New Dean’s Scholars Program Offers Medical School Courses to YU Undergrads

With this year’s launch of the Einstein Enrichment Program, Yeshiva University is offering 10 select undergraduates the opportunity to take courses at YU’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Einstein's Dr. Moshe Sadofsky addresses YU undergraduates as part of the Deans' Scholars Program

“The program will entail exposure to our top scientists, independent reading and highly interactive problem-based learning,” said Dr. Edward Burns, executive dean at Einstein and the program’s director. “It is designed to ignite a passion for biomedical science and medicine as it is practiced in the laboratory and clinic today, rather than from textbooks.”

Titled “Deans’ Scholars Program: Frontiers in Biomedical Sciences,” the credited cooperative academic program is being overseen by Dr. Karen Bacon, the Dr. Monique C. Katz dean at Stern College for Women, and Michal Jaff, the Beatrice Diener Presidential Follow. Fall lecture topics included Epochal Moments in Biology, Cells and Organelles, Genetic Material, Enzymes and Metabolism, Cell Communication and Stem Cells, covering material rarely taught to freshmen. In the spring semester, new topics will correlate basic science and clinical entities.

Designed specifically for first time on campus students who are interested in the biomedical sciences, the program meets six Fridays during each semester, and will require abundant involvement from participants, who will meet “very senior, famous scientists and will have to strut their stuff,” said Burns, and have access to state-of-the-art laboratory equipment.

The program, in its first year, will expand to 20 incoming students next year.

The current cohort of Scholars will continue the program for three more years, with increasing responsibility, independence and exposure as they advance through college. Next year, up to 20 incoming students will be offered spots in the program, “assuming this pilot is a success,” said Dean Bacon.

“This program is a really great opportunity,” said participant Anne Buzzell, of Clayton, NC. “The Einstein professors are highly qualified and give really interesting and smart lectures.”

Charles Lavene, a Yeshiva College participant, said that, although he has already set his sights on attending Einstein, “the program so far has sold me on Einstein even more.”

Buzzell noted that Einstein, too, hopes to benefit from this program. “The Dean mentioned that he hopes to see more undergraduate students take advantage of what Einstein has to offer,” she said.

The administration hopes that this program will prove “a competitive advantage,” for students when applying to medical school, said Dr. Burns. “It will be as useful for getting into Einstein as it would be to get into any other medical school,” he stressed.

The idea for the program first emerged last year, when YU President Richard M. Joel approached Dr. Burns to create a unique initiative “that would tie Einstein to the undergraduate YU programs in such a way to make Yeshiva and Stern Colleges unique in the sciences,” said Dr. Burns. With assistance from Provost Morton Lowengrub, several deans, the YU pre-med advisors and Dr. Victoria Freedman, associate dean for graduate programs in the biomedical sciences, the program was formed.

Although the program is the first of its kind at YU, there are tentative thoughts of expanding the model further. “Based on this experience, we would like to try to develop something similar between the undergraduate schools and our Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law,” said Dean Bacon.

Director, Actor of Oscar-Nominated “Footnote” Among Leading Artists of Israeli Cinema to Attend YU’s Ring Family Film Festival

Yeshiva University will present the Ring Family Film Festival from February 14-23, titled “A Lens on Israel: A Society through its Cinema.” The four-part festival will be supplemented by a variety of lectures, workshops and open forums with leading Israeli actors, writers, producers and directors.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dwe7GR9kO4

“The festival will provide students and members of the broader Yeshiva University community intimate insight into the dynamic nature of Israel and its diverse population through cinema,” said Eric Goldman, adjunct associate professor of cinema at Yeshiva University and artistic director and moderator of the festival.

The festival gets underway on February 14 at 7:30 p.m. with the screening of the internationally-acclaimed drama, “Restoration,” from director Joseph Madmony. The film, which was awarded “Best Screenplay” at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for 11 Ophir Awards—the highest honor given by the Israeli film industry—is a touching study of a man and his relationship with his son and our attachment to old things and memories. It will be screened at Lamport Auditorium, 2540 Amsterdam Ave. on YU’s Washington Heights Wilf Campus.

The 2008 film, “For My Father,” will be shown on February 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lamport Auditorium. The film, from director Dror Zahavi, is about a Palestinian who finds himself in Tel Aviv for Shabbat with ulterior motives. Both films will be followed by a post-screening discussion with Noemi Schory, renowned Israeli filmmaker, educator and producer for Yad Vashem. Schory will also conduct workshops on campus and will screen her 2010 award-winning film, “A Film Unfinished,” which examines how German cameramen manipulated film images in the Warsaw Ghetto to create Nazi propaganda.

