21st Century Schusterman Center

21st Century Schusterman Center
Name	21st Century Schusterman Center
Established	2000s
Location	Tulsa, Oklahoma
Type	Research center
Director	Unspecified
Affiliations	University of Oklahoma, University of Tulsa

21st Century Schusterman Center The 21st Century Schusterman Center is a multidisciplinary research and programmatic hub associated with Jewish studies, public policy, and philanthropic initiatives. It operates at the intersection of academic research, cultural preservation, and civic programming, engaging with institutions across North America, Europe, Israel, and global Jewish networks. The Center collaborates with universities, museums, foundations, and communal organizations to advance scholarship, leadership training, and community outreach.

Overview

The Center convenes scholars from University of Oklahoma, University of Tulsa, Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Brandeis University, Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, University College London, Oxford University, Cambridge University, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers University, University of Michigan, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University, Duke University, McGill University, University of Toronto, Monash University, Australian National University, Tel Aviv Foundation, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federations of North America, World Jewish Congress, Israel Policy Forum, Hillel International, B'nai B'rith International, Museum of Jewish Heritage, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Yad Vashem, Skirball Cultural Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Endowment for the Humanities, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation to host seminars, fellowships, and exhibitions.

History and Development

Founded in the early 21st century with support from philanthropic organizations and family foundations, the Center drew funding and leadership connections to the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, Schusterman Philanthropies, William Davidson Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Rozanne and Paul Milstein, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Rockefeller Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Koch Family Foundations, MacArthur Foundation and major Jewish communal donors. Early partnerships included programmatic exchanges with Hebrew Union College, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Yeshiva University, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Zionist Organization of America, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, J Street, Peace Now, and Peres Center for Peace for convenings on identity, diaspora, and Israel-related policy. Conferences and publications involved editors and contributors from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, The New Yorker, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Forward (Jewish American publication), Tablet Magazine.

Facilities and Programs

The Center maintains lecture halls, archival repositories, digital humanities labs, and residency spaces adjacent to campuses and cultural partners such as Philbrook Museum of Art, Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa Historical Society, Skirball Cultural Center, Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, British Library, National Archives and Records Administration, Yad Vashem Archives, Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People. Programs include fellowships, postdoctoral appointments, visiting professorships, leadership training for campus professionals working with Hillel International, clergy development with Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbinical Assembly, Central Conference of American Rabbis, youth initiatives with BBYO, Onward Israel, Birthright Israel, Taglit-Birthright Israel, and teacher training in collaboration with Beit Midrash programs and seminaries such as Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Research and Academic Partnerships

Research initiatives engage transdisciplinary teams from Department of History, University of Oklahoma, School of International and Area Studies, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard, Judaic Studies Program, Yale, Institute for Advanced Study, Center for Jewish History, American Jewish Archives, Stanford Humanities Center, Harvard Divinity School, Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, European University Institute, Sciences Po, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Institut d'études politiques de Paris, German Historical Institute, Hebrew University’s Mandel School, Ben-Gurion Research Institute, Tel Aviv University’s Porter School of Environmental Studies for projects on diaspora studies, memory studies, digital archiving, and public humanities. Grants and joint publications have been produced with editorial partners at Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Brandeis University Press, Syracuse University Press, University of Chicago Press, Princeton University Press, Stanford University Press, Columbia University Press.

Community Engagement and Impact

Public programming has included partnerships with municipal governments such as City of Tulsa, cultural festivals like Tulsa International Mayfest, Jewish Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival satellite events, and civic organizations including Chamber of Commerce (Tulsa), Tulsa Regional Chamber, United Way of Greater Tulsa, Tulsa Foundation, Arts District Tulsa. Outreach has connected with diasporic communities via World Jewish Congress, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Joint Distribution Committee, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, International Sephardic Federation, Sephardic Heritage Museum and engaged public audiences through collaborations with PBS, NPR, BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Associated Press.

Governance and Funding

The Center's governance structure reflects boards, advisory councils, and donor constituencies drawn from leaders at University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, University of Tulsa Board of Trustees, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies (other institutions), Jewish Federations of North America, Council on Foreign Relations, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Humanities Alliance, Association of American Universities, Modern Language Association, American Historical Association. Funding streams combine endowed gifts, project grants from National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, program support from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Gates Foundation, and partnerships with private donors including philanthropic families and communal foundations.

Category:Research institutes in Oklahoma