A $1.5 million distinguished professorship in Jewish studies at UNC-Chapel Hill will be named in honor of alumnus Stuart E. Eizenstat ’64, who served as the lead negotiator for Holocaust reparation agreements and deputy secretary of the treasury during the Clinton administration.
The Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat Distinguished Professorship in Jewish History and Culture will be in the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences.
Eizenstat will give a free public lecture at 3:30 p.m. March 28 in the auditorium of Hanes Art Center, near the corner of Franklin and Columbia streets. In his talk, “The Next Half Century,” Eizenstat will discuss challenges that Carolina graduates will face in the next 50 years.
Eizenstat helped acquire more than $8 billion in compensation from European companies for victims of the Holocaust and Nazi era. His book, “Imperfect Justice: Looted Assets, Slave Labor and the Unfinished Business of World War II,” tells about securing property restitution, insurance payments and reclamation of looted art and bank accounts.
David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and managing director of The Carlyle Group in Washington, D.C., has pledged $500,000 to help establish the UNC professorship.
Rubenstein was deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy during the Carter administration, when Eizenstat served as chief domestic policy adviser and executive director of the White House domestic policy staff.
“Stu’s service to our country and to the Jewish community are without parallel,” said Rubenstein. “I had the privilege of working with him for four years and I have observed his dedication to humanity. It’s appropriate that he be recognized in this way by the University he loves and the community he has served so well.”
Eizenstat graduated from UNC in 1964 Phi Beta Kappa and Cum Laude with a degree in political science. He received an honorary degree from the University and was commencement speaker in 2000. He is currently a partner at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Covington and Burling LLP.
“I am humbled and deeply grateful that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which has played such a formative role in my life, would honor me with this distinguished professorship,” Eizenstat said. “The remarkable gift by my former White House colleague and friend David Rubenstein has catalyzed a nationwide and indeed worldwide outpouring of support from my friends. I have always combined an active involvement in the secular and political world with a deep engagement and commitment to strengthen the Jewish community in the U.S. and around the world. This professorship will bring both aspects of my career together by deepening awareness of the contributions of Jewish history and culture to the world and to the Jewish community itself at the University I love.”
Eizenstat has held high-level positions during the last three Democratic presidencies. During the Clinton years, he was also under secretary of state and under secretary of commerce, and served as U.S. ambassador to the European Union. In addition to his domestic policy leadership during the Carter years, Eizenstat was a White House aide on domestic policy issues during the Johnson administration.
In addition to the Rubenstein gift, the professorship is being funded by additional contributions totaling over $500,000 from many private donors, and it will be eligible for $500,000 in matching funds from the N.C. Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund.
When the Eizenstat professorship endowment is fully funded, the College will search for a rising scholar in modern Jewish history to fill the position.
“We are so grateful to David Rubenstein and the many friends who have contributed generously to this effort to honor Stuart Eizenstat, an extraordinary alumnus, leader and humanitarian,” said Holden Thorp, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The Eizenstat Distinguished Professorship will enhance the vitality and growth of Jewish studies at UNC for generations to come,”
Established in 2003, the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies unites the general public, students and faculty who share a common passion for a deeper understanding of Jewish history, culture and thought. Drawing on College faculty from many disciplines, the Center provides undergraduate academic minors in Jewish studies and modern Hebrew and sponsors a lecture series by leading experts in Jewish studies. Eizenstat serves on the Advisory Board for the Center.