On February 16 at 7:30 p.m., YU will host a special screening of “Footnote” at the Schottenstein Cultural Center, 239 East 34th Street, New York City on YU’s Beren Campus. The film, scheduled for theatrical release in mid-March, explores the lives of father and son Talmudic scholars who find themselves in competition with each other. “Footnote,” winner of “Best Screenplay” at Cannes and “Best Picture” at the Ophir Awards, is nominated for “Best Foreign Language Film” at this year’s Academy Awards. Following the screening, director Joseph Cedar, an observant Jew who won “Best Director” at this year’s Ophir Awards, will take questions from the audience.

The festival concludes with “Three Mothers” on February 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Lamport Auditorium. The 2006 film explores Israel’s history through the lives of three Egyptian-born sisters and is a powerful study of an Egyptian family of prominence that leaves Egypt for Israel in the 1950s. Director Dina Zvi-Riklis will take questions from the audience after the screening.

“We are bringing Israeli film here to introduce our students to the Israel of today,” said Festival Producer Norman Adler, University professor of psychology and special assistant to the provost for cultural affairs.

The Ring Family Film Festival at Yeshiva University is conceived and inspired by Frank Ring, a member of the Yeshiva College Board of Overseers and is supported together with Michael Ring, a member of the Stern College for Women Board of Overseers, who with their wives, Louise and Rochelle, respectively, are YU Guardians, and have been generous supporters of Yeshiva University and other Jewish and Israeli causes.

The festival is free and open to the public but space is limited. To learn more or to reserve tickets visit www.yu.edu/film-festival.

Students on CJF Winter Mission Explore Justice and Social Justice in Israel

Tucked away in an office in South Tel Aviv, a group of unlikely bedfellows engaged in some weighty conversation. Stav Shafir, one of the most prominent leaders of the social protest movement that shook up Israel this past summer and a group of Stern College for Women students of Yeshiva University in New York talked tachlis [substance] about social justice.

YU's Devorah Deutsch, center, with a student from the Reali School on the Tzedek V'Tzedaka mission.

“This wasn’t a protest just about housing – housing was the symbol for all of our social services,” explained the 26-year-old Shafir as she delved into the issues that prompted hundreds of thousands of Israelis of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities to demonstrate for a more just society.

This encounter was just one stop on a multi-tiered, eight-day winter break Israel trip for Yeshiva University undergraduates run by the University’s Center for the Jewish Future. Titled, “Tzedek V’Tzedakah,” the mission of two separate groups of 15 men and 15 women explored concepts of justice and social justice in a modern democratic Jewish State.

Through meetings with everyone from top Israeli rabbis and government officials to prison inmates and social activists, these January missions gave students a chance to examine such charged topics as corporate social responsibility and the challenges Israel faces in enforcing justice while being bound to both Jewish law and democratic Western values.

The Tzedek V’Tzedakah groups did not shy away from controversial issues, either. A special panel of haredi and non-haredi residents of Beit Shemesh was added to the itinerary in the aftermath of the violence there against girls at the hands of extremists. Tzedek V’Tzedakah is sponsored in part by the Jim Joseph Foundation.

“Every year we send hundreds of students on various types of experiential and service learning trips around the world,” said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, the David Mitzner Dean of Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF). “Our goal is for them to realize how they can be agents of change.” Read full article in eJewishPhilanthropy…

Students Present North America’s Largest Jewish Book Sale from February 5 to 26

The students of Yeshiva University will hold their annual Seforim Sale, North America’s largest Jewish book sale, from February 5 to 26 in Belfer Hall, 2495 Amsterdam Ave on YU’s Wilf Campus in Manhattan. The sale is operated entirely by YU students—from ordering to setting up the premises, marketing and all the technology the project entails.

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Last year the acclaimed Judaica book sale drew more than 15,000 people from the tri-state area and grossed more than $1 million in sales. The annual event provides discounted prices on the latest of more than 15,000 titles in rabbinic and academic literature, cookbooks, children’s books, and music.

The Seforim Sale has become a highlight for the Yeshiva University community, as students, alumni and members of the community congregate to visit their alma mater, see old friends and add books to their personal libraries. Proceeds from the sale support various initiatives, including student activities on campus and undergraduate scholarships.

