Renowned Holocaust Scholar Named To Position At UConn's Dodd Center

STORRS, CT — A renowned Holocaust scholar has been appointed to a key position at the University of Connecticut's Dodd Center for Human Rights.

That the Board of Trustees recently made the appointment of Professor James Waller to the Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice in the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute effective officials.

It is effective Aug. 23 and will run through through Aug. 22, 2028.

The Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice, commonly referred to as the Dodd Chair at UConn, is awarded to a tenured associate or full professor who is appointed to serve as the Director of the Dodd Human Rights Impact programs. The Dodd Chair is linked to the directorship, and is eligible for renewal every five years, as long as the appointee continues to serve in the Director role.

Jointly appointed to the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute, and a tenure home department, the Dodd Chair directs HRI's Dodd Human Rights Impact Programs and advances the mission of The Dodd Center for Human Rights, in which HRI is housed.

The Dodd Chair will help "address the urgent need to protect human rights and
preserve human dignity," UConn officials said.

The decision to recommend the appointment was made following an international search and in consultation with Provost Anne D'Alleva and Vice President for Global
Affairs Dan Weiner.

Jointly appointed to the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute, and the department of Literatures, Cultures and Languages in the College of Libral Arts and Sciences, Waller is a world-renowned scholar of Holocaust and genocide studies.

He was most recently the Cohen Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College, where he developed and led the nation’s first undergraduate department and major in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Waller also served as the Director of Academic Programs for the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, through which he forged relationships with government policymakers worldwide, with seminars reaching nearly 9,000 government officials and security sector personnel from 90 countries.

Waller is the the author of nearly 50 articles and book chapters, and six books. The latter includes his award-winning "Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing" (Oxford University Press, 2nd ed., 2007) and "A Troubled Sleep: Risk and Resilience in Contemporary Northern Ireland" (Oxford University Press, 2021).

His public writing includes pieces for The Washington Post, The Irish News, and The Conversation.