YESHIVA UNIVERSITY TODAY September 2007

After a summer ofhammering anddrilling, building,painting, and car-

peting, Yeshiva University’sundergraduate and graduateschools now boast many newhigh-quality facilities.

The university’s Office ofPlanning, Design and Con-struction oversaw the renova-tion and construction of 42 pro-jects on various campuses,some of which are continuingduring the fall semester, saidJeffrey Rosengarten, vice presi-dent for administrative services.

“The lion’s share of the workwe have done this summer willbenefit academics and studentlife,” Mr. Rosengarten said. “Itis a major step toward themod-ernization of all the universi-ty’s campuses.”

245 LEXINGTON AVENUEThe Lea and Leon EisenbergBeit Midrash at Stern Collegefor Women opened this semes-ter on the seventh floor of 245Lexington Avenue. The glass-enclosed room seats up to 120people and is three times largerthan the previous beit midrash(study hall). It features a unique-ly designed aron kodesh (holyark) and many elegant archi-tectural touches, and will bededicated at an event in Octo-ber. Look out for more infor-mation about the new spacein YU Today later this year.

The front entranceway andfirst floor of the building havebeen completely revamped.An elegant glass and steelfaçade rising from groundlevel to the third floor includesa covered portico where stu-

dents can gather. Inside, theexpanded lobby gives stu-dents and visitors more spaceto congregate.

The space formerly occu-pied by the dean’s offices tothe right of the lobby hasbeen converted into two largeadjoining classrooms, which

also function as flexible meet-ing rooms that can be convert-ed into one large space. Thetransparent glass walls look-ing onto the lobby can beelectronically adjusted to be-come opaque when the roomsare being used for classes.

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY • SEPTEMBER 2007 • VOLUME 12 NO. 1

spider.mc.yu.edu/news/in_print/publications.cfm

YUTodayIN

SID

E RENAISSANCEMAN

Dr. Jacob WisseRevitalizes ArtHistory at Stern

Page 5

SUMMERTRAVELS

Learning in Japan,Italy, Israel,and Beyond

Page 6–7

INNOCENCEMILESTONE

Innocence Projectat CardozoExonerates 205thClient0

GIRLPOWER

Women’s AthleticsDoubles SportsOfferings

Page 4

Dr. Michael Ginzberg, a na-tionally prominent expertand prolific author on man-agement information sys-

tems and the international aspects ofbusiness, was appointed dean of SySyms School of Business in the summer.Dr. Ginzberg helped build both theUniversity of Delaware’s Alfred LernerCollege of Business and Economicsand Case Western Reserve University’sWeatherhead School of Managementinto world-class institutions.

“Through its commitment to excel-lence, creativity, and collaboration, SySyms School of Business plays an inte-gral role in our mission of upholdingand promoting the ideals of TorahUmadda [the confluence of Torah andsecular knowledge],” said PresidentRichard M. Joel in his announcement

of the appointment. “In Dean MichaelGinzberg, we have not only an educa-tor of rigor and experience, but some-one who both respects that missionand who knows the value of dreams.”

Morton Lowengrub, PhD, provostand senior vice president for academicaffairs, said the new dean was appoint-ed following an exhaustive and rigor-ous national search. “Dr. Ginzberg’s out-standing amalgam of skills, creativevision, and dynamic leadership abilitieswill serve us well as wemove forward onsecuring the school of business’ positionamong the top echelon of undergradu-ate business schools in the United States.”

Dr. Ginzberg served from 2000 to2006 as dean of the University ofDelaware’s Lerner College where hewas also the Chaplin Tyler Professor ofBusiness. Since 2006 he served as a pro

bono special consultant to the presidentof Tulane University in New Orleans,helping develop a strategy and imple-mentation plan for a new school ofscience and engineering.

He said he is excited about comingto Sy Syms because of its “commitmentto preparing students not just for thechallenges of today’s business world butalso to be industry leaders of unques-tionable ethics.”

“Because of the school’s dual cur-riculum, combining a comprehensivebusiness education with the strongestundergraduate Jewish studies programin the country,” Dr. Ginzberg said,“Syms students are imbued with theskills and values necessary to make sig-nificant contributions in their profes-sional pursuits, their communities, andDr. Michael Ginzberg appointed after

national search. continued on page 4

continued on page 3

Campus Building Boom

SY SYMS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

New Dean Sets Course for Growth at Sy SymsMichael Ginzberg, Management Information Expert, Excited for Opportunities Ahead

Tips ForFirst-Timerson CampusReturning students have

more than just words

of welcome for new

students—they also

have helpful hints for

balancing their work-

load with getting the

most out of college life.

YU Today asked a group

of them to share their

advice on everything

from extra-curricular

activities to spending

Shabbat on campus.

Turn to pages 4, 9, and

10 to see what they say.

Stern College constructed a new façade at 245 Lexington Avenue inthe summer.

2 YUToday September 2007

In keeping with YeshivaUniversity’s strategic planto increase the number oftenure-track professors,

eight full professors join a grow-ing roster of distinguishedscholars this fall.

Two are full members of theundergraduate faculty, twojoin the Jewish studies facultyat both Bernard Revel Grad-uate School of Jewish Studiesand Yeshiva College, and fourare graduate faculty.

Adam Newton–Chairman,English Department,Yeshiva College

Dr. Newton, who was theyoungest professor appointed toan endowed chair at the Univer-sity of Texas in Austin, is “a stel-lar addition to the college’s fac-ulty,” said Morton Lowengrub,PhD, provost and senior vicepresident for academic affairs.In addition to numerous essays,the Harvard doctoral graduatehas published four books withmajor university presses overthe past 10 years includingNarrative Ethics, which wasawarded the Harvard UniversityPress Thomas J. Wilson Prize.Dr. Newton also directed theJewish Studies Program at UTAustin. Among his researchinterests are 20th-century Amer-ican literature, popular culture,and contemporary fiction.

