Adelphi Receives Eduventures Innovation Award for Two Museums Program

Garden City, NY (06/27/2024) — Adelphi University's "Two Museum Trips to Build Tolerance and Understanding" project has received a prestigious Recognition of Achievement from the Eduventures Innovation Awards Program. The Two Museums program, which was launched in March 2023, aims to inspire students to stand united against racism and antisemitism through an educational trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the National Museum of African American History & Culture and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The program is offered in partnership with the International March of the Living (MOTL).

"It is a special honor to be one of only eight programs in the United States to be recognized by Eduventures," said David Machlis, PhD, associate professor of finance and economics at Adelphi and founder of the Two Museums program. "With the great impact and success of our pilot year of the Two Museums program, we have set ambitious goals for expanding nationally, and this award will be invaluable in those efforts."

For the past eight years, Eduventures-a leading national higher education research and advisory service-has recognized organizations and teams that are shaping the future of higher education. Entries are scored on value to the institution, innovation and relevance to the mission of the school.

"After successive years of challenges for higher education, it is important to recognize institutions who are still looking beyond their own operations to transform lives and communities," said Cara Quackenbush, Encoura's executive vice president of research. "We are delighted to honor colleges and universities who are creating important, innovative programs that promote student success, equity, and a stronger future for education."

Fabian Burrell, the coordinator for programming and community engagement for Adelphi's Center for African, Black and Caribbean Studies; who worked on the program, accepted the Recognition of Achievement Award on behalf of the University and Two Museums' team at the annual Innovation Awards Program at Eduventures Summit 2024 in Chicago, Illinois, on June 11.

"I was thrilled to represent Adelphi University in accepting this prestigious award in Chicago," said Burrell. "My connection to the Two Museums Program was one of my best collaborations on campus because it connected my two loves; my love in supporting Black students' social and emotional life and the opportunity to forge a true commitment to bringing together Black and Jewish students on our campus to foster positive relations. As I stood there accepting the award in Chicago I realized that Professor Machlis' vision for this program allowed me to also be "seen" and underpinned my sense of "belonging" in the Adelphi community."

With the success of the award-winning Two Museums Program, the organizers are developing a three-credit course based on the program and are planning to expand the experience beyond Adelphi by partnering with colleges and universities. There are also plans to create a program cohort of interns in the U.S. Congress and the White House in the coming academic year.

In addition to the Two Museums Program, in May, Machlis, in collaboration with the MOTL, brought university leaders to Poland for an intensive, multi-day trip and learning experience focused on the history of the Holocaust. The goal of the trip was for the leaders to become better equipped to support and respond to their students amidst the rise in antisemitism seen around the world.

There are plans to offer this program each year. Machlis' opening remarks to the higher education leaders on the trip were published by The Jerusalem Post.

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