Jul 29, 2009 — Yeshiva University in New York held its first combined Undergraduate Dinner on June 17, 2009 at Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers in New York City.

The honorees for Stern College for Women were Suzanne and Miles Berger; for the Sy Syms School of Business, Philip Friedman; and for Yeshiva College, Ben Chouake, M.D. The event raised $400,000 for undergraduate scholarships.

The Dinner Chairs were Stanley Raskas, Chair of the Yeshiva College Board; Doris Travis, Treasurer of the Stern College for Women Board; and Warren Eisenberg of the Sy Syms School of Business Board of directors.

Dr. Louise Silverstein, professor at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology.

Jul 29, 2009 — As the surviving generation of the Holocaust enters their twilight years, a new research project spearheaded by Dr. Louise Silverstein, a professor at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, is examining how knowledge of the Holocaust is passed down to survivors’ grandchildren and taught at schools.

The multi-phase, long-term study began in 2007, with the support of the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Center for International Affairs, by creating an archive of interviews with grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. Recent Ferkauf graduates Dr. Penina Dorfman ’09F and Marina Stolerman ’09F interviewed almost 30 third-generation, or “3G,” young adults and found a wide diversity of experiences.

“Some of the grandchildren knew a lot about their grandparents’ experiences while others knew very little,” Silverstein said.

Some participants were devoting their professional lives to studying the Holocaust while others stated that they almost never thought about the tragedy. One reported being continually haunted by thoughts of her grandparents’ suffering.

Silverstein became interested in learning about how the Holocaust was being taught in the U.S. and in Israel—and thus began the second phase of the project. Silverstein teamed up with Dr. Tal Litvak-Hirsch of Ben Gurion University—whom she met while on a trip to Israel to study Yad Vashem’s archives—to conduct a collaborative study comparing Israeli and U.S. educational approaches to teaching the Holocaust, and the effects of these educational efforts on 3G young adults. Sharon Peled, a Ferkauf doctoral student, is collecting and analyzing this data.

“One of the main findings that is emerging is the lack of a formal, standardized curriculum for teaching about the Holocaust in the U.S.,” Silverstein said. “Teaching is informal and highly variable. We find this state of affairs concerning. How can we be sure that the Holocaust will never be forgotten if it is not being taught well or even at all?”

In the project’s third phase, two Ferkauf graduate students, Dana Marnin and Penina Weiss, are compiling a bibliography of the variety of educational approaches to teaching the Holocaust in the U.S.

“Our goal is to identify the best programs and create a model curriculum that we will recommend to various state and national educational organizations,” Silverstein said. “We anticipate that new questions will arise as the research continues. Thus we eagerly look forward to additional phases in this project.”

Dr. Carmen Ortiz Hendricks (L), associate dean and professor, and Dr. Sheldon R. Gelman (R), the Dorothy and David I. Schachne Dean of Wurzweiler.

Jul 29, 2009 — Wurzweiler School of Social Work’s Dr. Sheldon R. Gelman, the Dorothy and David I. Schachne Dean, and Dr. Carmen Ortiz Hendricks, associate dean and professor, have been named “Social Work Pioneers” by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). The award recognizes social work professionals for their exemplary leadership, outstanding contributions to the field and recognition by their peers. Both have held leadership positions within the NASW.

Gelman, who also has a master of studies degree in law from Yale University Law School, has published numerous articles dealing with the impact of legislation and policies on the delivery of social services. He has contributed sections to important resources such as The Encyclopedia of Social Work, The Social Workers’ Desk Reference and The Handbook of Human Services Management.

Gelman has held office and served on national commissions of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), including its board and its Commission on Accreditation, and the American Association on Mental Retardation.

Hendricks has made significant contributions to the profession in the area of culturally competent social work education and practice. As a member of NASW’s National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, she was a major contributor to the development of its Standards for Cultural Competence in the Social Work Practice. She is a founding member of the chapter’s Latino Social Work Task Force.

Hendricks has co-written or co-edited a number of seminal books published by CSWE Press, including Learning to Teach—Teaching to Learn: A Guide to Social Work Field Education, Intersecting Child Welfare, Substance Abuse and Family Violence: Culturally Competent Approaches and Women of Color as Social Work Educators: Strengths and Survival.

Jul 27, 2009 — Ten Yeshiva University (YU) students are spending their summer conducting innovative scientific research as Roth Scholars and University Summer Research Scholars. The undergraduate students are working alongside top scientific researchers at YU’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. The impressive group includes Tirtza Spiegel, daughter of David and Heather, of Toronto, ON.

“The eight students in the Roth Scholars program and the two students in the University Summer Research Scholars program are paired with scientists at Einstein to gain experience conducting cutting-edge scientific research,” said Barry Potvin, PhD, professor of biology at YU and chairperson of the Roth Summer Research Fellowship Committee. The annual ten-week program, sponsored by the Ernst and Hedwig Roth Institute of Biomedical Science Education at Yeshiva University, provides each student with a stipend and campus housing.

“Each program has its own funding, and both allow undergraduate science students the chance to experience high-level research with university scientists,” Dr. Potvin said. The students work in teams alongside graduate and post-doctoral students.

