As the premiere outreach event of the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, the Greenfield Summer Institute demonstrates our commitment to lifelong learning and testifies to the vision, legacy, and generosity of Center founders Laurence Weinstein and George Mosse. The Greenfield Summer Institute was the brainchild of Lawrence Greenfield, a member of the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies Board of Visitors, who first proposed the idea of an adult summer institute in the mid-1990s. The first Greenfield Summer Institute in 2000 brought together people from the Madison community and beyond to participate in a unique blend of continuing education, entertainment, and fellowship.

Now underwritten by the generosity of Larry and Ros Greenfield, the Institute showcases the research of UW–Madison faculty and acclaimed Jewish Studies scholars from around the country. Each year the Institute’s lectures center around a theme (past years’ themes have included Jewish identity, Jews and politics, the “Wandering Jew,” Jewish Studies and the arts, Jews and gender, Israel, European Jewry, and American Jewish history). In addition to lectures that explore the year’s theme in depth, the Institute also features concerts, dinners, and other opportunities to socialize.

This year’s program, Jews and Science, will examine the Jewish world's relation to science and scientific understanding from antiquity to the modern period. Speakers will include mathematician and New York Times bestselling author Jordan Ellenberg, National Jewish Book Award winner Stuart Rojstaczer, and founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at UW-Madison Richard Davidson.

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