Holocaust Center on FAU’s Boca campus named for Gutterman family

By Dale King

Florida Atlantic University has just taken a major step forward in the process of educating students from kindergarten through Grade 12 about the Holocaust.

Officials from the university’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters announced this week that it has received a multi-million-dollar gift from Arthur Gutterman to name the on-campus Holocaust Center the Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education.

The center prepares K-12 educators and support staff in Southeastern Florida to implement the Florida statute that requires instruction of the Holocaust by providing learning opportunities, resources and curriculum support.  

“I am constantly amazed at the passion of these deserving teachers and what they give their students every day through their work,” said Gutterman. “I am happy to do my part to help continue the vital work of FAU’s Center that benefits teachers and students today and now, for generations to come.”  

The gift will allow for:  

• Current and future K-12 teacher training and professional development, including curriculum advancement, seminars and teacher travel to Israel and Eastern Europe to visit museums and sites of the Holocaust, including concentration camps.  

• Enhanced collaborations with Hebrew University and other academic and/or research institutions based in Israel.  
• Lectures and guest speakers, and community outreach programs.  

• Student international study and intern abroad opportunities.  

“We are so grateful to Arthur and his family for this impactful gift that will ensure that the work of the center continues into perpetuity,” said Michael Horswell, Ph.D., dean of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters.

“Now more than ever, our students need to learn the facts of history so atrocities like the Holocaust are never repeated. Arthur’s continued generosity also inspires others to contribute to this mission that affords our region’s teachers the special preparation they need to teach these challenging topics at all levels of our school system.”  

Arthur Gutterman is the retired former president of Jelmar, LLC, a Chicago company that produces household cleaning products. During the early 1980s, Gutterman and his brother, along with a business partner, developed the product CLR (Calcium, Lime and Rust) as a complement to Tarn-X.  CLR grew into the company’s second nationally recognized cleaning product (after Tarn-X) and extended the company’s reach into Canadian and Australian markets.  

Gutterman is an active member of the Board of Directors of American Friends of the Hebrew University, Inc. He first became involved with the Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education at FAU in 2008 when his late wife, Emalie, read a story in the local paper about the possible closing of the center. Gutterman made an initial gift of $10,000 and, over the years, has significantly increased his philanthropic support and personal engagement with the center.  

His generosity helped establish multi-year financial stability while engaging other donors and strategies to bring visibility to the center. He also established the Gutterman Family Exemplary Holocaust Educator Award, an annual competition for K-12 teachers. Each year, three to four winning teachers receive a three-week, fully paid professional development field study to visit Holocaust sites in Europe and Israel.

This also includes unrestricted operational support to the center, sending K-12 teachers annually to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and funding curriculum development within FAU’s Peace, Justice and Human Rights Initiative.  

“The magnitude of Arthur Gutterman’s generosity allows us to increase and expand our educational outreach into the local community and reach educators through professional learning, travel opportunities and programming,” said Linda Medvin, director of the Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education.

“This transformational and permanent funding will allow us to sustain our mission by using the lessons of the Holocaust to understand the consequences of prejudice, racism and stereotyping into the future. Our motto at the center is that education is our best hope against hatred.”

This significant gift also kicks off a $1.5 million mini-campaign to raise annual and endowment gifts that will further propel the impact of the Gutterman Family Center to greater levels of excellence today and for years to come.

To learn more about the Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education, visit www.fau.edu/artsandletters/pjhr/chhre/.    

—————– 30 ——————

Caption:

Arthur Gutterman, the multi-million-dollar donor whose gift will name the Holocaust Center at Florida Atlantic University as the Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education. (Photo courtesy of Florida Atlantic University)