$3M Gift from Samueli Foundation to Endow Chapman University’s Holocaust Art & Writing Contest

For 25 years, the Annual Holocaust Art & Writing Contest presented by Chapman University and The 1939 Society has provided an opportunity for students in high school and middle school to learn about the Holocaust by asking them to engage with first-person accounts from survivors and to produce their own creative work in response.

Now, a $3 million endowment from the Samueli Foundation will ensure that the contest will be able to continue its mission of educating future generations about the lives and experiences of Holocaust survivors. Drs. Susan and Henry Samueli are long-time supporters of our great institution. The Samuelis, and their foundation, The Samueli Foundation, have sponsored Chapman’s contest for 20 years. This $3 million endowment ensures the contest will continue in perpetuity. The contest will also be renamed the Sala and Aron Samueli Art & Writing Contest presented by Chapman University and the 1939 Society. The renaming honors Mr. Samueli’s parents, both of whom were Holocaust survivors and whose names appear on our Holocaust Memorial Library, established by the Samuelis in 2005.

“In many ways, endowed support is like a life insurance policy for something you truly believe in and that is integral to the identity of an institution,” said Marilyn Harran, who is the founding director of Chapman’s Rodgers Center for Holocaust History and holds the Stern Chair in Holocaust Education in Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

Harran has conceptualized and directed the contest since it was launched in academic year 1999-2000. While at first only local Orange County schools took part, participation soon grew throughout California, the U.S., and eventually around the globe. Last year, 7,000 students participated from 161 schools in more than 30 states and 10 countries.

“I’ve seen the Annual Holocaust Art & Writing Contest grow from a small, local event to a national and now international program. This additional financial support assures that we are building on its decades-long success and helps to guarantee there will be a future for it,” she said.

Read the full article at Chapman University.