Barry Eichler–Professor ofBiblical and Ancient Near EastStudies, Yeshiva College andBernard Revel GraduateSchool of Jewish Studies

Dr. Eichler, a visiting profes-sor at Bernard Revel GraduateSchool of Jewish Studies for

many years, now joins the un-dergraduate and graduate fac-ulties as a full-time professor.Dr. Eichler is a noted scholarwho taught at the University ofPennsylvania for more than40 years and curated the Bab-ylonian Tablet Collection attheir Museum of Archaeologyand Anthropology. His expert-ise in biblical and ancient NearEast studies is augmented by hisknowledge of Jewish law,whichhe taught at the University ofPennsylvania Law School.

David Berger–Professor ofMedieval Jewish History,Yeshiva College and BernardRevel Graduate School ofJewish Studies

David Berger ‘64Y, R, aworld-renowned scholar in medievalJewish history and a long-timevisiting professor at Revel Grad-uate School, was hired full-timein the spring. He was previ-ously the Broeklundian Profes-sor of History at Brooklyn Col-lege and the Graduate Centerof the City University of NewYork. Among Dr. Berger’s manypublications are The Rebbe, theMessiah, and the Scandal of Or-hodox Indifference. “With his

international reputation as ateacher and scholar, Dr. Bergerwill play a major role in build-ing a premier faculty in Jewishstudies,” Dr. Lowengrub said.

Anthony Sebok–Professorof Law, Benjamin N. CardozoSchool of Law

Previously a professor atBrooklyn Law School, Dr. Sebokis a specialist in tort law andlegal philosophy with a focuson punitive damages and therole that the US liability sys-tem plays in resolving politi-cal disputes. “Tony Sebok is astrong contributor in bothteaching and research atCardozo,” said Dr. Lowengrub.The author of numerous arti-cles about mass restitution lit-igation, jurisprudence, andthe differences between Euro-pean and American tort sys-tems, Dr. Sebok is frequentlyquoted by the national mediaon timely legal issues. A Yaleand Princeton graduate (forhis JD and PhD respectively),he is the author of Legal Pos-itivism in American Jurisprudenceand co-editor of Philosophy ofLaw: A Collection of Essays.

Michelle Adams–Professorof Law, Benjamin N. CardozoSchool of Law

Prof. Adams joins the Car-dozo faculty from Harvard LawSchool. After receiving her JDfrom theCityUniversity of NewYork, she clerked for MagistrateJudge James C. Francis, IV ofthe United States District Courtfor the Southern District of NewYork and then practiced law asa staff attorney at the LegalAid Society, Civil Appeals and

Law Reform Unit in New York.In 1993, Prof. Adamswasnamedthe Charles Hamilton HoustonFellow at Harvard Law School.She writes in the areas of affir-mative action, race and sex dis-crimination, and housing law.“In her year at Cardozo as vis-iting professor, she receivedenthusiastic reviews from herstudents as well as her col-leagues,” said Dr. Lowengrub.

Reverend Frederick J.Streets–Carl and DorothyBennet Professor of PastoralCounseling, WurzweilerSchool of Social Work

Rev. Frederick J. Streets joinsthe Wurzweiler faculty follow-ing his service as chaplain ofYale University and senior pas-tor of the University Churchat Yale, positions he has heldsince 1992 and which he was

the first African American andBaptist to hold. He holds aMaster of Divinity degree fromYale University and master’sand doctoral degrees in socialwork fromWurzweiler. As a con-sultant to the Harvard Programin Refugee Trauma, Rev. Streetshelped implement a model forthe psychiatric and pastoral careof Bosnian citizens traumatizedby war. He also traveled to Co-lombia to promote peace-mak-ing and to Argentina to helpfoster a greater understandingof the nonprofit sector’s rela-tionship to higher education.Dr. Lowengrub commented,“Rev. Dr. Streets will signifi-cantly add to the social workschool’s ever-broadening basein the national and interna-tional arenas.”

YU Adds Eight Tenure-Track Faculty

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

Morry Weiss, ChairmanYU Board of Trustees

Richard M. JoelPresident

Dr. Norman LammChancellor

Georgia B. PollakVice President for University Communications and Public Affairs

Joshua L. Muss, Chairman, Board of Directors, Yeshiva College; Marjorie Diener Blenden,Chairman, Board of Directors, Stern College for Women; Bernard L. Madoff, Chairman, Board ofDirectors, Sy Syms School of Business; Ira M. Millstein, Chairperson, Board of Overseers, AlbertEinstein College of Medicine; Kathryn O. Greenberg, Chairman, Board of Directors, BenjaminN. Cardozo School of Law; Robert Schwalbe, Chair, Board of Governors, Wurzweiler School ofSocial Work; Mordecai D. Katz, Chairman, Board of Directors, Bernard Revel Graduate Schoolof Jewish Studies; Katherine Sachs, Chair, Board of Governors, Ferkauf Graduate School ofPsychology; Moshael J. Straus, Chairman, Board of Directors, Azrieli Graduate School of JewishEducation and Administration; Julius Berman, Chairman, Board of Trustees, (affiliate) RabbiIsaac Elchanan Theological Seminary; Erica Jesselson, Chairperson, Board of Directors, (affiliate)Yeshiva University Museum. Board listings as of January 1, 2007.

