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Renowned scholar appointed to chair in Contemporary Jewish Life and Culture

21 November 2007

Associate Professor Leah Garrett is due to take up the Loti Smorgon Research Chair in Contemporary Jewish Life and Culture at Monash next year.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard Larkins, recently announced the appointment of Associate Professor Leah Garrett to the Loti Smorgon Research Chair in Contemporary Jewish Life and Culture, at the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation.

Professor Larkins said Professor Garrett, who will take up the position in April next year, was an outstanding appointee.

"Professor Garrett is a respected scholar in the field of contemporary Jewish studies who will provide the highest calibre research and teaching. She has written extensively about Jewish literature and Jewish culture in the Diaspora," Professor Larkins said.

Leah Garrett comes to Monash from the University of Denver in Colorado, USA where she is currently an Associate Professor of Judaic Studies and English Literature.

Professor Garrett completed her postgraduate studies at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. She has been awarded a number of prestigious fellowships including a Fulbright Fellowship, which enabled her to spend a year at Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Professor Larkins said the appointment was only possible because of the generosity of Loti and Victor Smorgon, who made an endowment to support the Chair in perpetuity.

"Monash University has been very fortunate to secure such an accomplished appointee as Professor Garrett. This has been entirely due to the vision and philanthropic spirit of Loti and Victor Smorgon," Professor Larkins said.

"I am sure I speak for the entire Monash community when I extend our sincere thanks to them."

Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Rae Frances, said the appointment would provide many opportunities for Monash.

"Professor Garrett's experience will be a substantial asset to the Faculty of Arts and the University. She will undoubtedly work closely with other schools within Arts, such as English, Communications and Performance Studies, benefiting many students and enhancing the Faculty's research profile," Professor Frances said.

The Acting Director of the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Professor David Copolov, said Professor Garrett's appointment would further Monash University's aim to become one of the world's leading centres for education and research in Judaic studies.

"Professor Garrett will advance new streams of research and will add considerably to programs for postgraduate students," Professor Copolov said.

"She has particular strengths in comparative literature and as a scholar of Yiddish - the historically and culturally rich language of Central and Eastern European Jewry, also spoken by many Jews in countries that have played a major role in the Diaspora, including Australia."