Students Arrive on Campus for Undergraduate Orientation
They come from Morocco, Panama, Austria, Switzerland and countries across the globe.
They dream of becoming first-rate biochemists, artists, teachers, business leaders and Jewish thinkers.
In all, more than 650 new students will arrive at Yeshiva University’s Wilf and Israel Henry Beren Campuses this week to begin their academic journeys at the only institution where high-level Judaic studies and cutting-edge academics go hand in hand.
Fall 2012 Orientation kicked off on Wednesday, August 22 with exciting and informative activities to help students feel at home. Newcomers learned their way around YU’s uptown and downtown campuses on interactive tours led by student guides, who introduced them to key faculty, staff and resources dedicated to their academic and personal success. Read the rest of this entry…
Nissel came to Yeshiva University 16 years ago and has held several positions in both clinical and supervisory roles, including serving as director of the Counseling Centers-Manhattan Campuses and as associate dean of students for health affairs for the past six years. He also introduced the YU community to the YU-SOS (YU Supports Our Students) program where Counseling Center staff train University employees to better respond to students in distress. Read the rest of this entry…
Hundreds of Community Leaders Gather to Address Challenges Facing Orthodoxy
For four days in August, Orlando, FL, was the epicenter of a series of nationwide conversations in Orthodox communities across North America. The Seventh Annual ChampionsGate National Leadership Conference convened more than 450 rabbinic, educational and lay leaders from 92 locales across North America to address their most pressing communal challenges. The theme of the conference was “Shmitta: Reflection, Celebration, Renewal.”
“ChampionsGate 2012 was a profound celebration of a vision of Jewish values and community,” said Yeshiva University President Richard M. Joel. “Together with community leaders we demonstrated how we partner together and create a tremendous resource to help build and advance community.” Read the rest of this entry…
Carmen Ortiz Hendricks has been appointed dean of YU's Wurzweiler School of Social Work
Hendricks came to Wurzweiler in 2005 as professor of social work and associate dean. She has been serving as interim dean of Wurzweiler for the past year. In that time, she has worked with faculty, chair Froma Benerofe and the Board of Overseers, President Joel and Provost Mort Lowengrub to advance the school in critical directions: increasing enrollment, fundraising for scholarships and special projects, working with the Jewish Community, partnering with the Washington Heights community, and collaborating with other departments throughout the University. Read the rest of this entry…
President Richard M. Joel Reflects on his Recent Visit to the White House
Last week, I had a wonderful opportunity to meet with President Barack Obama and his Chief of Staff Jack Lew in the White House as part of a delegation of the Orthodox community convened by the Orthodox Union.
We enjoyed a full and frank discussion with the president on a range of issues of concern to us as Jews and as Americans. We were, of course, treated cordially, and the conversation was nuanced. We discussed issues that included the balances between rights in a pluralistic society and religious liberties, the role of values in American society, affordability of education, Israel and Iran. The president and chief of staff were articulate, forthright and engaging. I’ll leave the policy discussions to others.
Yeshiva University Celebrates Israel with Largest Contingent at Annual NYC Parade
More than 1,500 students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of Yeshiva University marched up Fifth Avenue, cheering and greeting the crowds as they celebrated Israel’s 64th year of independence at the annual 2012 Celebrate Israel Parade on Sunday, June 3.
Ambassador Yehuda Avner Tells Graduates: “You Are the Vanguard of Our People”
“Can’t you feel the excitement and energy in here?” asked Miriam Goldstein, a newly minted graduate of Stern College for Women. “These have been the best four years of my life. I’m so glad to be here and part of this.”
“Here” was the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ, where Yeshiva University hosted its 81st annual Commencement ceremony on May 24. More than 750 undergraduate students received their degrees and heard a memorable keynote address from former Israeli diplomat Ambassador Yehuda Avner. Read the rest of this entry…
Dr. Chip Edelsberg Implores New Azrieli Graduates to Strive for Authenticity
The buoyant mood and cheerful light that infused the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration’s annual commencement ceremonies served as perfect contrast to the grey and gloomy evening weather outside Belfer Hall on Monday, May 21. Fifty one master’s students, 11 accelerated students, 10 doctoral students, and two specialist certificate recipients received recognition in a packed hall where extra chairs had to be brought in at the last minute to accommodate an overflow crowd of excited family and friends.
For Judith Cahn, who earned her doctoral degree, at least two members of her family didn’t have to worry about finding a chair because they had spots in the section reserved for graduating students. Read the rest of this entry…
Mayor Cory Booker: “Use Your Faith to Help and Inspire Others”
On the evening of May 8, students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the greater Yeshiva University community filled Lamport Auditorium to hear Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, New Jersey, discuss “The Role of Religion in Education and Public Life.” The event was the final installment of this year’s Great Conversation Series of the Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought.
Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik and Mayor Cory Booker discuss “The Role of Religion in Education and Public Life” at the final Straus Center event of the academic year.
The conversation—led by Straus Center Director Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik—bounced around from discussing how Booker’s personal faith influences his daily life, issues regarding the importance of improving education, and the nature of faith in the public square in America. Throughout the conversation, the mayor sprinkled his words with pointed anecdotes, quotes of important figures like the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi, and—to the crowd’s delight—passages from biblical and rabbinic literature in English and in Hebrew. Read the rest of this entry…
Ambassador Yehuda Avner to Speak at May 24 Commencement; Honorees Include Alan Willner, Eleazer Hirmes and Ethel Orlian
Former Israeli diplomat, Ambassador Yehuda Avner, will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary doctorate at Yeshiva University’s 81st Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 24, at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ.
Ambassador Yehuda Avner
Avner, an author of two books, served as speechwriter and secretary to Israeli Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir, and as an adviser to Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin and Shimon Peres. Read the rest of this entry…
