Day of Learning Showcases Faculty of Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies
Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies held its first Yom Iyun [day of learning] entitled “A Taste of Jewish Scholarship” on Sunday, Dec. 6 at Congregation Ohab Zedek (OZ) in Manhattan.

The Yom Iyun began with an introduction by Rabbi Allen Schwartz, OZ’s spiritual leader. Noted Revel scholars who spoke included:
- Dr. Mordechai Cohen, associate dean and professor of Bible, “Newly Revealed Dimensions of Jewish Bible Interpretation”
- Dr. Jonathan Dauber, assistant professor of Jewish mysticism, “Kabbalistic Perspectives on the Rambam”
- Dr. Ronnie Perelis, assistant professor of Sephardic studies, “Exile and Spiritual Self-Discovery: Crypto Judaism in the New World”
- Dr. Daniel Rynhold, assistant professor of modern Jewish philosophy, “The Odd Couple: Rav Soloveitchik and Friedrich Nietzsche”
- Dean David Berger, Ruth & I. Lewis Gordon Professor of Jewish History, “Academic Jewish Studies and Judaism”

Yeshiva University’s Revel School of Jewish Studies Offers A Taste of Jewish Scholarship
Yeshiva University’s (YU) Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies invites the public to attend a Yom Iyun [day of learning] entitled “A Taste of Jewish Scholarship” on Sunday, December 6, at Congregation Ohab Zedek (OZ), 118 West 95th Street, New York, NY. The program will run from 9:45 am to 1 pm.

The Yom Iyun will begin with an introduction by Rabbi Allen Schwartz, OZ’s spiritual leader. Participants will then have the opportunity to hear from noted Revel scholars, including Dr. Mordechai Cohen, associate dean and professor of Bible, who will discuss Newly Revealed Dimensions of Jewish Bible Interpretation; Dr. Jonathan Dauber, assistant professor of Jewish mysticism, Kabbalistic Perspectives on the Rambam; Dr. Ronnie Perelis, assistant professor of Sephardic studies, Exile and Spiritual Self-Discovery: Crypto Judaism in the New World; Dr. Daniel Rynhold, assistant professor of modern Jewish philosophy, The Odd Couple: Rav Soloveitchik and Friedrich Nietzsche; and Dean David Berger, Ruth & I. Lewis Gordon professor of Jewish history, Academic Jewish Studies and Judaism.

To learn more about the event contact shalpern@yu.edu or call 212-960-5480. There is a $10 suggested admission.

Michael Berenbaum addressed seniors at YUHS-Boys.

Noted Holocaust Scholar Gives High School Students a Primer on the Power of Film to Capture Survivors’ Testimony

“You are the last generation to know the survivors. The best of you will accept the responsibility for being witnesses for the witnesses.” Addressing seniors at Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB), Holocaust scholar and Academy Award-winning producer Michael Berenbaum told them that they have the responsibility—and with film, the ability—to create a vivid and lasting record of the Holocaust.

“Imagine what a Passover Seder would be if you could hear from someone who was there. That is what film can do,” said Berenbaum, former director of the United States Holocaust Museum Research Institute who coproduced the Academy Award-winning film One Survivor Remembers.

Berenbaum was one of several speakers to address students at YUHSB and Yeshiva University High School for Girls in connection with “Names, Not Numbers,” an oral history project and curriculum in which students research, interview and film Holocaust survivors.

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Michael Berenbaum addressed seniors at YUHS-Boys.
Nov 24, 2009 — “You are the last generation to know the survivors. The best of you will accept the responsibility for being witnesses for the witnesses.” Addressing seniors at Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB), Holocaust scholar and Academy Award-winning producer Michael Berenbaum told them that they have the responsibility—and with film, the ability—to create a vivid and lasting record of the Holocaust.

“Imagine what a Passover Seder would be if you could hear from someone who was there. That is what film can do,” said Berenbaum, former director of the United States Holocaust Museum Research Institute who coproduced the Academy Award-winning film One Survivor Remembers.

