Message From Our President
Dear Students, Faculty, Staff and Friends,
I am pleased to present to you this Guide to our plans for the upcoming fall semester and reopening of our campuses. In form and in content, this coming semester will be like no other. We will live differently, work differently and learn differently. But in its very difference rests its enormous power.
The mission of Yeshiva University is to enrich the moral, intellectual and spiritual development of each of our students, empowering them with the knowledge and abilities to become people of impact and leaders of tomorrow. Next year’s studies will be especially instrumental in shaping the course of our students’ lives. Character is formed and developed in times of deep adversity. This is the kind of teachable moment that Yeshiva University was made for. As such, we have developed an educational plan for next year that features a high-quality student experience and prioritizes personal growth during this Coronavirus era. Our students will be able to work through the difficulties, issues and opportunities posed by our COVID-19 era with our stellar rabbis and faculty, as well as their close friends and peers at Yeshiva.
To develop our plans for the fall, we have convened a Scenario Planning Task Force made up of representatives across the major areas of our campus. Their planning has been guided by the latest medical information, government directives, direct input from our rabbis, faculty and students, and best practices from industry and university leaders across the country. I am deeply thankful to our task force members and all who supported them for their tireless work in addressing the myriad details involved in bringing students back to campus and restarting our educational enterprise.
In concert with the recommendations from our task force, I am announcing today that our fall semester will reflect a hybrid model. It will allow many students to return in a careful way by incorporating online and virtual learning with on-campus classroom instruction. It also enables students who prefer to not be on campus to have a rich student experience by continuing their studies online and benefitting from a full range of online student services and extracurricular programs.
In bringing our students back to campus, safety is our first priority. Many aspects of campus life will change for this coming semester. Gatherings will be limited, larger courses will move completely online. Throughout campus everyone will need to adhere to our medical guidelines, including social distancing, wearing facemasks, and our testing and contact tracing policies. Due to our focus on minimizing risk, our undergraduate students will begin the first few weeks of the fall semester online and move onto the campus after the Jewish holidays. This schedule will limit the amount of back and forth travel for our students by concentrating the on-campus component of the fall semester to one consecutive segment.
Throughout our planning, we have used the analogy of a dimmer switch. Reopening our campuses will not be a simple binary, like an on/off light switch, but more like a dimmer in which we have the flexibility to scale backwards and forwards to properly respond as the health situation evolves. It is very possible that some plans could change, depending upon the progression of the virus and/or applicable state and local government guidance.
Before our semester begins, we will provide more updates reflecting our most current guidance. Please check our website, yu.edu/fall2020 for regular updates. We understand that even after reading through this guide, you might have many additional questions, so we will be posting an extensive FAQ section online as well. Additionally, we will also be holding community calls for faculty, students, staff and parents over the next couple of months.
Planning for the future during this moment has certainly been humbling. This Coronavirus has reminded us time and time again of the lessons from our Jewish tradition that we are not in full control of our circumstances. But our tradition also teaches us that we are in control of our response to our circumstances. Next semester will present significant challenges and changes. There will be some compromises and minor inconveniences--not every issue has a perfect solution. But faith and fortitude, mutual cooperation and resilience are essential life lessons that are accentuated during this period. And if we all commit to respond with graciousness, kindness, and love, we can transform new campus realities into profound life lessons for our future.
Deeply rooted in our Jewish values and forward focused in preparing for the careers and competencies of the future, we journey together with you, our Yeshiva University community, through these uncharted waters. Next year will be a formative year in the lives of our students, and together we will rise to the moment so that our students will emerge stronger and better prepared to be leaders of the world of tomorrow.
Best Wishes,
Ari Berman
After the processional, led by Dr. Selma Botman, provost and vice president of academic affairs, Rabbi Yosef Kalinsky gave the invocation: “We ask for his blessing and support in your noble endeavor to help the most vulnerable in our society. May you never forget or overlook oppression and approach the suffering in our world with compassion, expertise and humility. May you have the courage to speak the truth and to advocate for human dignity and the rights of all members of our community.”
After congratulatory remarks by Joan Katz, a member of the Wurzweiler Board of Overseers, Dr. Danielle Wozniak, Dorothy and David I. Schachne Dean, spoke with passion about the confidence she has in how well the new graduates will do as they move out into the world to do their work. “For the last 61 years,” she said, “Wurzweiler has been educating social workers who are knowledgeable, hardworking, competent and resourceful. You now join their ranks...in the vital work of repairing a fractured world, a world that has been waiting for this day, and waiting for you.”
This idea of social work being akin to a calling was a theme that Dr. Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University, took up his remarks to the graduates. “What we do at Yeshiva University,” he said, “is disseminate our messages of kindness and caring and redemption. We are on a path to redeem the world. We think of ourselves in greater terms. And this applies to all of our students and certainly applies to our incredible graduates of Wurzweiler. How you are devoting your life in working to redeem the world one by one, caring for each individual, is truly holy work.”
Three graduates—Debbie Akerman, Soohyoung Lee and Atara Leah English—offered their perspectives as students, and a number of other graduates received awards and certificates.
In his benediction, Rabbi Dr. Ari Sytner, adjunct instructor at Wurzweiler, noted that the graduates, now charged to go forth in to the world, will “transform the world that is before you...by seeing the beauty and the pure humanity in every fragile, tender, broken person you meet, the beautiful and perfectly imperfect amongst us. Use your training and education and power to transform this world one person at a time.”
SCHOOL AWARDS