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY TODAY

Valerie PetersEditor-In-Chief

Kelly BermanEditor

Boris VolunuevDesigner

Stacey Billups, Elsa Brenner, Paulette Crowther, Enrique Cubillo, Susan Davis,Steve Eichinger, Marcy Frank, June Glazer, Norman Goldberg, Lois Goldrich,Andrea Kahn, Toni Kamins, Celia Regan, Peter Robertson, Arlene Schulman,

Hedy Shulman, V. Jane WindsorContributors

spider.mc.yu.edu/news/in_print/publications.cfm

Yeshiva University Today is published every two months during the academic year by theYeshiva University Department of Communications and Public Affairs, 401 Furst Hall, 500 West185th St., New York, NY 10033-3201 (212-960-5285). It is distributed free on campus to faculty,staff, students, alumni, and donors. © Yeshiva University 2007

YUTodayV O L U M E 1 2 • N U M B E R 1

• Men’s and women’s tees, polos, and hoodies• Baby bibs, book bags, and coffee mugs

• Plus other Yeshiva University items for men, women, and children

CHECK OUT YESHIVA UNIVERSITY'S ONLINE STORE> Now 45% off < > yu.awards.com <

continued on page 9

Dr. David Berger

Michelle Adams

Rev. Frederick J. Streets

September 2007 YUToday 3

CLASSROOMMODERNIZATIONSMultimedia systems have beeninstalled in 22 classrooms atthe Israel Henry Beren Campus,matching work that wasrecently completed at theWilfCampus, so that virtually everyundergraduate classroom nowhas high-quality PC and DVDprojection systems.

NEW DORMITORY AT STERNA new building has been addedto the Beren Campus, reinforc-ing Stern College’s presence asa major educational institutionin midtown Manhattan. About130 students can be housed atthe modern and luxurious dor-mitory at 150 East 35th Street.The facility features loungesand exercise facilities, and eachunit includes a beautiful kitchenwith marble countertops.

BELFER HALLA little-known space in BelferHall, the concourse below thebasement now hosts an exten-sive suite of state-of-the-art lab-oratories for psychology, phys-ics, and computer research atYeshiva College. The psychol-ogy department’s suite includesan observation and subject labwith a one-way mirror, facultyoffices, and a comfortable loungeand pantry for students’ andfaculty use.

The floor also features mod-ern physics labs with a groupwork area, a suite of four ad-vanced computer research labswith a dedicated server room,and two large computer teach-ing labs.

Large biochemistry andmicrobiology labs, a dedicatedstudent research facility, and abiology prep room on the 14th

floor were completed for the2007–08 school year.

FURST HALLA welcoming new Office of

Admissions greets prospectiveand current students andtheir families on the first floorof Furst Hall this semester.The suite includes the officeof Hillel Davis, PhD, vice pres-ident for university life.

Under-utilized areas on theFurst Hall lower level, previous-

ly a practice area for the fenc-ing team, were renovated intoabout 40 work spaces for staffofficesp. Fencing practice willnow take place in Zysman Hall.

Other staff offices in FurstHall have been revamped, in-cluding Communications andPublic Affairs on the fourthfloor, and the Chancellor’s suiteon the fifth floor. The Officeof Alumni and CommunityAffairs, which has grown rap-idly over the past two years,will also occupy part of thatfloor when work is completedin the fall.

GLUECK CENTERConstruction has begun on theJacob and Dreizel Glueck Cen-ter for Jewish Study, the firstbuilding to be constructed onthe Wilf Campus in over 20years. Over the summer the sitewas excavated and the founda-tion laid. Structural work hasbegun with completion sched-uled for 2008. The center willhouse a two-storey, 470-seatbeit midrash—the largest atYU—two spacious lecture halls,50 faculty offices, nine class-rooms, and facilities for semi-nars and conferences.

GOTTESMAN LIBRARYScheduled for completion byyear’s end, the former spaceoccupied by the YU Museumon the first floor of the MendelGottesman Library will be con-verted into a multi-functionalevent space. Primarily a studentlounge, it will also serve as anauditorium accommodating upto 400 people, and an elegantbanquet/dining facility for spe-

cial events. A series of split lev-els will define the different areasand allow for flexible use.

A new entrance to the lib-rary, the Nagel Family Atrium,will be built onWest 185th Street.Constructed of glass, it will com-plement the older brick struc-ture of the library and echo themodern façade of the adjoin-ing Glueck Center when it isfinished. �

President Richard M. Joel checks in on the progress at the GlueckCenter building site with foreman John Stancati.

New glass façade at 245 Lexington Avenue.

Observation lab in psychology department at Yeshiva College.

Stern’s new dorm.

The YC psychology department boasts a comfortable lounge areafor faculty and students.

Stern’s new beit midrash was designed in consultation with students.

Building Boom,continued from p. 1


society at large.”Dr. Ginzberg was also at-

tracted to the deanship becauseit provides an ideal opportu-nity to build the school, whichhe said has “enormous poten-tial.” Hewill focus in the imme-diate future on securing accred-itation by the Association toAdvance Collegiate Schools ofBusiness, enhancing existingundergraduate programs, estab-lishing a comprehensive hon-ors program, and exploring theintroduction of selective grad-uate programs.

Dr. Ginzberg has an impres-sive record in accomplishingsuch goals at other institutions.At the University of Delaware,his tenure as the Lerner Col-lege dean was highlighted bythe establishment of the JohnWeinberg Center for CorporateGovernance, securing the en-dowment to name the school,and introducing graduate pro-grams in the management ofsystems and technology andorganizational change. He wasalso awarded $10 million fromthe US Agency for Interna-tional Development to devel-op a graduate school of busi-ness in Sarajevo.

Prior to that deanship, Dr.Ginzberg served as a professorand associate dean of theWeatherhead School of Man-agement at Case Western Re-serve for over 15 years wherehe built the information sys-tems department into one of

the nation’s top informationsystems research departmentsfocusing on behavioral andorganizational issues.

He also established the Cen-ter for Management of Scienceand Technology, an interdisci-plinary center for research andteaching; exchange programswith business schools in severalEuropean and Latin Americancountries; and an MBA pro-gram in partnership with theInternationalManagement Cen-ter in Budapest.

Dr. Ginzberg, who has alsoheld faculty positions at Colum-bia and New York University,earned his doctorate in man-agement in 1975 from theAlfred P. Sloan School of Man-agement atMassachusetts Insti-tute of Technology and hisMBA in economic analysis isfrom Iona College.

A native of Cincinnati whogrew up in South Florida andWestchester County, NY, Dr.Ginzberg has held leadershippositions in various profes-sional organizations includ-ing: the Executive Committeeof the International Conferenceon Information Systems; theSociety for Information Man-agement (NortheastOhioChap-ter); the International Manage-ment Center, the SarajevoGraduate School of Business;and Beta Alpha Psi, the hon-orary society for accounting andfinancial information profes-sionals. He is a fellow of the

Association for InformationSystems.