Berenbaum was one of several speakers to address students at YUHSB and Yeshiva University High School for Girls in connection with “Names, Not Numbers,” an oral history project and curriculum in which students research, interview and film Holocaust survivors.

The program was created in 2003 by Tova Fish-Rosenberg, the director of Hebrew language at YUHS and recipient of the Baumel Award for Excellence in Jewish Studies, which honors outstanding Jewish studies educators at the University. “The purpose of the program is to touch our students’ souls, so they learn about the Holocaust through personal connection,” Rosenberg said.

Since the program’s inception, over 280 students in seven cities have interviewed and videotaped 110 survivors and World War II veterans. Every year, excerpts from the taped interviews are combined into a documentary, which stands as a culmination of the project.

Watch videos of last year’s Names, Not Numbers project by YUHSG here and YUHSB here.

The students are taught interview techniques by adult professionals. Previous years have featured training sessions from journalists such as Joseph Berger from The New York Times and Gary Rosenblatt from The Jewish Week. This year, CBS news producer Stephanie Cassell spoke to the girls about interviewing and gave them a tour of the CBS news studio. “You want to maintain a professional integrity but a human presence,” said Cassell. “Really, really listen to what they have to say. It’s the nuances that will tell the story.”

“By memorializing the victims, survivors and heroes of the Shoah, the students are all personally invested in making sure that the lessons of that horrific time period will never be forgotten,” said Rochelle Brand, Head of School at YUHSG.

“It’s a unique opportunity,” said Yehuda Kupferman, a senior at YUHSB. “I was never able to talk to my grandparents about the Holocaust. This is an opportunity for me to make up for that.”

Israel’s UN Ambassador Takes Issue With Goldstone Report at Student-Run Event

More than 250 students from the Beren and Wilf campuses flocked to hear Gabriela Shalev, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, deliver a searing analysis of the Goldstone Report on Nov. 10. The 575-page report accuses both Israeli and Palestinian forces of committing war crimes in Gaza last winter.

Watch a video of the event here:

The UN General Assembly endorsed the report in early November, with 114 votes for, 18 votes against and 44 abstentions. The Israeli government refused to cooperate with the UN Human Rights Council’s fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict, headed by Richard Goldstone, a former judge from South Africa. The Israeli government has rejected the report, claiming that it showcases bias against Israel.

“This council has adopted more resolutions condemning Israel than resolutions against all other countries put together,” Shalev said. “So how can we in Israel believe that this is an objective council?”

The report was “conceived in hate and executed in sin,” Shalev added, charging that among other things, the document prejudged Israel’s guilt without mentioning its right to defend itself. “We in Israel, and especially the people in the southern part of Israel, suffered almost daily attacks by Hamas and the terrorists,” she said. “The Human Rights Council rejected any investigation regarding this constant firing of 12,000 rockets and mortars over eight years. At that time, our right of life, dignity and self-defense did not count in the eyes of the council.”

The United States, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic and Germany were among the countries that voted against the resolution, while the UK and France abstained. “We know that we have a great friend in the United States,” Shalev said. “The reaction of the United States to the Goldstone Report was as adamant as ours. This is only an indication of how this friendship for many, many years is still going on and is going to continue.”

The Student American Israel Political Education Club (SAIPEC), a YU student club aimed at framing Israel in a more positive light on college campuses across North America, organized the event. SAIPEC’s president, Alexander Fischman, a Yeshiva College junior majoring in political science, founded the organization in 2008.

Nov 19, 2009 — Yeshiva University profoundly mourns the loss of Sy Syms, a longtime, venerable supporter of the University and founder of discount clothier SYMS Corp., who passed away Nov. 17. A member of the Board of Trustees since 1984, Syms made an indelible impact on undergraduate education at YU. Most notably, he presented the University with a major gift in 1986 that resulted in the establishment of the Sy Syms School of Business, the first business school under Jewish auspices in the Western Hemisphere, on whose Board he also served.

