Names Dr. Harriet Sepinwall Professor of Holocaust Studies

The College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE) has appointed Dr. Harriet Sepinwall as professor Holocaust studies beginning in the fall 2010. In this new role, Dr. Sepinwall will continue to advance the mission of the Holocaust Education Resource Center (HERC) that was established in 1994 on the CSE campus at 2 Convent Road, Morristown.

The appointment of Dr. Sepinwall to her new position is another illustration of the College’s commitment to its mission of fostering just and ethical relationships in a spirit of service and social responsibility for others. Explains Dr. Jim Dlugos, vice president and dean for academic affairs, “The College of Saint Elizabeth Holocaust Resource Center aims to encourage remembrance of the Holocaust and to promote respect for diversity. By providing an opportunity for serious Jewish-Christian theological dialogue, it is opening doors through which many are experiencing mutual respect and understanding.”

Dr. Harriet Sepinwall, who has been professor of education and history at CSE since 1980, is a founding co-director of HERC, along with Sister Kathleen Flanagan, professor and director of the graduate program in theology.

“Sister Kathleen and I are so fortunate to have had the encouragement and support for this work from the leadership of the College who have had a special vision for what we needed to do to ensure that the work we did had integrity and support,” comments Dr. Sepinwall. “With this appointment, the College has shown confidence in us to continue this work. It is so amazing to have such wonderful encouragement for our work from so many on our campus, including students, faculty, staff, administration and alumni. We also count as our supporters the survivors who trust to tell their stories and the outstanding scholars who come to our campus from all over the United States and the world to help us educate others.”

Dr. Sepinwall has been involved in teacher education for many years, for both undergraduates and in-service teachers. She received her doctorate in educational foundations that included study of history, sociology, anthropology and philosophy of education from Rutgers University. Her teaching has included multicultural, human rights and Holocaust education. She has been involved in Holocaust education on campus, statewide, and nationally and has developed conferences, commemorations, and workshops for teaching about the Holocaust to diverse students and to the community. She has spoken and provided workshops for educators for many years, including annual presentations at the National Catholic Educational Association, and she presented a workshop at Yad Vashem’s International Education Conference in 2008 related to her work.

Dr. Sepinwall received a fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton for the American Civil Liberties at Times of Crisis program, and was chosen as a Wye Faculty Fellow. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the College of Saint Elizabeth Caritas Award and the Axelrod Award for teaching about the Holocaust and genocide, given by New Jersey-Anti-Defamation League (NJ-ADL) and the N.J. Commission on Holocaust Education. She is a member of the New Jersey-Israel Commission.

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at http://www.cse.edu/.