Scheduled events at the sale include:

• Alumni Family Day and Meet-the-Alumni-Author Event (Feb. 12), featuring a musical workshop with the Y-Studs, arts-and-crafts with educators from the YU Museum and story-telling with Stern College Professor Penninah Schram, followed by a panel discussion with noted alumni authors: Rabbi Benjamin Blech ’54YC, ’56R; Sara Diament ’96S, ’98BR; Ann Koffsky ’93S; and Rabbi Dr. Saul Hillel Landa ’65YUHS, ’69YC
• Book signings with Susie Fishbein and Mazal Alouf-Mizrahi
• Live musical performances by YU’s own a cappella groups, The Maccabeats and Y-Studs, as well as Ta Shma, The Groggers, Except Saturday and Shlomo Gasin
• Lectures by the Bostoner Rebbe, Rabbi Nati Helfgot, Rebetzin Smadar Rosensweig, Rabbi Natan Slifkin, and Rabbi Gil Student

Those who cannot attend the sale can take advantage of the great prices and vast catalog selection by ordering online on the Seforim Sale’s Web site. For a complete listing of dates and times, to purchase gift certificates or to view the online catalog, visit www.theseforimsale.com.

All YU graduates with valid YU Alumni ID cards will receive five percent off their Seforim Sale purchases on Alumni Day. To obtain your YU Alumni ID card, please submit a request by February 6 to alumni@yu.edu.

Read The New York Times coverage of last year’s Seforim Sale…

Coach Jonathan Halpert Recruits from Israel as His Way of Thanking Those That Served in the IDF

To the average fan, it is no more than another mediocre basketball game in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. However, for Dr. Jonathan Halpert it means a whole lot more. For Halpert, the Yeshiva University team he coaches represents not only a private Jewish school from New York, but the entire Jewish people.

Coach Halpert

Halpert is in his 40th season as the basketball coach of the Maccabees, who currently have seven players from across Israel on their roster. Halpert, 67, comes to Israel twice a year to recruit local talent, hoping to find players worthy of representing not only Yeshiva University, but Jews everywhere.

“When Maccabi Tel Aviv plays in the Euroleague they are not only representing Maccabi, they are representing Israel and the Jewish people,” Halpert said during his recent visit to Israel.

“Whether Israelis want it or not, in the eyes of the world Maccabi is representing the Jewish state. When Yeshiva University goes out on court we are ‘the Jewish school.’ We are ‘the Jewish players.’ “There’s an opportunity to represent much more than yourself and the name of the school. For me to be able to represent the Jewish people 25 times a year is an opportunity I couldn’t get any place else. In Israel you can coach different teams and have that opportunity, but in America there is only one place I can do that so that is pretty special.” Read the full article in The Jerusalem Post…

Yeshiva University Ranked Among Most Popular National Universities by U.S. News & World Report

A recent article published by U.S. News & World Report ranks Yeshiva University among the most popular universities in the country.

More than 70% of accepted applicants enroll at YU—the 4th best yield in the country.

The article uses yield—the percentage of applicants accepted by a college who end up enrolling at that institution in the fall—as an indication of the school’s popularity among students. Harvard University, with a yield of 75.5%, tops the list, followed by Brigham Young and Stanford Universities. Yeshiva, with a yield of 70.7%, ranked fourth overall—up two spots from last year.

Yeshiva’s commitment to its Torah U’madda mission and unique dual curriculum make it an overwhelming first choice for many students who apply.

“I chose YU because it was the only college I found that could help me deepen my religious commitment and knowledge while pursuing a solid education in my fields of interest,” said Rafi Skier, a junior at Yeshiva College from Milwaukee, WI.

“Coming from a large public school, Stern College for Women always stood out for me as the perfect balance of small and rigorous classes, access to dedicated professors, and the unlimited resources of New York City,” said Maayan Hachen, a senior from Philadelphia, PA.

View the full list of America’s most popular universities at U.S. News & World Report.

To learn more about Yeshiva University or to apply, visit www.yu.edu/admissions.

Presidential Elections, Global Justice, National Security and Middle East Conflict: Political Science at Yeshiva University

As the 2012 presidential elections heat up, Yeshiva University’s political science courses are offering students an inside look at the domestic and international issues dominating today’s news cycle.

According to Dr. Joseph Luders, the David and Ruth Gottesman Chair of Political Science at YU, the spring semester is the most heavily enrolled in the department’s history. “These courses are academically demanding, topically relevant,  and engaging because they resonate with student concerns,” he explained. “Students are looking for courses that tackle real-world issues.”

For example, in Dr. James Bourke’s Global Justice and Human Rights class at Stern College for Women, students will immerse themselves in raging debates about hunger, poverty, economic development, gender inequality, human trafficking, lack of education and environmental degradation. They’ll ask what Bourke considers to be the central question posed to ethical citizens of first world countries: Are we obligated to help?