“Sy Syms embodied excellence in education, ethics, decency, humor and humility—he represented the best within us,” said YU President Richard M. Joel. “His vision and ours was to ensure that young men and women would receive the finest in business education while continuing to grow as proud Jews and thinking citizens. These values made Sy and his wife, Lynn, role models for our children and our community.”

Driven by an innate awareness of his heritage as a Jew, Syms championed the importance of Jewish education as the foundation of the Jewish people. He took an active interest in the business school over the years, meeting with its students regularly and sharing with them lessons he’d learned while building his business from one store in lower Manhattan to a nationwide chain of 30 stores in 13 states.

“Sy had an enormous impact on our school,” said Dr. Michael Ginzberg, dean of the Sy Syms School of Business. “Beyond his initial gift that provided the resources to get the school started 23 years ago, he was a continuing presence here. He was involved with the executive committee that provides advice and support to the dean, and he enjoyed interacting with our students very much. We will miss his friendship and guidance.”

Alumni of the business school spoke fondly of Syms. “I feel grateful to have had numerous opportunities to sit down with Sy Syms to hear about his career as a successful entrepreneur and retail icon,” said 1997 graduate Chaim Haas, senior vice president of the technology and emerging media practice at Kaplow Communications, a mid-sized consumer PR firm in New York City. “He was an inspiration to me and my fellow classmates. The lessons that I learned from him about ‘always putting the consumer first’ have guided me throughout my career.”

Syms was widely known for his famous tagline “An educated consumer is our best customer” and his appearance in the clothing company’s TV commercials. In 1983, with 11 stores already open, Syms took his company public. He remained CEO of SYMS Corp. until 1998, when he was succeeded by his daughter Marcy, who serves on the business school’s Board. He continued as the company’s chairman until his death.

The University awarded Syms an honorary degree in 1983 in recognition of his leadership in the business and Jewish communities. He was a major supporter of many communal and humanitarian organizations, including the State of Israel Bonds, whose executive board he served on for 15 years; Boys Town Jerusalem; Jewish Hospital in Denver; United Jewish Appeal; and Israel Tennis Centers. He was active in numerous civic organizations as well, including the Better Business Bureau of Greater New York, Police Athletic League and Inner-City Scholarship Fund of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York.

Syms was born Seymour Merinsky in Brooklyn, NY in 1926 to Russian immigrants. After serving in the army, he attended New York University, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in broadcasting. He worked as a radio announcer in Maryland, New York and West Virginia, before settling in Manhattan to enter the clothing business.

He is survived by his wife, Lynn, and children Marcy, Robert, Richard and Laura, as well as two step-children, ten grandchildren and three sisters.

“My fellow students and I are saddened by the loss of Mr. Syms,” said Aliza Wolynetz, president of the business school’s student council. “We are most grateful for his legacy, which has given us the opportunity to attend an elite business school that integrates both business fundamentals and a Jewish curriculum. The student body will continue to excel in order to honor the memory of the person for whom our school is named.”

Retail Icon, Who Founded YU’s Business School, Championed Jewish Education

Yeshiva University profoundly mourns the loss of Sy Syms, a longtime, venerable supporter of the University and founder of discount clothier SYMS Corp., who passed away Nov. 17. A member of the Board of Trustees since 1984, Syms made an indelible impact on undergraduate education at YU. Most notably, he presented the University with a major gift in 1986 that resulted in the establishment of the Sy Syms School of Business, the first business school under Jewish auspices in the Western Hemisphere, on whose Board he also served.

“Sy Syms embodied excellence in education, ethics, decency, humor and humility—he represented the best within us,” said President Richard M. Joel. “His vision and ours was to ensure that young men and women would receive the finest in business education while continuing to grow as proud Jews and thinking citizens. These values made Sy and his wife, Lynn, role models for our children and our community.”

Driven by an innate awareness of his heritage as a Jew, Syms championed the importance of Jewish education as the foundation of the Jewish people. He took an active interest in the business school over the years, meeting with its students regularly and sharing with them lessons he’d learned while building his business from one store in lower Manhattan to a nationwide chain of 30 stores in 13 states.