He is the author and/or edi-tor ofmore than 50 articles andbooks on information systemsdevelopment andmanagement,information technology strat-egy, and organizational change,and the recipient of a numberof major grants.

In his Jewish communityleadership, Dr. Ginzberg hasserved on the board of the Jew-ish Federation of Delaware;Congregation Beth Shalom inWilmington, DE; Hillel at theUniversity of Delaware; Belle-faire Jewish Children’s Bureau;and Congregation Bethaynuin Ohio. �

New Sy Syms Dean,continued from p. 1

Female athletes at YeshivaUniversity are about toscore big. Over the nexttwo years, women’s ath-

letics will add soccer, cross coun-try, and volleyball to its lineup,reaching NCAA status for thefirst time and achieving fullmembership in the SkylineConference—theNewYork Cityconference that competes inthe NCAA’s Division III.

“This is very exciting news,”said Joe Bednarsh, the univer-sity’s director of athletics. “We’vedoubled the number of varsitysports on the women’s side,and competing in the SkylineConference allows our student-athletes the opportunity to com-

pete against an upgraded sched-ule.” The developments willallow the university’s athletesto have a superior experienceon and off the playing field,he added. “Building new pro-grams is a lofty challenge, butI believe we have the supportfrom the YU community tomake this initiative a success-ful one,” he said.

Thewomen’s programwill beoverseen by Esther Goldfeder,the new assistant athletics direc-tor. The former director of ath-letics at the Stella K. AbrahamHigh School for Girls, Goldfederjoined YU four years ago as assis-tant women’s basketball coach.In hiring Goldfeder, Bednarsh

believes the infrastructure willbe in place to allow for a suc-cessful building of the women’sprograms during what is inmany ways a new era for theMaccabees.

“Esther is an experiencedathletics administrator whohas developed fantastic ties toour community as an assistantcoach,” Bednarsh said. “Shehas the patience and determi-nation to oversee the develop-ment of a women’s athleticsprogram that our entire com-munity will continue to beproud of.”

After competing as a clubprogram in 2006, women’s soc-cer will begin varsity play dur-

ing the upcoming season withcoaching by Jack Thelusma,formermen’s head soccer coach.Women’s cross country and vol-leyball will operate as club pro-grams during the fall of 2007.Cross country will be coachedby StanleyWatson, Yeshiva Col-

lege’s assistant athletic directorand director of intramural ath-letics, and volleyball by RoxannePrendergast, a 2006 team cap-tain for Mount Saint Vincentwho led her team to winningrecords during three of her fourcollege seasons. �

ATHLETICS

Women’s Athletics DoublesNumber of Sports OfferedBasketball Coach Appointed Assistant Athletics Director

New CIO Reorganizes MIS

L ess than six months afterbeing appointed vice presi-dent for information technol-ogy and chief information offi-

cer, Marc Milstein has reorganized theManagement Information Service (MIS)department to bring greater cohesionand improve service across the graduateand undergraduate campuses.Milstein’s first step was to change

MIS’s name to Information Technology Services (ITS) toreflect YU’s move toward improved organization for all theuniversity’s technological services. Overall, Milstein’s goal isto transform IT into a vital, integral part of university life.

To implement these changes, Milstein hired three depart-mental directors, two of whom come fromwithin YU, to formthe nucleus of the Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Tom Oleszczuk, PhD, is director of academic services,which includes technical support for academic computingand the Web, as well as oversight of the Help Desk.

Robert Lummis, PhD, is director of information technol-ogy and security and retains his previous title of assistantdean for information technology at Einstein. Dr. Lummis isresponsible for university-wide networks, security adminis-tration and e-mail services, as well as supporting all univer-sity-wide clinical and academic research.

Terry Every has been hired as director for central and admi-nistrative systems, overseeing computer operations, servers,financial applications support, and the Student InformationSystem (Banner).

Arthur Myers, previously the director of MIS, now assistsMilstein with the organizational transition and leads majorprojects initiated by his office.

In the short-term, Milstein plans to dramatically expandbandwidth, upgrade network hardware, and provide morerapid resolution of problems and better customer service.

Over the long term, the department plans to integrate ITinto the curriculum and campus life, by offering ubiquitouswireless and Web access to university services. New technol-ogy, such as notebooks and handhelds, will be introducedmore widely, and technology will be more widely support-ed across platforms including Apple Macs and Linux. �

Assistant athletics director, Esther Goldfeder (far right).

Marc Milstein

Torah Tours, run by the

Center for the Jewish

Future, was an amazing

experience. I helped

lead holiday celebra-

tions in Newton, MA,

and Columbus, OH.

Experiences like these

were so inspiring—

I urge students to check

out the programs.

STEVEN YAROSaccounting majorTeaneck, NJ

“

“

TIP # 1


Storytelling is in JacobWisse’s genes. As associ-ate professor of art histo-ry at Yeshiva University’s

Stern College for Women, Dr.Wisse weaves connectionsbetween works of art to reveala narrative about their relationto society. This preoccupationwith telling stories runs deepin his mother’s side of thefamily, who settled inMontreal in 1940 after leavingPoland and fleeing Romaniaas the Russian army advanced.

“My grandmother wouldcreate elaborate stories aboutthe paintings hanging in herdining room,” Dr. Wisse says.“How factual these storieswere, no one really knew. Someof the paintings were paintedafter the war, yet she createdstories around them that relat-ed to her life before the war.There was something quitemesmerizing about that.”

His teaching and research—his special area of interest isRenaissance art of northernEurope—are driven by a latententhusiasm for “seeing thingsin their original creative andsocial context.” It is an approachthat has won him much pop-ularity among students—hewas named the Lillian F. andWilliam L. Silber Professor ofthe Year at the end of the2005–06 academic year, hisfirst at YU.

