May 19, 2003

Mazel tov! Two students are SFSU's first-ever recipients of a bachelor's degree in modern Jewish studies.

Elaine Hesselroth (left) and Daniel Brown (center) are among the 7,378 students who will receive degrees from SFSU this month.

"Elaine and Daniel have distinguished themselves in my Jewish Studies courses," said Jewish Studies Acting Director Marc Dollinger (right), Richard and Rhoda Goldman Chair in Jewish Studies and Social Responsibility. "Elaine has enrolled in every course I offered this year, challenging her classmates and instructor to rethink many common assumptions about Jewish life and identity. Daniel brings a wealth of information to our class on the Jewish family and has become an informal tutor on all matters Jewish."

The modern Jewish studies degree program, first discussed in 1996 and established in fall 2002, is a consortium among SFSU, San Diego State University and California State University, Chico. It is the first such degree in the 23-campus CSU system.

For more information about the Jewish Studies Program, call (415) 338-6075, send e-mail to jewish@sfsu.edu, or visit its Web site.

For more on Hesselroth and Brown, see the press release.

For more on SFSU's 102nd Commencement ceremony to be held Saturday, May 24, visit the Web site.

Photos: Gino De Grandis.