“Sy had an enormous impact on our school,” said Dr. Michael Ginzberg, dean of the Sy Syms School of Business. “Beyond his initial gift that provided the resources to get the school started 23 years ago, he was a continuing presence here. He was involved with the executive committee that provides advice and support to the dean, and he enjoyed interacting with our students very much. We will miss his friendship and guidance.”

Alumni of the business school spoke fondly of Syms. “I feel grateful to have had numerous opportunities to sit down with Sy Syms to hear about his career as a successful entrepreneur and retail icon,” said 1997 graduate Chaim Haas, senior vice president of the technology and emerging media practice at Kaplow Communications, a mid-sized consumer PR firm in New York City. “He was an inspiration to me and my fellow classmates. The lessons that I learned from him about ‘always putting the consumer first’ have guided me throughout my career.”

Syms was widely known for his famous tagline “An educated consumer is our best customer” and his appearance in the clothing company’s TV commercials. In 1983, with 11 stores already open, Syms took his company public. He remained CEO of SYMS Corp. until 1998, when he was succeeded by his daughter Marcy, who serves on the business school’s Board. He continued as the company’s chairman until his death.

The University awarded Syms an honorary degree in 1983 in recognition of his leadership in the business and Jewish communities. He was a major supporter of many communal and humanitarian organizations, including the State of Israel Bonds, whose executive board he served on for 15 years; Boys Town Jerusalem; Jewish Hospital in Denver; United Jewish Appeal; and Israel Tennis Centers. He was active in numerous civic organizations as well, including the Better Business Bureau of Greater New York, Police Athletic League and Inner-City Scholarship Fund of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York.

Syms was born Seymour Merinsky in Brooklyn, NY in 1926 to Russian immigrants. After serving in the army, he attended New York University, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in broadcasting. He worked as a radio announcer in Maryland, New York and West Virginia, before settling in Manhattan to enter the clothing business.

He is survived by his wife, Lynn, and children Marcy, Robert, Richard and Laura, as well as two step-children, ten grandchildren and three sisters.

“My fellow students and I are saddened by the loss of Mr. Syms,” said Aliza Wolynetz, president of the business school’s student council. “We are most grateful for his legacy, which has given us the opportunity to attend an elite business school that integrates both business fundamentals and a Jewish curriculum. The student body will continue to excel in order to honor the memory of the person for whom our school is named.”

Nov 18, 2009 — Dr. Lawrence H. Summers, Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to President Barack Obama for Economic Policy, will be the keynote speaker at Yeshiva University’s (YU) 85th Annual Hanukkah Dinner and Convocation on Sunday, December 13 at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Prior to his appointment by President Obama in 2008, Dr. Summers served as the Secretary of Treasury under President Clinton and as president of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006, making him the first Jewish president in the institution’s history.

YU President Richard M. Joel will confer the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree on Dr. Summers. He will also confer honorary degrees on community leader and prominent clinical social worker Froma Benerofe, a member of the Board of Overseers of YU’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work; investment executive Roger W. Einiger, a member of the Board of Overseers of YU’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine; award-winning actress, singer and playwright Tovah Feldshuh; inventor and entrepreneur Maurice Kanbar; and the renowned Cantor Joseph Malovany, of Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue Synagogue and Distinguished Professor of Liturgical Music of YU’s Philip and Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music.
Dr. Summers began his public service career as a domestic policy economist with the Council of Economic Advisors from 1982 to 1983 under President Ronald Reagan. He then began teaching at Harvard, where he was Professor of Economics for a decade. During this period, he also served as Vice President of Development Economics for The World Bank.

Dr. Summers returned to Washington, D.C. in 1993, where he served as Under Secretary for International Affairs with the United States Department of Treasury. He was named Deputy Secretary of the Treasury from 1995 to 1999, when he was appointed to the department’s top post by President Bill Clinton. His research contributions were recognized when he received the John Bates Clark Medal, given every two years to the outstanding American economist under the age of 40, and when he was the first social scientist to receive the National Science Foundation’s Alan T. Waterman Award for outstanding scientific achievement.

