EPHRAIM: PROFESSOR & AUTHOR

An Ethiopian Yemenite Jew, Dr. Isaac holds B.A. in Philosophy, Chemistry, & Music; B.D. (Harvard Divinity School); Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages (Harvard University.). The first Professor hired in Harvard’s Afro-American Studies Department (1968-77), one of its founders, he was voted the best teacher each year by students and the Department that has endowed Harvard’s Ephraim Isaac Prize for Excellency in African Studies. His subjects range from Biblical He-brew, Rabbinic Literature, Ethiopian History, Concept and History of Slavery, and Ancient Near Eastern and African Civilizations.

Dr. Isaac is author of numerous articles and books and he knows seventeen languages. Dr. Isaac is widely known in Ethiopia as founder of the National Literacy Campaign that made millions literate in the late sixties.