Jul 26, 2004 -- Eleven students who graduated from Yeshiva University (YU) in May 2004 are returning to their alma mater this month to work as graduate fellows in a program created under a presidential initiative. The inaugural awardees of the Graduate Fellowship in University and Community Leadership are part of a broader effort to train top graduates at the university and expand YU’s service to the Jewish community. “My intention is to inspire these young people not only to pursue their professional dreams, but to remain committed to the university and the Jewish community by utilizing the very skills they will gain,” President Richard M. Joel said. “They will play a meaningful role in the academic enterprise and hopefully apply their community service orientation to their professional lives.” The fellows were chosen after an intense screening process based on their academic performance, campus leadership, and concern for the Jewish community. They will be assigned to senior administrators, who will be actively engaged in grooming them and will, in turn, be receptive to their ideas and observations. The 2004-05 fellows are Jacob Agatstein, Anat Barber, Rachel Horn Cyrulnik, Debra Feinberg, Lisa Grundman, Ouriel Hassan, Shoshana Butler, Marisa Parker, Shira Rosenfeld, Joshua Ross, and Elysia Rothenberg. Under the program, the fellows take on a specific project and are mentored by a university administrator. Each fellow will receive $18,000 plus benefits, including a year of housing and health insurance. The program underscores a concerted effort to listen to YU’s chief constituencies. Their insight will enrich university and academic life, the president said.