Dr. Arnold Dashefsky served as the inaugural holder of the Doris and Simon Konover Chair of Judaic Studies and professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, where he is now emeritus. He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Temple University and a Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Dashefsky also earned a Bachelor of Hebrew Literature at Gratz College. He studied at the Hebrew University and Hayim Greenberg College in Jerusalem. Prior to his position at the University of Connecticut, Professor Dashefsky taught at Temple University, Pennsylvania State University-Ogontz Campus, and the University of Minnesota.

In 2012, he (together with Ira Sheskin of the University of Miami) began editing the renowned American Jewish Year Book, which had ceased publication in 2009. Together, they have edited volumes 109-112, 113, 114, 115, 116, (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, respectively), with 117 (2018) forthcoming, and all published by Springer, which continues a publication of 108 volumes issued from 1899-2008. Previously, he co-authored Charitable Choices with B. Lazerwitz, published by Lexington Books (2009), which focused on the motivations for charitable giving. Other publications include Intermarriage and Jewish Journeys in the United States (coauthored with Z. Heller in 2008) and “Jewish Population in the United States, 2011” (with I. Sheskin), published in a new on-line series Current Jewish Population Reports, which he initiated and edited (with I. Sheskin) for the Berman Jewish DataBank. In addition to publishing many articles, he is the co-author or editor of several other books: Ethnic Identification Among American Jews (2nd edition published by UPA, 1993) is a book which focused on Jewish continuity by examining the transmission of Jewish identity for two generations (originally published by Lexington Books, 1974, co-authored with H.M. Shapiro). Americans Abroad (co-authored with J. DeAmicis, B. Lazerwitz and E. Tabory) compared emigrants to Australia and Israel (originally published by Plenum Press, 1992, with a revised second edition and new introduction with Karen Woodrow-Lafield to be published by Springer). He also co-authored, with B. Lazerwitz, J.A. Winter and E. Tabory, Jewish Choices: American Jewish Denominationalism (published by SUNY Press, 1998). In addition, he is also the editor of several additional volumes: Ethnic Identity in Society (edited for Rand-McNally, 1976) and Contemporary Jewry, Volumes 7 and 8 (edited for the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry and published by Transaction Books, 1986 and 1987). His research has been cited in diverse popular publications, including Money, Fortune, and the Jerusalem Post. Dr. Dashefsky has served as a consultant to the American Jewish Committee; Commission on Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford; Jewish Education Association of MetroWest, NJ; Rhode Island Department of Vocational Education Sex Equity Project; and United Jewish Appeal. In addition, he has appeared on television and radio programs in Connecticut. He has been honored by being named a distinguished alumnus of Gratz College (Philadelphia) at its Centennial Convocation and elected to the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences (New Haven) just prior to its Bicentennial.

Professor Dashefsky is one of the founders of the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry (ASSJ), an international organization, and served as president as well as past editor of its journal, Contemporary Jewry. He has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University (1999), George Washington University (2004 and 2009), and Florida Atlantic University (2011). In 2012, he received the Berman Award for Service from ASSJ. He served two terms as Secretary-Treasurer and board member of the Association for Jewish Studies, an international organization. A former Associate Head of the Sociology Department, he was the founding Director of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life (1979-2012), located in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut, and is the Director Emeritus and current Senior Academic Consultant of the Berman Jewish DataBank, having served as director at UConn from 2004-2013. In those capacities, he helped bring nearly two million dollars in endowments to UConn and a similar sum in external grants. Finally, he continues to teach his popular course on the Sociology of Anti-Semitism at UConn.

Selected Publications:

Charitable Choices: Philanthropic Decisions of Donors in the American Jewish Community.Lanham , MD :  Lexington Books, 2009. .  ( with B. Lazerwitz ).

Jewish Choices: American Jewish Denominationalism . Albany , NY : SUNY Press, 1998 (with B. Lazerwitz , J.A. Winter and E. Tabory ).

Americans Abroad: A Comparative Study of Emigrants from the United States . New York : Plenum 1992 (with J. De Amicis , B. Lazerwitz and E. Tabory ).

Ethnic Identification Among American Jews . Lanham , MD : UPA (2nd ed. with a new introduction, originally published by Lexington Books, Lexington , MA.) 1993 [1974] (with Howard M. Shapiro).