The Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity was created to provide Western students with a global education rooted in the liberal arts that investigates the Holocaust, genocide, and crimes against humanity from various perspectives and academic disciplines. The institute also will address the state’s recommendation to teach the Holocaust in state public schools by giving future teachers in training at Western this much-needed background. And new courses will be created at Western as part of an anticipated academic minor in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. While the Institute will focus, first and foremost, on the Holocaust and genocide, broadening the scope of the institute to include crimes against humanity will enable the university to take advantage of additional expertise among Western faculty. Through teaching, research, and outreach, the institute will complement and add to already existing programs and entities on campus – for example. the Center for Education, Equity and Diversity at Woodring College, the Center for Law, Diversity and Justice at Fairhaven College, and the Institute for Global Engagement. The institute is named after retired Western Professor Ray Wolpow, faculty emeritus at WWU’s Woodring College of Education and founder of the Northwest Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Ethnocide Education (NWCHGEE) at Western. The NWCHGEE originally was established in 1998 to assist educators in the design, and implementation of Holocaust, genocide, and ethnocide-related studies.
“I am honored to have the institute bear my name. However, it is important to remember that our seminal work here at Western was possible only with the guidance of Holocaust survivors Noémi Ban, Fred Fragner, and Magda Dorman. It was their courage, their willingness to bear witness to unfathomable events, their dedication to the pursuit of painful truths that inspired faculty and students alike. I trust that our institute will continue to grow the knowledge, compassion and willingness to use the lessons of the past to advocate for the human rights of all people,” Wolpow said.
