The Wexner Foundation > Wexner Fellows/Davidson Scholars

The Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program was established in 1988 by The Foundation to encourage promising candidates to successfully meet the challenges of professional Jewish leadership in the North American Jewish community. Wexner Graduate Fellowships are awarded to 20 outstanding individuals who seek to prepare themselves through graduate training for careers in THE CANTORATE, JEWISH EDUCATION, JEWISH PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP (formerly Jewish Communal Service), JEWISH STUDIES, AND THE RABBINATE.

In 2005, Leslie and Abigail Wexner launched an exciting philanthropic partnership with William and Karen Davidson through the financial support of Guardian Industries Corp. This new partnership established an annual cohort of 10 Davidson Scholars as part of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship. Owing to this collaboration, 10 fellows in each new fellowship class will be selected in the career areas of Jewish education and Jewish communal leadership. This fully integrated cohort within the fellowship will be designated as Davidson Scholars. *

*The privileges, awards and responsibilities of Wexner Graduate Fellows as described here always include, by definition, Davidson Scholars. A Jewish Education or Jewish Professional Leadership Fellow will, upon being selected as a Wexner Graduate Fellow, be designated as a Davidson Scholar within the Wexner Graduate Fellowship.

Wexner Graduate Fellows pursuing careers in the Rabbinate, Cantorate, Jewish Professional Leadership, and Jewish Education will be awarded $20,000 each year for a two-year term with the possibility to renew for a third year.
Wexner Graduate Fellows pursuing careers in Jewish Studies will be expected to secure funding through their graduate programs (generally from the university itself) and will, in addition, receive $5,000 annually from the Foundation.
Fellowships are granted for full-time graduate study in qualifying academic programs. They are granted for up to three years. Each year of funding is contingent upon evidence of satisfactory academic achievement and fellowship participation.
Fellows will participate in four years of Fellowship-wide Institutes regardless of funding status. Summer Institutes are normally the third week in August and Winter Institutes are normally the week of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday. In the third year of the Fellowship fellows will participate in a mid-Fellowship retreat as a class which normally is in the second week of November over Shabbat.

In addition to financial awards, all Wexner Graduate Fellows are required to participate in Foundation sponsored, interdisciplinary institutes and programs. The purpose of these programs is to build a cohesive community of Fellows while enhancing the leadership skills of each individual Fellow. The Foundation conducts two required institutes for Fellows each year for four years regardless of the length of funding; one in late summer and one in January and a five day retreat over Shabbat in November of the third year of the fellowship. All Fellows are afforded unique opportunities for ongoing interaction with outstanding Jewish leaders and for extensive interchange with each other. Fellows participate in an experience which has proven to be of enduring benefit. Our Fellows receive leadership training, peer support, professional mentoring, and networking across career choices and denominational affiliations, both during school and throughout their lives.

Wexner Graduate Fellowships are granted to exceptional candidates who have a strong personal commitment to the Jewish community, who have demonstrated excellence in academic achievement, and who possess the potential to assume significant professional leadership roles in the North American Jewish Community.

Rabbi B. Elka Abrahamson, Vice President, Leadership Programs oversees all three leadership initiatives of The Wexner Foundation. The Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program is directed by Or Mars.