Froma Benerofe graduated from Vassar College and received an M.S.W. from Columbia University. A clinical social worker currently in private practice, she has counseled and assisted children and adolescents, victims of interpersonal trauma and domestic violence, survivors of sexual abuse, and parents coping with the needs of their children, for more than 20 years. She serves as a director of the Hadassah Foundation, Westchester Jewish Community Services, UJA, and the Parsons Dance Foundation. Mrs. Benerofe and her husband, Andrew, established the Benerofe Family Scholarship at Wurzweiler.

Roger W. Einiger is President of Hardscrabble Associates, LLC, a private investment firm. Prior to joining Hardscrabble Associates, he spent three decades at Oppenheimer & Co. and its successor companies, most recently serving as Vice Chairman. He joined the Einstein Board of Overseers in 2005 and currently serves as Treasurer and Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, and as a member of Einstein’s Executive Committee. He is also a member of both the Finance and Investment Committees of the YU Board of Trustees. His commitment to Einstein began with his parents, Glory and Jack Einiger, who became active in the earliest days at Einstein, joining the Society of Founders in 1961. His mother continued as a leader of Einstein’s National Women’s Division for many years. He is also on the boards of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of New York City, Jewish Communal Fund, UJA-Federation of New York and the Anti-Defamation League.

Tovah Feldshuh, who has had a remarkable career as an actress, singer, and playwright on stage, television and film, illuminates the Jewish diaspora through her portrayals of strong, complex women. She has earned four Tony nominations for Best Actress and won four Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, the Obie, the Theatre World Award and the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Actress for Golda’s Balcony, which became the longest-running one-woman show in the history of Broadway. Film audiences recognize her from such movies as Kissing Jessica Stein; A Walk on the Moon; Brewster’s Millions and Daniel. On television, she received her first Emmy nomination for her portrayal of the Czech freedom fighter Helena in Holocaust. She has taught at Yale, Cornell and New York Universities. She is a supporter of Seeds of Peace, a non-profit, non-political organization that helps teenagers from regions of conflict and is the recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitas Award and the Israel Peace Medal, among others.

Maurice Kanbar, an inventor and entrepreneur born and raised in Brooklyn, has made an indelible impact on American culture. He has changed the way we view films, receive medical injections, socialize after a tough day at the office, zip through traffic, see the world, and pick fuzzy little balls from our sweaters. Indeed, he created New York’s first multiplex theater, and invented the Safetyglide hypodermic needle protector, SKYY Vodka, a new LED traffic light, a cryogenic cataract remover, and the D-Fuzz-It comb for sweaters. His latest inventions include Blue Angel Vodka and Zip Notes. He is also a real estate investor, film producer and author whose book, Secrets from an Inventor’s Notebook, outlines five proven steps to turning your good idea into a fortune. He produced the animated film, Hoodwinked, a offbeat and humorous retelling of the classic tale Little Red Riding Hood, which debuted in January 2006 and is currently completing Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil. A YU Benefactor, Mr. Kanbar established a scholarship fund for deserving law students at Cardozo.

Cantor Joseph Malovany, one of the world’s most accomplished tenors, has served as Cantor of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue since 1973. He began singing at the age of seven and studied at Bilu Synagogue School in Tel Aviv. His musicality was so profound that he became director of the choir at age 12, and his mother sold her wedding ring to pay for the piano. He holds diplomas from the Music Academy in Tel Aviv, and Royal Academy and Trinity College of Music in England, where he is also a Fellow. He holds the Joseph Malovany Chair for Advanced Studies in Jewish Liturgical Music at the Philip and Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music. Cantor Malovany is also Dean of the J.D.C. Moscow Academy of Jewish Music, which he helped establish in 1989 with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. He tours extensively throughout the world, singing with major international symphony orchestras, and traditionally sings memorial prayers at Holocaust commemorations at Madison Square Garden and the U.S. Capitol. An honorary president of the Cantorial Society of America, he is a former chairman of the American Society for Jewish Music. Cantor Malovany is the first Jewish cantor to receive the Poland Legion of Honor and also a recipient of the Poland/UNESCO International Prize for Tolerance in 2007.