“Dr. Wisse brings an infec-tious love of learning to the clas-sroom and a respect for his stu-dents that is obvious to them,”says Karen Bacon, PhD, The Dr.Monique C. Katz Dean of Stern.“He encourages them to takerisks in their interpretation ofart or to venture into areas ofstudy that are new to them.”

EXPANDING ART HISTORYThe only full-time member ofStern’s art history department,his success at developing thecurriculum and his rapportwith students have becomethe impetus for “invigoratingand expanding the art historydepartment,” says Dean Bacon.The school is searching foranother full-time professor tobe appointed next year.

The young Jacob grew up inMontreal in a traditional Jew-ish home with rich culturalinterests—“a kind of Yiddishmafia,” he says. His parents—his father, Leonard, is a lawyerand his mother, Ruth, a prom-inent professor of Yiddish andcomparative literature at Har-vard University—grew up invibrant Yiddish-speaking envi-ronments steeped in music,theater and the arts.

As a child, he was encour-aged to explore all of his inter-ests. After initially setting coursefor a career inmedicine, “whichwas what a lot of good Jewishkids aimed to do,” he realizedhe had “little talent for calcu-lus and organic chemistry.” Atthe same time, the humani-ties courses he was taking atjunior college (Quebec’s two-year program bridging highschool and university) weredrawing him further in.

WAYS OF SEEINGA course on “The Artist inSociety” introduced him to theBritish art critic and historianJohn Berger, whose book,Waysof Seeing—based on the 1970sBBC television series of thesame name—became a canon-ical text on art criticism andcultural studies.

“Berger focused on the roleof the artist as an agent whohas a substantial impact onsociety while at the same timebeing worked upon by socialforces,” says Dr. Wisse, who pre-

viously taught at Adelphi Uni-versity, The Cooper Union, andThe Pratt Institute.

He was seduced by the ideathat individual artists and the“distinct, unpredictable, andwondrous”works and styles theycreate are not only molded bythe times they live in, but alsohave an impact on society byconfirming, challenging, orsimply informing people’s per-ceptions of the world.

“One of the things that ap-pealed to me when I first satin art history classes at McGillUniversity is that you are stud-ying single images often gen-erations removed from the orig-inal and it is the role of theteacher to link them to the mo-ment when they were createdand string them together intosome kind of cinematic form,”Dr. Wisse says about his under-graduate studies in Canada.

He applied these theoriesabout looking at art to hismaster’s studies at the Insti-tute of Fine Arts at New YorkUniversity, followed by aninternship in the Paintings Con-servation Department at theMetropolitan Museum of Artthat earned him a CuratorialStudies Certificate.

His doctoral research in arthistory at NYU, completed in1999, forms the basis of a book,City Painters in the BurgundianNetherlands, to be published byBrepols Press in winter 2008.The book is based on exten-sive research in the 15th-centurymunicipal archives of majorcenters in the southern Nether-lands, or present-day Belgium.

“It is the first study to in-vestigate the role and work ofcivic artists in northern Europeduring the Renaissance period,”says Dr. Wisse about the twodistinct municipal roles thatdeveloped for artists in the 15th

century—that of “city-masterpainters,” who were hired toorganize and decorate civicprocessions, and “city painters,”whose job it was to adorn pub-lic buildings with artwork ofextraordinary beauty.

ART IN THE CITY“Both positions were shapeddirectly under the influence ofcivic pride and competition—each city wanting to outdo the

other with the beauty and scaleof its public art.”

He was initially attracted tothe paintings of northern Euro-pean Renaissance artists suchas Hugo van der Goes by thebrilliant and resonant use ofcolor and heightened expres-sion that distinguishes themfrom their Italian counterparts.

Dr. Wisse has given gallerytalks on early Netherlandish artat theMetropolitanMuseumofArt, and contributed to a time-line of art history for the mu-seum’s Website, writing entrieson topics such as Pieter Bruegelthe Elder, Albrecht Dürer, theReformation, and 16th- and 17th-century art of Prague.

A number of projects havearisen from his PhD research.He is writing catalogue entrieson Netherlandish and Germanpaintings in the former collec-tion of Jacques Goudstikker, aJewish art dealer who amassedoneof themost importantcollec-tions of old master paintingsinAmsterdambeforeWorldWarII. Works from the collectionwill be shown at the Bruce Mu-seum in Greenwich, CT, nextsummer before traveling toother museums, including YadVashem in Israel.

He is alsowriting an essay onthe 15th-century south Nether-landish artist Rogier van derWeyden for an exhibition inLouvain, Belgium in 2009.

MUSEUM VISITSVisits to museums are so inte-gral to Dr. Wisse’s teachingthat he has designed coursesaround particular exhibits,including “Age of Rembrandt”this fall at theMetropolitanMu-seum. “The fact that you cantake the subway and be up atthe Met or the Museum ofModern Art in a short time isa great advantage of Stern’s loca-tion in midtown Manhattan,”says the professor, a consum-mate urbanite who has lived

in New York City for 17 years.Students had a wonderful

opportunity to see works first-hand during a summer honor’scourse on the architecture andart of the Medici period,taught in Florence. “I felt Icould see my own reactions atseeing artworks for the firsttime through their eyes,” hesays of the group. (See storyon page 6.)

Dr. Wisse’s background incivic—rather than iconograph-ic—art of the Renaissance andhis own schooling in Jewishtradition make him a naturalfit to guide Modern Orthodoxstudents through a periodthat forms the backbone ofWestern culture. �

Dr. Jacob Wisse will publish “City Painters in the BurgundianNetherlands” in 2008.

Faculty Profile: Jacob Wisse, PhD

Picturing the Renaissance

“ It is the role of the teacher to link

single images to the moment

when they were created.”

