In Memoriam - Professor Dara Goldman
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Professor Dara Goldman, The Director of the Program in Jewish Culture and Society at the University of Illinois, loving wife of Itai Seggev, daughter of Clifford and Karen Goldman, sister of Elyssa Goldman, daughter in law of Joram and Varda Seggev, sister in law of Guy Seggev and Michal (widow of Shelby ז"ל) Seggev Lerner, and aunt of Elan Lerner, Shira Lerner, and Elizabeth Seggev. Dara passed away on May 13, 2022 while preparing for graduation weekend and the American Jewish Historical Society conference.
Dara (51), graduated with a BA and MA from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from Emory University. In 2008 she published “Out of Bounds: Islands and the Demarcation of Identity in the Hispanic Caribbean (Bucknell Studies in Latin American Literature and Theory)”. More recently she co-edited a volume of American Literary History on "Twenty-First Century Jewish Writing and the World."
At the University of Illinois, Dara was a tremendous force for research and collaboration. She was connected to numerous campus units and helped form many initiatives to promote dialogue between communities on campus. As the director of the PJCS Dara increased the faculty, funding and research available under the program. She helped create the Central Illinois Jewish Communities’ Archives, was instrumental in hiring new faculty to the program and helped bring top speakers and programs to campus and on behalf of the program off-campus. Dara will always be remembered as a positive force at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In addition to being a great scholar, Dara loved dancing, skiing, science fiction, and romantic comedies. She was gracious and kind to all. Dara was an amazing wife, daughter(-in-law), aunt and friend, who was likely to take a picture or send an article she read because she was thinking of you.
Funeral and Memorial Service
Graveside service and interment will be held on Thursday 5/19/2022 at 2pm in the Jewish section of Mount Hope Cemetery, 611 E Pennsylvania Ave, Champaign, IL.
A zoom link for the graveside service:
https://zoom.us/j/6441574781?pwd=R2RGYUQrZkI0NFdKOEY3QS85TlBVUT09
The meeting ID is: 644 157 4781
and passcode is: d9ANMF
A Memorial service and Shiva will be held immediately after, at 3pm (on Thursday 5/19/2022) at the Cohen Center for Jewish Life (Illini Hillel) at 503 E. John Street, Champaign, IL 61820.
The zoom link for the memorial service at Hillel is available here - https://hillel.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMqde-qqzwoEtD9zvsY_ei0Fr4n4QzJBVwr
Shiva (Family Visitation)
The family will be holding Shiva and receiving guests at Hillel - The Cohen Center for Jewish Life on Friday 5/20/2022 from 10am-2pm and Sunday 5/22/2022 from 1pm-5pm. You can join virtually on Zoom: https://wolfram.zoom.us/j/85076084333 with password dara
Dara's parents will be holding a Zoom shiva in New Jersey on May 22, 23 and 24 at 6:30 PM EST.
You can join their zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86353788787
In order to protect its most vulnerable members, the family kindly asks that those coming to the memorial or Shiva at Hillel wear masks.
Memorials
The family is setting up a scholarship memorial fund in Dara’s memory at the University. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made online at - https://jewishculture.illinois.edu/giving/dara-goldman-fund
Professor Dara E. Goldman Memorial Scholarship (please include in the memo)
Payable to: University of Illinois Foundation
Mail to:
University of Illinois Foundation
P.O. Box 734500
Chicago, IL 60673-4500
For any questions/needs about the fund please contact Paul Winterbotham (paulww@illinois.edu, 217.300.6222)
Friends and Family who would like to contribute to the costs of Shiva can donate "in memory of Dara Goldman" at http://donate.illinihillel.org Hillel will cover the costs of food using these donations. Any remaining funds will be sent to the Dara Goldman Scholarship Fund at the University of Illinois.
Zichrona livracha, may the memory of Dara Goldman be a blessing.
