The Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies elevated its distinction in the region and country following a “transformative gift” from Rick Cohen and Jan Cohen that has created a new Cohen Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, according to a September 12 press release from Keene State.
The institute will expand opportunities for research, scholarship and thought leadership, according to the release.
Cohen Center Director Kate Gibeault said in the press release the gift will benefit students and community members alike.
“Hundreds of Keene State College students will benefit directly from the Institute’s offerings, and beyond campus, the Institute’s impact will be exponential, with funded opportunities for youth leadership initiatives, new forms of support for local educators, and more,” Gibeault said in the release.
In an interview with The Equinox, KSC President Melinda Treadwell said the conversations about the institute began two years ago.
Treadwell said at the time she spoke with Gibeault to conceptualize what an institute would mean to the college and its broader mission of genocide prevention.
“What an institute allows us to do and what the Cohens have supported us in is moving beyond the initial launch of the Cohen Center … to now support programming in very real ways,” Treadwell said.
She added current use-funds from the Keene Endowment Association would be used to kickstart the institute’s creation and the gift would be given in perpetuity to maintain the institute.
In an interview with The Equinox, Jan Cohen, who along with Rick Cohen is the benefactor that made the institute possible, said the gift will be delivered over the course of four years, with 2024 being the first year.
“It will take four years to fully ramp up to be able to do all of the things that we want to do,” Jan Cohen said. “We’re starting off in a pretty strong position to be able to do one or two major new initiatives next year,” she added.
Jan Cohen said she was involved with the discussions of creating an institute over the course of the past year, and Gibeault was a large part of the push to make it happen.
“That conversation, I think, developed into kind of a wish list and a dream to take the center even farther than it’s gone, which is sort of beyond my wildest imagination, and certainly Professor Charles Hildebrandt’s wildest imagination back in 1983,” Jan Cohen said. Hildebrandt was the former professor who originally founded the center.
Jan Cohen reflected on the importance of studying genocide.
“We wish it didn’t have to exist. We wish there were no such thing as genocide, but there is, so we want to help bring awareness to the conditions, the causes and certainly the consequences of genocidal activity around the world and in an effort to be able to try to prevent it from happening,” Jan Cohen said.
When the Holocaust and Genocide Studies undergraduate program launched in 2009 at the college, it was the first of its kind in the nation. Along with the new institute, the academic program also added a master’s offering and a graduate certificate course of study, which will expand the distinction of the center at Keene State.
Nathan Hope can be contacted at
nhope@kscequinox.com