HANUKKAHdinner & convocation

yeshiva universityE I G H T Y T H I R D A N N U A L

Sunday, December 9, 2007The Waldorf=Astoria

New York City

Convocation 5:30 pm • Dinner 7 pmPlease Save the Date

For information call 212-960-5388e-mail [email protected]


Summer ActivitiesBring Learning to Life

For students in SternCollege for Women’s S.Daniel Abraham IsraelHonors Program and

Yeshiva College’s Jay and JeanieSchottenstein Honors Program,the summer is an opportunity tobreathe in the air of a differenttype of learning, one whichexposes them to another cul-ture.

Fifteen Stern College stu-dents explored Renaissanceart and architecture as part of“Art and Experience in MediciFlorence,” an honors coursetaught in Florence by JacobWisse, PhD, associate profes-sor of art history at Stern (seeprofile on page 5).

“You could see the impactthat the scale and craftsman-

ship of the art and architecturehad on them,” said Dr. Wisse.

Elisa Abramowitz said shewas awestruck by Michel-angelo’s David, which she hadanticipated seeing for thewhole trip. “I was completelyunprepared for how impressivethe sculpture looked up close,”she said.

Highlights included visits tothe former convent of SanApollonia, the monastery ofSanMarco, the Uffizi, the Acca-demia, and Pisa.

The students traveled toSiena, where they visited thesynagogue and toured the Jew-ish ghetto. They also attendedShabbat services at a synagoguein Florence. Dr. Wisse hopes tooffer the course regularly.

Japan was the destinationfor a group of 16 YeshivaCollege students who tookcourses in Japanese culture,banking, and business withDr. Mara Miller and Dr. EliasGrivoyannis.

The students toured Tokyoand Kyoto with stops at artmuseums, banks, the NikkeiStock Exchange, public gardens,a Yomiuri Giants baseballgame, anda sumowrestling club.

“We observed and interactedwith a culture totally differentfrom what we are used to,”said Joshua Jay, a junior.

“Meeting with Japanesebank officials and attending akabuki theater bring the edu-cational process to a wholenew level,” Jay said.

The students maintained adaily Torah study program,taught by RIETS Rosh YeshivaRabbi David Horwitz, whoalso took on the role of super-vising kashrus (dietary laws)and davening (prayer).

Daniel Aronhime, anotherjunior, was particularly in-spiredbyKyoto, “a gorgeous city

filled with shrines and gar-dens,” reflecting, he said, “bothsimplicity and self-control.”

The honors programs alsoco-sponsored “Archaeology ofIsrael” and “Judaism UnderGreece and Rome,” coursesthat were part of the YUSummer Israel Experience (seebelow) in July. �

Honors Courses TakeStudents to Distant Climes

Students made their final presentations in front of the Duomo.

For Rebecca Halpern,working with teenagersin Yerucham in theNegev made the sum-

mer of 2007 one she will alwaysremember. “It felt so good forme to help the teens,” theStern College for Women stu-dent said. “Every morningthey would come in with asmile and hug.”

Halpern, 20, was one of fivefemale and three male under-graduates from Yeshiva Collegewho spent July working as

part of a community serviceproject, the Zusman FamilyCounterpoint Israel Program,run by YU’s Center for theJewish Future (CJF).

They ran a three-week sum-mer camp for 35 local teens,who are not religious and comefrompoor socioeconomic back-grounds. They have little expo-sure to extracurricular activitiessuch as dance, art, and sportslessons, many of which theyexperienced for the first timeat the camp.

“The students created andfacilitated educational work-shops and fun activities forthe campers,” said Aliza Abrams,program director for the CJF’sDepartment of CommunityInitiatives.

The YU students also ranprograms that explored issuessuch as peer pressure, low self-esteem, and setting goals withthe campgoers.

According to Shuki Taylor,CJF’s director of Israel programsand operations, the children’sparents saw a marked differ-ence in their children whenthe program ended.

One boy who had a severestutter excelled in art activi-ties. “At the closing event, wegave him two awards,” Taylorsaid. “His mother said thatthe camp was a miracle: itchanged her son. He hadnever won an award. She hadnever seen him so motivated.”

Abrams summed up thecamp’s impact: “The level ofcommitment shown by ourstudents made this summera life-changing experiencefor the Israeli campers aswell as for the studentsthemselves.” �

Helping Needy Teens in the Negev ISRAEL AS A GATEWAY TO JEWISH STUDIES…

Twenty-four studentswith a limited back-ground in Jewishstudies explored

Israel and learned Torahwith some of YU’s top facultyas part of the Jerry and MarySwartz July in Jerusalem pro-gram, run by YU’s Mechinahand Basic Jewish Studies pro-grams. For many students, itwas their first time engagingin learning Talmud in a clas-sical yeshiva setting. The group, who came from YU andother universities across North America, toured holy sitesand volunteered in soup kitchens, a children’s home, and agreenhouse.

… AND AS A CLASSROOM FOR HANDS-ON LEARNERSStudents of archaeologyhelped excavate a householdshrine from the time of thePhilistines at the biblical cityof Gat (Tell es-Safi) while ontheYeshivaUniversity SummerIsrael Experience in July.While some students con-ducted archaeological field-work with Dr. Jill Katz, lec-turer in archaeology andanthropology, others learnedabout classical Jewish historywith Steven Fine, PhD, professor of Jewish history, and agroup of interns worked in businesses and not-for-profits inJerusalem. The for-credit courses used the land and resourcesof Israel to bring to life the Jewish past and present. �

Volunteering at a greenhouse.

Touring synagogue ruins.

Campgoers work on their English skills.


While summer Torahlearning programsfor men are avail-able in many Jew-

ish communities throughoutthe New York tri-state area,women seeking advanced studyprograms have been frustratedby a lack of similar opportuni-ties—until now.

For fourweeks in July, YeshivaUniversity offered an unprece-dented program of in-depthTorah study for girls andwomenof all ages from Bergen County,NJ, and beyond as part of theTeaneck Beit Midrash SummerProject. The communal-learningcomponent project, which wascosponsored by YU’s Center for

the Jewish Future (CJF) andGraduate Program in AdvancedTalmudic Studies (GPATS),attracted some 160 women tothe weekly classes at MaayanotYeshiva High School for Girls.

