By Elizabeth Thompson

The Gerald Schwartz & Heather Reisman Foundation is once again helping to expand horizons for students at Dalhousie University. Its latest gift supports the Simon and Riva Spatz Visiting Chair in Jewish Studies, a permanent position that will bring world-renowned scholars to the university for successive terms of one to two years.

“We are so happy to be able to support this very significant Chair that will contribute so much to the Faculty of Arts and Social Science. It is also the perfect complement to the Israel Exchange Program at Dalhousie,” says Gerald Schwartz, the foundation’s Chairman.

In 2014, the foundation funded the exchange program which sends Faculty of Management students to Israel to explore the country’s diverse history, culture and economy. Schwartz says that while the exchange program takes students off campus to gain new experiences, the Visiting Chair will offer students on campus a unique perspective.

“This Chair was also significant to us because it pays tribute to two very special people – Simon and Riva Spatz,” says Schwartz. Jim Spatz, past Chair of Dalhousie’s Board of Governors, established the position in honour of his parents, both Polish Jews who survived WWII in the forests of Europe.

“I’m extremely grateful for the Gerald Schwartz & Heather Reisman Foundation’s gift to the Simon and Riva Spatz Visiting Chair in Jewish Studies,” says Spatz. “My parents would be proud to be associated with a foundation that does such important work in Canada.”