Scholarships offered by the
Judaic Studies Program

The Zarrow Family Scholarship for Judaic Studies was established by Jack and Henry Zarrow of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The Zarrow Families have been and continue to be strong supporters of not only the Judaic Studies Program, but the University as a whole.  The Zarrow Family Scholarship provides important educational opportunities to undergraduate, graduate and exchange students and serves to enrich the Judaic Studies Program.

The winner of the scholarship for the 2007-2008 academic year is Eric Cohn, a junior majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Judaic Studies, from Flower Mound, Texas.  Eric is president of the student organization, Sooners for Israel and a founding member of OU’s Jewish fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Phi.  His plans for Summer ’07 include serving an internship with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Houston.

The Esther Rose Shnier XI Chapter of Sigma Delta Tau Scholarship was established by the XI Chapter of the Sigma Delta Tau Sorority, a Jewish sorority formerly a part of the University of Oklahoma campus.  Esther Rose Shnier was a devoted and well-loved Sigma Delta Tau member who was initiated in 1934 and continued to serve the XI Chapter throughout her life.  When the XI Chapter left the OU campus, she was instrumental in selling the sorority house and shepherding the money until, according to the national by-laws, the funds had to be given to the coffers of the national office.  At the insistence of the corporate officers of the XI Chapter Building Fund, part of the money was retained, transferred and dedicated to the University to establish the scholarship in Esther’s and the Chapter’s names.

This $5,000 award for the 2007-2008 academic year was shared by two students:  Aaron Friedman, a junior majoring in Psychology with a minor in Judaic Studies from Richardson, Texas, and Lance Friedensohn, a Religious Studies senior with a minor in Judaic Studies from Arlington, Texas.

Applications for both scholarships are taken in the spring for $5,000 awards for the coming academic year.