“I am not on a particularlyhigh level of learning, yet Imake time in my work sched-ule to hear Rebbetzin SmadarRosensweig. Shemakes the classaccessible to everyone,” saidMiriam Salomon ’77S about oneof the program teachers, whowas appointed professor ofBible at SternCollege forWomenthis year.

Also teaching in the com-munal learning program are:Rachel Friedman ’95 BR; Elana

Stein Hain, the William Fisch-man Resident Scholar at theJewish Center in Manhattanand a GPATS senior fellow lastyear; Rabbi Moshe Kahn ’72Y,R, who teaches at Stern Collegeand in the GPATS program; andRabbi Shmuel Hain YH, ’98Y, R,the GPATS director and head ofthe Teaneck project.

Twelve women—six ofwhom study in GPATS—learnin the school’s beit midrash(study hall) daily under theguidance of Rabbi Hain andwith young girls in the Teaneckcommunity in the afternoonsand evenings.

“Every girl who comes tolearn inMaayanot’s beitmidrash

encounters a potential rolemodel,” said Rabbi Hain. “Wewant youngwomen and girls tosee women who take theirJewish studies seriously.”

Said Rabbi Kenneth Brander,CJF dean, “Through their inter-

actions with women from thetri-state area, our students buildand cultivate community whileat the same time grow in theirTorah knowledge and spirit ofleadership to Klal Yisrael [thepeople of Israel].” �

Summer Torah StudyProgram a First for Women

T here was little summer vacationfor 12 undergraduates who con-ducted research with top scien-tific scholars at Albert Einstein

College of Medicine instead of taking time off.The eight students in the Roth ScholarsProgram and the four students in the UniversitySummer Research Scholars Program werepaired with scientists at Einstein to gain expe-rience doing cutting-edge scientific research,said Barry Potvin, PhD, professor of biology atYeshiva College.

Sarah Guigui, of Marseille, France, a student

at Stern College for Women, worked in the labof Anne Bresnick, PhD, an associate professorof biochemistry who studies the molecularmechanisms regulating cell motility and celldivision. “This experience has made me realizethat research is a viable option within my med-ical career goals,” the biochemistry major said.

A few of the students continue theirresearch at Einstein or participate in similarwork at labs closer to campus once the summeris over.

The Roth Scholars Program is sponsored bythe Ernst and Hedwig Roth Institute of Bio-

Budding Scientists Conduct Research

Undergraduate researchers at Einstein this summer were: Back row (L–R): Sarah Guigui, Abby Atlas,Nilly Brodt, Jonathan Hefter, Ashrei Bayewitz, Matthew Cherney. Front row (L–R): Shifra Liba Klein,Rachel Yamnick, Chani Schonbrun, Aaron Etra, David Levine (Alexander Raytman is not pictured).

While physics involves a lot of abstract and com-plicated mathematical concepts, “there are basicprinciples that even kids can understand,” saidEli Lansey ’07Y, one of a group of physics stu-

dents who taught a class to public school students this June.Thanks to a Marsh White Outreach Award from the

Society of Physics Students, which supports projects pro-moting interest in physics among students and the generalpublic, four members of the Yeshiva University Physics andEngineering Club (YUPEC) gave demonstrations on lightrefraction, lasers, magnetism, and conservation of energy toabout 100 fifth- and sixth-grade students at Junior HighSchool 143 in Washington Heights.

“It got the children excited about physics, and showedus how science is being taught in public schools,” saidLansey, who was joined by YUPEC president Dovid Skversky,senior Eliyahu Neiman, and Elie Wolfe ’06Y.

“One fifth-grade class was so interested in our demon-stration that many stayed during their lunch break to playwith the balls and electro-magnets,” said Skversky.

Skversky said he hoped to return to the school andbroaden their outreach in the coming year. �

Finding the Fun in Physics

L–R: Eliyah Neiman, Dovid Skversky, Elie Wolfe, and Eli Lansey.

GPATS students learn with girls from the Teaneck community.

TORAH WISDOM TRAVELS THE COUNTRY

Yeshiva University expanded the walls of its beit midrash (study hall) this summer to give various Orthodoxcommunities across North America a taste of the warmth and wisdom of YU rabbis and students. TheSummer Kollel Program, organized by the Center for the Jewish Future, included visits to Toronto; Denver;Atlanta; Chicago; Beverley Hills; Queens, NY; and Passaic and Teaneck, NJ, during July and August. TheYU scholars offered an open atmosphere of Torah learning, with shiurim (lectures), chavruta (partner-style)learning, youth activities, and Shabbat events in each community they visited. The program gives youngrabbis an opportunity to run a kollel (Torah study institute), interact with Jewish youth, and learn leader-ship skills. It also exposes them to a wide array of Jewish communities. The Toronto kollel included a five-week stay in five communities across Hamilton and the greater Toronto area, where the YU scholars madea significant impact. At right, Rabbi Jeff Turtel (far right), a recent fellow of the YU RIETS Kollel, studieswith community members from Congregation Shaarei Tefillah in Toronto. �


Some students just can’tget enough of theirYeshiva University expe-rience. Fourteen top aca-

demic graduates have chosento remain at YU for one moreyear as Presidential Fellows tobuild their professional skillswhile assisting in administra-tive and service roles.

Established by PresidentRichard M. Joel, and now in itsfourth year, the PresidentialFellowship in University andCommunity Leadership is partof a broader effort to both traintop graduates and expand theuniversity’s service to theJewish community.

“The program has motivat-ed its participants to reflect onthe positive experiences theyhave had at Yeshiva Univer-sity and examine the opportu-nities in the Jewish communi-ty––both for laypeople andprofessionals—in light of theirinterests and skills,” said Pre-sident Joel. “The fellowshipinspires them to reach for thenobility and responsibilitythat comes with leadership.”

Presidential Fellowswere cho-sen after an intensive screen-ing process based on academicperformance, campus leader-ship, and involvement with theJewish community. For the

duration of a year, each fellowworks with a senior adminis-trator within their assigneddepartment who acts as amentor and solicits their feed-back as former students.

