Yaron Ayalon, PhD, named Director of the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies

Yaron Ayalon

The Bennett Center for Judaic Studies is an academic center that inspires intellectual, cultural, and spiritual dialogue throughout the Fairfield University community.

Continuing the vision of Carl and Dorothy Bennett, the Center promotes learning experiences and campuswide awareness about Jewish history, ethical values, and religious observances.

Effective September 1, Yaron Ayalon, PhD, begins his new role as director of the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, and as a professor of religious studies. Dr. Ayalon received his bachelor of arts in Middle East history and education from Tel Aviv University, and his doctorate in Near Eastern studies from Princeton University in 2009. His expertise includes Sephardic Jews, the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East, and Isreal, using an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates history, psychology, sociology, climate science, and disaster studies.

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He is the author of two books: Ottoman Jewry: Leadership, Charity, and Literacy (Brill, 2024), and Natural Disasters in the Ottoman Empire: Plague, Famine, and Other Misfortunes (Cambridge, 2015). Dr. Ayalon has written more than 20 articles and has served as an editor for the Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Additionally, from 2020-24 he co-chaired the Sephardi/Mizrahi division of the Association for Jewish Studies.

Dr. Ayalon comes to Fairfield after an academic career at four institutions. For more than five years, he served as director of the Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies program at the College of Charleston. “I look forward to bringing an innovative approach to the Bennett Center, while also working with University officials on recruiting more Jewish students to attend Fairfield. At these tumultuous times, as the atmosphere on so many college campuses—especially in the Northeast—is extremely challenging for Jewish students, Fairfield offers a safe and exciting space for rigorous learning, networking, and professional growth,” said Dr. Ayalon.

With a goal to establish the Bennett Center’s prominence and to lead with innovation, Dr. Ayalon places great value on the school’s commitment to expanding human knowledge and deepening human understanding.

Looking ahead to the 2025-26 academic year, Dr. Ayalon and outgoing director Glenn Dynner, PhD, have organized a diverse lineup of events to promote meaningful discussion on contemporary issues within the Jewish community. The Bennett Center works in collaboration with the Judaic Studies program, the Center for Catholic Studies, Campus Ministry, the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, local Jewish community organizations, and others.

Fall 2025 Bennett Center Lectures:

On Sept. 18 at 5:30 p.m. in the Kelley Presentation Room, Alan Verskin, PhD, will deliver the annual Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Scholar-in-Residence Lecture, titled “Forging Intellectual Bonds: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Encounters in the Middle Ages.”
On Oct. 16 at 5:30 p.m. in the Kelley Presentation Room, Kenneth Stein, PhD, will speak on “Israel@77 Through a Lens of October 7, 2023” at the annual Joan and Henry Katz Lecture in Judaic Studies.
On Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra and the Avalon String Quartet will perform Betty Olivero’s live score for Paul Wegener’s silent film Der Golem at the annual Daniel Pearl Memorial Concert.
On Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. at Temple Beth El, located at 350 Roxbury Road in Stamford, Conn., a music overview, “The History Of The American Yiddish Theater”, will be performed with Zalmen Mlotek, artistic director of the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene.

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Yaron Ayalon, PhD, named Director of the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies