Fairfield University will host its 2026 Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony on April 16, featuring Dr. Shay Pilnik as the keynote speaker.

The event, organized by the university’s Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the Kelley Center Presentation Room. Pilnik serves as the director of the Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University.

The grandson of Holocaust survivors, Pilnik is a noted scholar whose work focuses on the intersection of memory and history. He is the author of “The Ravine of Memory: Babyn Yar Between the Holocaust and the Great Patriotic War,” published in 2025.

The ceremony is co-sponsored by Fairfield University Campus Ministry and the Jewish Federation of Fairfield County. The program precedes the upcoming installation of a new Holocaust memorial sculpture on campus titled “She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots,” which university officials said will serve as a permanent tribute to victims and survivors.

Admission to the ceremony is free and open to the public, though advanced registration is required through the university’s website.