The American Jewish Historical Society is pleased to award its 2022 Lee Max Friedman medal to Beth Wenger, Moritz and Josephine Berg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, School of Arts and Sciences. The Friedman Award, established in memory of a past AJHS president, biennially recognizes a scholar of American Jewish studies for excellence in research and teaching and service to the field.
Prof. Wenger ranks among the leading historians of American Jews in the United States and Israel, and is one of the most distinguished scholars of her generation. Her outstanding scholarship is matched by her leadership in several influential initiatives designed to disseminate knowledge of American Jewish history to a broad public, including books, films, and the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. Among her lengthy list of publications, Wenger has written pathbreaking books, including New York Jews and the Great Depression: Uncertain Promise; The Jewish Americans: Three Centuries of Jewish Voices in America; and History Lessons: The Creation of American Jewish Heritage.
Additionally, Wenger has displayed an almost peerless commitment to building and diversifying the field of American Jewish history. She developed thematic fellowship years at Penn's Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies and at the University of Michigan's Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies and has served as the chair of the Center for Jewish History's Academic Advisory Council. Finally, Wenger has contributed to the vitality of the AJHS, serving as the chair of its Academic Council from 2010-2014 and organizing two of its biennial conferences.
The Lee Max Friedman medal will be presented to Wenger at the 2022 Biennial Scholars Conference at Tulane University on Sunday, May 15, 2022.
The American Jewish Historical Society is pleased to award its 2022 Lee Max Friedman medal to BETH S. WENGER, Moritz and Josephine Berg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, School of Arts and Sciences. The Friedman Award, established in memory of a past AJHS president, biennially recognizes a scholar of American Jewish studies for excellence in research and teaching and service to the field.