Approximately 30 years ago, the Swig family
founded the first Judaic Studies chair at a Catholic
University in the United States;
a Judaic Studies program was founded shortly thereafter. In August 2008 the
program was re-launched as the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social
Justice, the first formal academic program of its kind in the United States.
Including a new university minor in Jewish Studies and Social Justice, this
program engages students in both theoretical and practical applications of what
it means to be a Jewish social justice activist, empowering participants to
transform our world into its potential. On campus, this program offers classes
in Judaism, Jewish Culture, Jewish Thought, Jewish-Muslim and
Jewish-Christian relations, and an intensive Hebrew language summer
course, among others. Yet this program also extends beyond the university
classrooms to the larger Bay Area community through educational programs
focusing on social justice issues.
