2018 UC Santa Cruz Alumnus Ian Kussin Gika is currently finishing his first year of Graduate school at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, in Monterey, CA, where he is studying International relations, nonproliferation, and terrorism studies. Prior to this path of study, Ian double majored in Linguistics and History at UC Santa Cruz.

The Jewish Studies Program invites submissions for the 2019-2020 Jewish Studies Undergraduate Research Awards.

On January 9, 2020, The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz hosted ASEFA, led by ethnomusicologist and multi-instrumentalist Samuel Torjman Thomas, Ph.D. Blending vocals, oud, violin, nay, and plenty of percussion, with songs in Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, and Ladino, this trio ensemble traversed several North African song traditions.