A gift from the Mayberg Foundation will fund a new center for Jewish education and professional leadership, a University release announced Thursday.

The Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership will be housed in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development. Center leaders will work with the Consortium for Applied Students in Jewish Education and the GSEHD master’s program in Experiential Education and Jewish Cultural Arts to connect academic work with the work of Jewish organizations around the country, according to the release.

Michael Feuer, GSEHD dean, said in the release that the center will expand the school’s work to connect scholarship with community engagement.

“Pressing questions revolve around the meanings of Jewish identity, the role of formal and informal communal organizations and the future of ‘Jewish literacy,’” Feuer said.

Erica Brown, an associate professor of education and human development, was tapped to direct the center. In this position, Brown will design and teach courses, implement a research agenda, and lead the center in its efforts to provide graduate education, workshops and public programs, according to the release.

In addition to holding advanced degrees in education and Jewish studies, Brown has been a leader in many Jewish non-profit organizations, the release state.

Louis Mayberg, BBA ’83, and his wife, Manette Mayberg, created the Mayberg Foundation and provided the gift of an undisclosed amount, which will fund programming, academic and administrative expenses for the center and begin an endowment to ensure that its operations continue.

Louis Mayberg said in the release that his experience as a student under GW’s rigorous academic curriculum played an important role in his career. He also serves on GW’s Hillel Board of Trustees.

“The university’s track record and reputation make it the perfect home for this new center, designed to advance our foundation’s mission,” Louis Mayberg said.

Manette Mayberg added that the center brings a new dimension to the Mayberg Foundation’s contribution to the Jewish future.

“It aligns important elements of our philanthropic priorities,” she said in the release. “We anticipate tangible results and we are proud to partner with Erica Brown and GW.”