“In-depth discussion of theoretical perspectives and moral philosophy will help students think about these issues in terms of the duties and responsibilities they have as human beings, global citizens and citizens of their own countries, as well as how to relate broad issues of global inequality to their identities in personal and social settings,” said Bourke. Because of the course’s emphasis on women’s rights, it will also count towards a minor in women’s studies.

Dr. Charles Freilich, a former Israel national security adviser, will bring his unique professional experience to the Stern course Arab-Israeli Conflict. That class will examine beleaguered peace negotiations from a policy-making standpoint, putting students in the shoes of real-world leaders as they seek to understand the constraints, demands and positions of key players in the Middle East, both historically and today.

“Having worked with policymakers and the Israeli government for over 20 years, I can bring my understanding of how these things work to the classroom,” said Freilich. “We’re not going to focus on what we think is right so much as what the actual leaders can do given their personal preferences and strategic and political constraints.”

Women and the Law, a new Honors course investigating legal theory and the contemporary American legal system from a feminist perspective, will be taught by Dr. Adina Levine, a Stern and Harvard Law School graduate. “We’ll be looking at the kinds of issues that are especially relevant at a women’s college, like whether separate sex education is constitutional or if it reinforces stereotypes and glass ceilings, and hear the law’s current perspective on domestic violence, discrimination, employment and pregnancy,” said Levine. Her advice to students: “Don’t take what the media tells you or the current state of law, which is constantly changing, for granted. It’s only because of critical thinking that the law changes at all—the status quo is not necessarily the right, best or correct way to be.”

At Yeshiva College, Dr. Ariel Malka’s Psychology of Mass Opinion course offers students an eye-opening glimpse into the psychological processes and characteristics that shape public opinion about political issues, from policy preferences and presidential approval ratings to perceptions of how the economy is doing. Students will study the way genetic makeup, personality, media and socialization influence political views, and will also overview research on political judgment and decision-making processes. A current events component will focus on opinion and election polling surrounding the primaries and the lead-up to the general election.

“There’s this idea of a culture war in much of the rhetoric surrounding American politics, that Americans are bitterly divided on a wide set of hot-button issues, the stereotype of religious gun-toting rednecks versus secular latte-sipping liberal elitists, but it’s more complicated than that,” said Malka. “Understanding this complexity will give students a better sense of how opinions are actually structured in the American electorate and the nature of the current American electoral coalitions.”

Also at Yeshiva College, noted national security policy expert Dr. Evan Resnick will lead a course called Power Threats and National Security. Students will examine grand strategy in the United States throughout the 20th century, focusing especially on the idea of containment during the Cold War, as well as stances taken by world powers throughout history, from the Roman Empire to Renaissance-age Spain and England. They will also study emerging national security strategies proposed by scholars and analysts in the wake of 9/11.

“This is an era where there’s a lot of uncertainty about American grand strategy,” said Resnick. “We’re seeing the beginnings of a serious debate we really haven’t had since the end of the Second World War and these decisions are no longer the preserve of the academic think tanks. These are bread-and-butter issues now.”

Talya Seidman, a political science major at Stern, will be taking Women and Law and either Arab-Israeli Conflict or Dr. Ben Neinass’ Politics of Memory in the spring. “I think it’s important to study these topics today because we live in a time of immediate global connection and social protest,” she said. “The tools to know what’s going on all over the country and world are literally at our fingertips. We, as college-educated, young adults should be able to comprehend the significance of these important current events.”

How Disney’s Princess Culture Affects Young Girls: Acclaimed Author to Address Societal Feminist Issues on Feb. 6

Peggy Orenstein, internationally acclaimed author and commentator on issues affecting girls and women, will be speaking at Yeshiva University on Monday, February 6, 2012. The event, which is open to the public at no cost, will be held in Koch Auditorium, on YU’s Beren Campus, 245 Lexington Avenue, New York City at 6 p.m.

Best-selling author Peggy Orenstein will speak at Yeshiva University on Feb. 6.

Orenstein’s discussion, titled “From Princesses to Pop-Tarts: A Look at the New Culture of Girlhood,” will be centered on the princess culture of Disney and how it is affecting young women in making them more materialistic and image-conscious. She will explore the choices young women struggle to make between their feminine identity and feminism.

