An Educational Journey for College Presidents Focuses on the Lessons of Holocaust

Associate Professor David Machlis, PhD, took a group of university leaders to Poland this spring to study not only the Holocaust but the roots of hatred. A few weeks later, Dr. Machlis's Two Museums Program for Adelphi students won a national award for its efforts to build understanding and combat intolerance.

David Machlis, PhD, associate professor of finance and economics and winner of the inaugural Adelphi President's Humanitarian Award, has decades of experience bringing people together to combat hatred and intolerance. This May, at a time of rising antisemitic incidents on college campuses, he hosted a group of six college presidents from the United States and Canada on a trip to Poland to understand how "the significance of the Holocaust can help to contextualize and deepen an understanding of the historical roots of antisemitism-and racism and all forms of hatred."

The experience was sponsored by the International March of the Living, an annual educational program that has brought nearly 300,000 people from around the world to Poland and Israel to study the history of the Holocaust. As co-founder and vice chairman of the organization, Dr. Machlis created a special, inaugural delegation of university presidents to attend this year's event.

"We have seen the lowest depths humanity is capable of plumbing-and we dare not tread down that treacherous road again," Dr. Machlis said in his speech welcoming the university leaders. "We must commit ourselves to these twin goals: the fight against antisemitism and the fight against all forms of discrimination and marginalization."

An experience with monumental impact

Over the course of four days-including Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day-Dr. Machlis and the six members of the group attended intensive seminars led by Holocaust scholar Steven T. Katz, PhD, took guided tours through museums and memorials, met with Polish academic leaders and students, and heard firsthand accounts from Holocaust survivors.

Eva Kuper, a Holocaust survivor who took part in the trip, said, "This was a unique trip for me with such a cohesive and intimate group of people who were so open to learning, to sharing the experience and to hopefully taking it back to their home bases. I have never before traveled with a mixed group of several religious and international backgrounds before and it was very special, for me and I am sure for everyone."

The experience provided the group-which was to include an additional three college presidents who withdrew from the program due to protests on their campuses over the war in Gaza-with the opportunity to not just learn about the Holocaust but also to learn from each other and develop strategies to address the complexities of antisemitism, racism and intolerance.

"The impact of this program already has been, and will continue to be, monumental," said Towson University President Mark R. Ginsberg, PhD. "Institutions of higher education are cathedrals for learning, and also settings for the maturation and development of their students. It is more important than ever since the 1940s to learn the lessons of history while being certain that 'never again' will mean 'never again.'"

Two museums, one humanitarian mission

Another program developed by Dr. Machlis, Two Museums Program: United We Stand, recently won a prestigious Recognition of Achievement from the Eduventures Innovation Awards Program.

Launched in March 2023, the Adelphi program brings together groups of Black students and Jewish students to promote mutual understanding and unite them in the fight against racism, antisemitism and all forms of hatred. The centerpiece of the program is an educational trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the National Museum of African American History & Culture and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Offered in partnership with the International March of the Living, Two Museums reflects Adelphi's core commitment to promoting diversity and understanding.

Dr. Machlis and his organizing team now plan to develop a 3-credit course based on the program and expand it to other colleges and universities. He is also working on taking the program nationally by offering it to the more than 10,000 students from across the country who serve as congressional interns in Washington, D.C., each year.

Dr. Machlis-who won Adelphi's Teaching Excellence Award in 2018 and entered his 58th year on the University's faculty in August-hopes his inaugural March of the Living event for college presidents will serve as a model for future missions from the organization. This will be particularly essential as colleges and universities continue to navigate issues of antisemitism and hate speech on campus.

As Dr. Machlis said, "The Holocaust is not just a Jewish issue-it is a universal issue. We must learn from the past so that a more tolerant and just society evolves for the betterment of all humankind. We must embrace the past to ensure the future."