Queensborough to dedicate Holocaust Center

Thanks to the largest grant in school history, a generous $1 million donation, Queensborough Community College will be able to further enhance their Holocaust Center and move into a more desirable location. The Bayside college will also honor the donator, Harriet Kupferberg of Malba, a member of the Board of Queensborough College Fund Inc. for over 30 years, naming the site after Kupferberg and her late husband, Kenneth, a former Queensborough graduate.
The Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives will be officially renamed on September 18, in conjunction with the official ground breaking of the facility, albeit without shovels breaking actual ground. &#8220He was a very outstanding community leader and he cared about civic affairs,” Kupferberg said of her husband. &#8220I think he would like that I was doing this.”
At the ceremony, Harriet Kupferberg's two children, Mark and Anne, will be on hand, as will six of her grandchildren, including the youngest one, Kenneth, named after her late husband. Kupferberg said she gave the historic grant so Holocaust survivors' &#8220words and messages will not be forgotten.”
&#8220Over the last 100 years, from the Armenian genocide in 1915 to the events in Darfur today, genocide has been a part of the world we live in,” said Eduardo J. Mart, Ph.D., President of Queensborough Community College. &#8220The Kupferberg Center demonstrates our commitment to learning the lessons of the Holocaust. The mission of the Center is to educate current and future generations about the ramifications of unbridled prejudice, racism and stereotyping.”
Capital funds have been secured to create a new, 7,000 square foot permanent home for the Center, now located in the Schmeller Library. Scheduled to open in the spring of 2008, it will be a unique architectural statement. Its theme will be &#8220Let There Be Light,” featuring dramatic use of glass to symbolize awareness, hope and the lasting memory of those who were victims of the Holocaust. The Queensborough Community College Fund, Inc. is in the midst of a $5 Million fundraising drive to secure the ongoing operation of the Kupferberg Center.
The Kupferberg Center includes a series of materials, programs, exhibits and historical information on the Holocaust and other instances of genocide. With their collection of Holocaust history, the Center is the only one of its kind in an educational setting in New York City, creating customized exhibits and serving thousands annually.
The Kupferberg Center tells the story of the Holocaust in the voices of Holocaust survivors, with exhibits developed by scholars. The Center also provides extensive teaching and learning materials for use in schools around the nation. &#8220We view the Holocaust Center as a learning laboratory - for our students, the local community, and the country,” said Dr. Mart. &#8220This is particularly appropriate given the diversity of the College - with over 12,000 students representing over 135 countries - and the Queens community itself. More than ever we need to celebrate people's individual differences and understand the value of immigrants to our culture and the role they play in making ours the great country that it is.”
For more information on the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives please call the Office for Institutional Advancement at 718-281-5144.