Dr. Keren Fraiman

Vice President & Chief Academic Officer, Spertus Institute

Dr. Keren E. Fraiman is the Vice President and Chief Academic Officer at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, where she also holds a faculty appointment as Professor of Israel Studies. Her research focuses on Conflict Education – how we learn and teach about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within Jewish settings – and she works with educational organizations across the country to support their Israel educational efforts around these questions.  She was awarded the 2025 Ilia Salita Excellence in Applied Research Award for her groundbreaking work on conflict education. She has also been a Wexner Field Fellow and Schusterman Israel Scholar.  She earned a PhD in International Relations and Security Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BA in Political Science and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at The University of Chicago.