YU Holds Recruitment Fair for Students and Graduates Seeking Jobs in Jewish Education
YU’s Institute for University-School Partnership and Center for the Jewish Future (CJF) team up to host an on-campus chinuch [Jewish education] recruitment event Nov. 16-17 that will highlight opportunities for YU students and graduates to work and teach in communities across North America.

The event will enable principals from Jewish schools across the United States and Canada to meet and interview students and graduates of the undergraduate schools, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.

“We know that YU graduates often make great faculty members and we want them to see us as a wonderful place to serve Klal Yisrael [the people of Israel] and to grow as professionals,” said Rabbi Shmuel Jablon, Menahel [principal] at the Torah Academy of Greater Philadelphia.

Anyone interested in arranging on-campus interviews with the administrators should send their resume to JewishJobs@yu.edu. Job listings are posted on www.ShaarHaavodah.org

“Participating principals will have time to interview potential teachers, network with each other and discuss the challenges and opportunities in the profession today with students and alumni,” said Joseph Small, program manager at the Institute for University-School Partnership. “We look forward to exposing our students to professionals who are committed to a vibrant Jewish future, as well as helping principals make this a successful recruiting season for their schools.”

The program is as follows:
Nov. 16, Beren Campus:
10 a.m.-6 p.m. – candidate interviews
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. – networking lunch for principals
2:45 p.m. – tour of campus
6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. – panel discussion for students on the challenges and opportunities of chinuch today

Nov. 17, Wilf Campus:
9 a.m. – networking breakfast
9:30 a.m.-noon;1 p.m.-4p.m. and 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m – candidate interviews
10:30 a.m. – tour of campus
noon-1 p.m. – lunch and a panel discussion for students on challenges and opportunities of chinuch today
4 p.m.-4:45 p.m – presentation by Dr. Jeffrey Glanz on the four frames of leadership

Lawrence Askowitz (left) and Evelyn Havasi-Stavsky (center), co-chairs of YU’s Wall Street Committee, help bring executives from Wall Street onto campus.

Wall Street Connections Series Gives Students Chance to Learn About Careers in Finance from Top Executives

Some of Wall Street’s most successful executives and money managers, many of whom are alumni, engaged undergraduate students at an industry forum and networking event on campus in October.

Since it was established three years ago, the Wall Street Connections Series has offered students insight into financial careers and the opportunity to build relationships with the people who might one day hire them. The events are collaboratively organized by YU’s Career Development Center and the Sy Syms School of Business Student Council, who partner with the Wall Street Committee, a group of alumni working in finance, to recruit professionals to address the students.

For Riva Wachsman, a finance major at Stern College for Women, the event—and the contacts and exposure it led to—reaped rewards in the form of a job as an analyst at Citigroup that she will begin after she graduates next year. She met Evelyn Havasi-Stavsky ’82S, ’85C, managing director and global head of Citigroup’s Asset Finance Group, at a Wall Street Connections panel two years ago and reached out to her for guidance about careers in finance. With some determination, Wachsman landed a summer internship in Citi’s capital markets origination division.

“It is not every day that someone of Riva’s caliber comes along,” said Havasi-Stavsky, who serves on Stern’s Board and has a daughter enrolled at the school. “She is the full package: bright, articulate and charming, with top quality grades, leadership qualities and great experience. I knew that she would be an asset and a great representative of YU graduates.”

Havasi-Stavsky knows what it takes to succeed in this field. The Stern College alumnus oversees 50 executives and manages a portfolio in excess of two billion dollars. She has a successful track record of closing highly complex structured transactions.