Orenstein is the author of New York Times best-sellers Cinderella Ate My Daughter and Waiting for Daisy, as well as Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Kids, Love and Life in a Half-Changed World; and School Girls: Young Women, Self-Esteem and the Confidence Gap. A contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, she has also written for such publications as The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Vogue, Elle, Discover, More, Mother Jones, Salon, O: The Oprah Magazine, and The New Yorker, and contributes commentaries to NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

“Peggy Orenstein’s message about the prevalence of Disney’s princess culture, and its wide-reaching, long-term impact on young girls’ self-esteem, body image and development, resonates deeply with our students, in particular, as they navigate the challenge of developing into strong, independent, young women who may eventually raise daughters of their own,” said Robin Freyberg, assistant professor of psychology at Stern College for Women and co-chair of YU’s women’s studies program.

Faculty-Penned Blog Reflects on Life of a Doctor

What is it like to be a practicing physician in today’s world of breakthrough technologies, expanding therapeutic options, insurance challenges, health policy debates and increasingly savvy e-patients? Faculty members at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University will provide a rare window into the lives of doctors navigating this evolving landscape with “The Doctor’s Tablet,” a new blog recently launched on Einstein’s website.

“Einstein’s faculty members have a wealth of unexpected stories – and varied perspectives on pressing medical issues – waiting to be shared,” said Gordon Earle, associate dean of the Philip and Rita Rosen Department of Communications and Public Affairs. “Many of them are also gifted writers with sharp points of view. We decided it was the right time to create an outlet for them.”

“The Doctor’s Tablet” will tackle a range of subjects, from doctors’ personal experiences in clinical practice to considered viewpoints on medical questions of the day. Beyond the world of statistics, paperwork and policy, daily interactions in medicine are usually quite personal – for doctor and patient alike. “The Doctor’s Tablet” will reflect this reality, offering thoughtful contributions to the ongoing conversation on the state of healthcare and translational research and how both intersect with people’s lives.

“We expect ‘The Doctor’s Tablet’ to be thought-provoking, but we’re also hoping it will spark vigorous debate and discussion,” said Paul Moniz, managing director of communications and marketing, who will help oversee the blog along with social media manager, David Flores. “In an open academic environment such as Einstein’s, frank and honest discourse is encouraged and we hope readers will jump in and engage with the authors – and each other,” Moniz added.

Visit “The Doctor’s Tablet” and read the introductory post.

Students Get Inside Look at Executive Leadership from CEOs and Captains of Industry in Weekly Lecture Series

Beginning in February, Yeshiva University students will have the unique opportunity to hear from and interact with today’s most influential and successful business leaders, entrepreneurs, trailblazers and innovators from top companies around the world as part of the Annual Kukin Entrepreneurial and Executive Leadership Series presented by YU’s Syms School of Business. The series, sponsored by Doris and Dr. Ira Kukin, begins on February 5 at 10 a.m. and runs every Friday through April 27 at YU’s Beren Campus, Yagoda Commons, 215 Lexington, New York City.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQEH9iWen-M

Speakers include: Seth Merrin, CEO and director of Liquidnet; Mark Gerson, president and CEO of Gerson Lehman Group; David Sable, Global CEO of Young & Rubicam; Kim Diamond, senior managing director at Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc.; Abbe Raven, president and CEO of A&E Television Networks; Warren Eisenberg, co-founder and co-chairman of Bed Bath & Beyond; Benjamin Brafman, Esq., Brafman & Associates, P.C.; Gail Magaliff, CEO of F·E·G·S Health and Human Services System; and Warren Struhl, founder and chairman of Popcorn Indiana, Dale and Thomas Popcorn, co-founder and CEO of PureBrands/Sheets Energy and Chief Inspiration Officer of Successories, Inc.

“This course provides our students with the unique opportunity to interact with world-class business leaders in an intimate and comfortable setting,” said Dr. Moses Pava, director of Syms. “Every Friday morning, students push beyond their textbook understanding and glimpse into the world of business from the perspective of some of the wisest, most powerful and most experienced practitioners in the world.”

Past speakers include Izzy Borovich (El Al), Mickey Drexler (J. Crew), Howard Jonas (IDT), Sumner Redstone (Viacom), Michael Bloomberg,  Ivan Seidenberg (Verizon), Fred Wilpon (NY Mets), Bob Catell (KeySpan/National Grid) and Neal Shapiro (Thirteen/WNET), among other luminaries.

The three credit course (no prerequisite) is open to all undergraduate students at Syms, Stern College for Women and Yeshiva College. For more information about the Kukin Lecture Series or to RSVP, contact Professor Steven Nissenfeld a snissenf@yu.edu.