Sarah Pessin:

The Emil and Eva Hecht Chair in Judaic Studies
Director, University of Denver Center for Judaic Studies
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy

A scholar of Jewish philosophy and the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Sarah Pessin has published extensively within her field and on topics that engage her passions. Since coming to DU in 2004, she also has played a key role in developing an annual interfaith bridge-building workshop and DU’s Holocaust Memorial Social Action Site, the first phase of which is scheduled for completion in fall 2011.

In addition to continuing her research on comparative Jewish and Muslim philosophy and modern Jewish thought, Pessin aims to make the Holocaust Memorial Social Action Site a space for events that explore—and, in her words, “actualize”—universal ethical teachings. “What the Holocaust teaches about human responsibility is something with which all people need to wrestle,” she said, adding that the memorial looks forward to a better future by promoting social justice and reflection. “When people ask me what it looks like, I tell them that it looks like people learning, people engaged in intercultural dialogue and people dedicated to social justice. It really is about making the world a better place.”