The Annual Brennan Lecture, sponsored by the Winchester Seniors Association and the Winchester Council on Aging, will be held on Wednesday, May
23 at 7 p.m. The topic of Dr. Sol Gittleman’s lecture is “Every Four Years: Presidential Elections and American History.” Coffee will be served prior to the
presentation at 6:30 p.m.
Dr. Gittleman was born in Hoboken, New
Jersey and educated in the New Jersey public school system. After receiving a BA from Drew University,
an MA from Columbia University, (Comparative
Literature) and a Ph.D. from the University
of Michigan (Comparative Literature),
Dr. Gittleman became Assistant Professor of German at Mount Holyoke College in 1962. In 1964,
he moved to Tufts University as an Assistant
Professor of German, became Associate Professor of German in 1966 and Professor of German in 1971. In 1981 he was appointed Provost and Academic Vice President of Tufts. Dr. Gittleman became Senior
Vice President and Provost in 1985, retiring from that position in 2002. Among his awards are honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Hebrew
College, Stonehill College, and from his alma mater. In 2005 he received an honorary degree from
the German University of Tuebingen. Recently Dr Gittleman has been named Alice and Nathan
Ganther University Professor of Judaic studies at Tufts University.
Author of books on German Literature, East European Jewish Literature and the American immigrant
experience, Dr. Gittleman has been lecturing extensively on topics of American immigration, American baseball history, and comparative religion, particularly the Religions of Abraham and the history of war in the
name of God.
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Professor Gittleman has received two Fulbright awards, the Harbison Prize of the Danforth Foundation for
outstanding teaching, a citation as Professor of the Year from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Robert J. McKenna Award in 2009
from the New England Board of Higher Education.
The Brennan Lecture is an annual event that is funded by the family of Francis P. and Mary J. Brennan. These
informative presentations are free and open to the public.
