Holocaust Resource Center sets first lecture of the year

Dr. Eric Reeves, professor of English language and literature at Smith College, will open the fall program of Manhattan College's Holocaust Resource Center with the lecture "A Long Day's Dying: Genocide by Attrition in Darfur" on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 7:30 p.m., in Smith Auditorium.

The free event, open to the public, is co-sponsored by JustPeace, a student group dedicated to spreading awareness of social issues worldwide, and by the student government of Manhattan College.

Dr. Reeves is internationally recognized for his knowledge of current events in Sudan and is the author of the 2007 book A Long Day's Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide. He is a longtime public advocate of issues related to Darfur and has spent the last eight years working as a Sudan researcher and analyst. Dr. Reeves has testified several times before Congress and has served as a consultant to a number of human rights and humanitarian organizations operating in Sudan.

The Holocaust Resource Center is continuing its programs under the new leadership of Dr. Jeff Horn, associate professor of history at Manhattan College. Dr. Horn has assumed the role as the center's director, and the college is currently working to establish a leadership team and board of advisors to help oversee all future programs and lectures.

Dr. Horn succeeds Dr. Frederick M. Schweitzer as director. Dr. Schweitzer was the instrumental voice in launching the Holocaust Resource Center and overseeing its activities for more than a decade. A professor emeritus of history, Dr. Schweitzer has been a member of the Manhattan College community for nearly half a century.

"I am humbled to follow Frederick Schweitzer's example in maintaining the strong links between Manhattan College and the Riverdale community," Dr. Horn said. "It is my hope, or intention, to emphasize this link even more. The campus community joins me in believing that the Holocaust and other genocides must be studied, understood and never forgotten."

Under Dr. Horn's direction, the Holocaust Resource Center will initially hold two public events per academic year, including the Frederick M. Schweitzer Lecture on the Holocaust and Genocide, which will be inaugurated in fall 2008. On Tuesday, Nov. 6, the center will commemorate Kristallnacht, or "The Night of Broken Glass," a massive, coordinated attack on synagogues and Jewish businesses throughout the German Reich on the night of Nov. 9, 1938. The public program will feature the premier of two educational DVDs in which Manhattan College students interview local Holocaust survivors.

For more information about Dr. Reeves' lecture or the Holocaust Resource Center, call Dr. Horn at 718-862-7129 or e-mail jeff.horn@ manhattan.edu.

This is part of the September 20, 2007 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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