Interview with Robert Spach '84, 2019 April 01
Scope and Contents
Oral history interview with Reverend Robert "Rob" Spach, Davidson College chaplain. The interview recording and transcript is split into two parts. In part 1, Reverend Spach speaks about his time as a student at Davidson. He talks about the Religious Studies Department in the early 1980s and the religious organizations on campus at the time including student-led groups and the college chaplain’s office. He goes on to describe coming back to Davidson as the College Chaplain in 1993 and his involvement in the college’s move toward interfaith stances. He recounts the development of Jewish life on campus from small loosely-organized gatherings to formal college events, describing the formation of the Jewish Student Union, the establishment of Hillel, and the hiring of a campus rabbi. In part 2, Reverend Spach speaks about important events that shaped Jewish life at Davidson. He discusses the history of Davidson College Hillel and how the student-run organization made Jewish life on campus more visible between the years of 2011 and 2018. He describes how the college started accommodating non-Christian religious groups, his reaction to the discovery of [neo-Nazi] students on campus, and how other religiously motivated incidents affected Davidson’s culture and Jewish population.
Dates
- Creation: 2019 April 01
Creator
- Spach, Robert (Class of 1984) (Interviewee, Person)
- Krutkovich, Dahlia (Class of 2021) (Interviewer, Person)
- Stier, Severine (Class of 2019) (Interviewer, Person)
- Davidson College (N.C.) (Producer, Organization)
- Davidson College (N.C.) (Publisher, Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This interview is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Access to this interview is given for personal research use and does not imply the right to use it for other purposes, including publication. Use of our collections is subject to the provisions of current intellectual property, privacy, and libel laws. Researchers assume full responsibility for their use of these materials. For publication or other use requests, email archives@davidson.edu.
Extent
2 Digital (Moving image) (MP4)
2 Transcripts (Digital) (PDF)
Language
English
Repository Details
Part of the College Archives Repository