Spiegel, a Roth Scholar, is working with Dr. Jeffrey Segall on designing primers that will determine the changes in the proportion of cancer cells in mice. She credits the experience with teaching her “how to be diligent, self disciplined and patient.”

Spiegel hopes to pursue an MD as well as another degree that will enable her to continue conducting research, with a focus on women’s health. “Stern College for Women has provided incredible opportunities for students interested in science,” she says. “There are enriching internships with wonderful professors offered throughout the year.”

According to Dr. Potvin, although most of the students are considering medical careers, this experience often piques their interest in research, and motivates them to apply to MD/PhD programs.

Jul 27, 2009 — Ten Yeshiva University (YU) students are spending their summer conducting innovative scientific research as Roth Scholars and University Summer Research Scholars. The undergraduate students are working alongside top scientific researchers at YU’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. The impressive group includes Emily Liebling, daughter of Drs. Ralph and Melissa, of Rockland County, NY.

“The eight students in the Roth Scholars program and the two students in the University Summer Research Scholars program are paired with scientists at Einstein to gain experience conducting cutting-edge scientific research,” said Barry Potvin, PhD, professor of biology at YU and chairperson of the Roth Summer Research Fellowship Committee. The annual ten-week program, sponsored by the Ernst and Hedwig Roth Institute of Biomedical Science Education at Yeshiva University, provides each student with a stipend and campus housing.

“Each program has its own funding, and both allow undergraduate science students the chance to experience high-level research with university scientists,” Dr. Potvin said. The students work in teams alongside graduate and post-doctoral students.

Liebling, a University Summer Research Scholar, is investigating the activities of kinesins, a super family of motor proteins, and how they interact with microtubules in the laboratory of Dr. Hernando Sosa. She hopes to be a physician and credits YU for giving her first-hand experience in “the way scientific research is approached and practiced.

“Be it in the classroom, professors, mentors or abundant research opportunities available, Yeshiva has truly paved the way for any path I may to take,” said Liebling,.

According to Dr. Potvin, although most of the students are considering medical careers, this experience often piques their interest in research, and pushes them to apply to MD/PhD programs.



Jul 23, 2009 — Over 600 attendees ensured the historic success of YU’s Montreal Special Convocation and Dinner, held on Monday, June 15, 2009, at the Shaar Hashomayim Congregation in Westmount. The event raised $1,100,000 for scholarships for Canadian students attending Yeshiva University’s undergraduate and graduate schools.

Honourees included Supreme Court Justice Morris J. Fish and Senator Yoine J. Goldstein, each of whom received an honourary Doctor of Laws Degree. Rabbi Howard S. Joseph, retiring as spiritual leader of Montreal’s Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue after almost 40 years, received an honourary Doctor of Divinity Degree.

The Yeshiva University Distinguished Alumnus Award was conferred upon prominent Montreal Jewish communal leader, Donald S. Davis, who has advanced the Jewish education agenda for several decades. Special Awards were conferred upon Norman and Johanne Sternthal and Mrs. Alta Chaya Hirschprung in honor of the Sternthals’ establishment of a Rabbinic Fellowship in memory of Rabbi Pinchas Hirschprung, as well as in tribute to the memory of Norman’s parents, Joel and Sarah Sternthal. Rabbi Hirschprung served as Chief Rabbi of Montreal and was also Norman Sternthal’s teacher. Pearl Jonassohn, retiring as Assistant Director of Development after some 35 years, also received a Scroll of Appreciation Award.

The event was co-Chaired by Morton Brownstein, Samuel Aberman and Renee Lieberman, with David J. Azrieli as Honourary Dinner Chair,

Jul 22, 2009 — A graduate of Yeshiva University’s (YU) Stern College for Women (SCW), Lea Aizenman (née New) has been selected to receive the prestigious Wexner Foundation Graduate Study Fellowship this year. The fellowship program is open to aspiring Jewish leaders pursuing careers in Jewish education, the rabbinate, cantorate, and Jewish professional leadership. The Wexner Foundation introduced the program in 1988 to encourage the development of promising leaders in the North American Jewish community through graduate training, professional mentoring and specialized programming.

Of the 20 exceptional candidates chosen for the prestigious Wexner Fellowship, seven are YU graduates. Including Aizenman, they are Cynthia Bernstein, Rafael Cashman, Zev Eleff, Debra Glasberg, Marc Herman, and Simcha Willig – each of whom will receive an annual stipend of $20,000.

“I was very impressed by the many qualified applicants from Yeshiva University,” said Or Mars, director of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship/Davidson Scholars Program. “They each articulated special visions for the future of the Jewish world and demonstrated the potential to realize those visions. We are proud to have them in our program and feel confident that they will become masters of exercising leadership for the good of all.”

A resident of Brooklyn, NY, Aizenman graduated SCW in 2008 with a BA in history and served as a YU Presidential Fellow this past year. She will begin a dual Masters program in Judaic studies and Jewish education at New York University in the fall.

Aizenman credits her tenures as a SCW student and Presidential Fellow for giving her the confidence to be a teacher and a leader. “Studying and working at YU exposed me to different ways of thinking about Judaism and Jewish life.”