“Evelyn is a role model for me,” Wachsman said. “There are very few women who do the work she does, especially observant women. It is hard to work in investment banking and still have a life, but this is someone who does that and takes the time to help people like me. She gave me a lot of encouragement and advice. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be starting at Citi in the fall.”

Havasi-Stavsky co-chairs YU’s Wall Street Committee with Lawrence Askowitz ’87YC, managing partner at Gabriel Advisors LLC. They help bring speakers in from across the spectrum of careers in finance to give students a broader picture of opportunities in operations, sales and trading, private equity, investment banking, and mergers and acquisitions.

October’s event featured panelists who represented a broad swath of careers in finance, including the keynote speaker Tobias Levkovich, managing director and chief U.S. equity strategist at Citi Investment Research, and Andrew Herenstein ’84YC, managing principal of Monarch Alternative Capital LP.

“In this difficult economy, it’s more important than ever for students to build relationships with people already working in the trenches,” said Askowitz, who reported that the panelists were impressed with the quality of the students they spoke with. “We can be a resource for them to learn about financial careers in a way that goes beyond what they can get in the classroom.”

Dr. Martha S. Grayson Named Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education at Einstein

Nationally recognized educator Martha S. Grayson, MD, has been named senior associate dean for medical education at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Dr. Grayson, an alumna of Einstein, is known for developing innovative and rigorous medical educational programs and evaluation processes. She will assume her new leadership position on Dec. 1, 2009.

“In looking to the future of health care and medical education, Dr. Grayson’s experience, intellect and passion will ensure that Einstein graduates will continue to be well-positioned as they enter the medical field,” said Edward R. Burns, MD, executive dean of Einstein. “Her commitment to the scrupulous evaluation of educational programs coupled with her well-regarded humanistic approach will bring a dynamic perspective to the college of medicine.”

Dr. Grayson’s primary responsibility will be to ensure that Einstein’s curriculum remains a model of medical student teaching and to develop ongoing evaluation of all educational programs leading to the MD degree. In her role at Einstein, she will direct the office of education, to which a number of other offices report. These include computer-based education, faculty development, educational resources and diversity enhancement.

“It’s a real thrill to return to Einstein,” said Dr. Grayson, a member of Einstein’s class of 1979. “During these challenging times in medicine, I look forward to working with Einstein’s many committed faculty members in preparing students to address the health care needs of the next century. I am particularly excited about the new space on campus dedicated to clinical skills training.”

The Ruth L. Gottesman Clinical Skills Facility is a new 22,700-square-foot center located on Einstein’s central campus. It houses classrooms, fully equipped exam rooms and state-of-the-art video cameras to help instructors observe student interactions with “patients,” portrayed by actors or fellow students, and provide ongoing evaluation and feedback. The facility teaches first- and second-year students the basic communication and clinical skills needed for their future encounters with patients.

“I look forward to building on the outstanding job that Al Kuperman has done, especially integrating the clinical and basic sciences and adding small group activities in students’ first two years,” says Dr. Grayson. Albert Kuperman, PhD, has served as Einstein’s associate dean of educational affairs for over three decades.

Dr. Grayson’s areas of interest include developing interdisciplinary educational programs, encouraging healthy lifestyles, training in basic communication and interpersonal skills, and promoting professionalism and humanism in the practice of medicine. She also analyzes the diverse factors that determine medical student career choice and evaluates outcomes of educational programs. She has worked on tailoring teaching methodologies to the millennial generation, emphasizing informatics, interactive elements, and self-directed activities under appropriate guidance.

After graduating from Einstein, Dr. Grayson completed her residency in social medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, the University hospital and academic medical center for Einstein. Dr. Grayson is a board certified general internist who has been involved in medical student education throughout her career. She has held a number of positions in educational administration at New York Medical College and has served as chief of the section of general internal medicine at two of its affiliated hospitals. While at New York Medical College, she was named the first associate dean of primary care in the country. Most recently, Dr. Grayson served as its vice dean for medical education, a position she was elevated to after serving as senior associate dean for undergraduate medical education for more than five years.