“I am taking this year togain new skills while buildingupon my strengths as aleader,” said Shari Shanin ’07Sof Monsey, NY, who works inthe Fanya Gottesfeld HellerDivision of Doctoral Studiesat Azrieli Graduate School ofJewish Education and Admini-stration. “I am also excited toinvest myself in the institu-tion that invested so much inme,” she said.

Some of this year’s Presi-dential Fellows are consideringcareers in Jewish communalservice and see their participa-tion as a good way to test thewaters. Others will use theirnew skills and experiences asfuture lay leaders in theJewish community.

Jenni Richton ’07S of MiamiBeach, FL, envisions workingin a Jewish organization or inthe academic world, so herfellowship in the university’sCenter for the Jewish Future is“the perfect place for me togain experience,” she said.

The program is directed byRabbi Josh Joseph, chief of staff

in the Office of the President,and administered by ElysiaStein ’05S. Throughout theyear, the fellows attend agraduate-level weekly leader-ship seminar covering keytopics in university adminis-tration and Jewish communalleadership.

“My experience exposedme to fields I had little experi-ence with,” said Barrie Zig-man ’06S, who worked in theDepartment of Communica-tions and Public Affairs as aPresidential Fellow in 2006–07.“The supportive environmentenabled me to focus on devel-oping skills instead of spend-ing the first several monthslearning company basics. Thatwas a tremendous advantagein making the transition fromstudent to professional.

“I feel much better equip-ped to face the working worldnow than I did when I firstgraduated,” Zigman said.

The fellowship cementsparticipants’ ties to their almamater, often leading to morepermanent work for themwithin the university’s admin-istration. Eli Hagler, also a fellowin 2006–07, was appointed assis-tant director of undergraduateadmissions this summer.

“The fellowship added somuch to my already invalu-able experience as a studenthere. I applaud President Joelfor implementing the idea oftaking new graduates and pro-viding them with solid workexperience at the university,”Hagler said. �

Meet This Year’s Presidential Fellows

Y eshiva Collegestudents thisfall will beginreaping the

rewards of a comprehensivecurriculum review that Dr.David Srolovitz initiatedshortly after his appointmentas the college’s dean last sum-mer.

Over the past year, a steer-ing committee held focus ses-sions with faculty, surveyedstudents, and consulted withother universities to elicitinput. Committee membersalso spoke with several rosheiyeshiva [professors of Talmud],members of the the college’sboard, President RichardM. Joel,and the office of admissions.

“We don’t want to take theold curriculum and tweakaround the edges,” Dr. Srolovitzsaid. “We’re saying to each ofthe people we speak to, ‘If wegave you a blank slate todesign the perfect curriculum,

what would it look like?’”The process has begun to

yield results. The first changeswill address the transition offirst-year-on-campus students,the structure of majors, andthe overall requirements for

general education.Three sections of a first-year

seminar are being piloted forstudents returning from theIsrael. Structured around atheme, the seminars—“Under-standing Technology,” “Immi-grant and Ethnic Experience

in American History,” and“Sense of Music: The Con-certo”—will be intellectuallystimulating and will forgecloser ties among students.

“The transition from yeshivain Israel to life on campus can

be difficult for students,” Dr.Joanne Jacobson, associatedean for academic affairs,said. “These seminars will pro-vide a threshold to help stu-dents cross over into a differ-ent world.”

The seminars—which will

include a partnered writingsection taught by writing in-structors—will include excur-sions into New York City.

For the past two years,Stern College for Women’scurriculum review committeehas been exploring changes tothe school’s liberal arts andscience graduation require-ments with a view to a simul-taneous rollout when all thepieces are in place. This year,the committee plans to pres-ent the faculty with its modelof a proposed new curriculum.

“The curriculum review ispart of Stern’s strategic plan,which builds for the future,”said Karen Bacon, PhD, TheDr. Monique C. Katz Dean atStern. “We’re thinking of out-comes—the skills studentswill need after graduating.How will they solve prob-lems? What will they need tothink critically about science,technology, international

affairs? Which experienceswill sensitize them to appreci-ate the cultural richness ofAmerica and world civiliza-tions? We’d like to help themdevelop skills to meet thesechallenges.”

While the committee isstill reflecting on possiblechanges, Dean Bacon said it isclear that the new curriculumwill include an intensifiedand creative emphasis onboth writing skills and quanti-tative analysis.

The committee is also con-sidering changing SternCollege’s science requirementfrom separate courses inchemistry, biology, and physicsto a problem-based, interdisci-plinary approach for studentsnot majoring in the sciences.

Also under consideration forall students are foundationalcourses that will approach atopic using the different per-spectives and methodologies

New Undergrad Curricula Will Better Meet Students’ Needs

2007–2008 Presidential Fellows: (Back row, L–R) Shari Shanin (Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education’s Fanya Gottesfeld HellerDivision of Doctoral Studies); Zev Koller (Office of the Vice President for University Life); Jonathan Frankel (Center for the Jewish Future);Noam Joel (Human Resources); Adam Altman (Office of Administrative Services); Rafi Edelman (Office of Student Affairs); Marc Fein(Office of the President); Raffi Rosenzwieg (Communications and Public Affairs); Tiferet Unterman (Dean’s Office at Wurzweiler School ofSocial Work); (Front row, L–R): Michal Kalinsky (Center for the Jewish Future); Sara Menchel (Office of Admissions); Jenny Steinberg(Office of Admissions); Lauren Pietruszka (Dean’s Office at Stern College); Jenni Richton (Center for the Jewish Future).

“If we gave you a blank slate to

design the perfect curriculum,

what would it look like?”


Jeffrey Glanz–Professor ofJewish Education; Stanleyand Raine Silverstein Professorof Professional Ethics, AzrieliGraduate School of JewishEducation and Administration

Prior to joining the YU fac-ulty, Dr. Glanz served as deanof graduate studies and chair-man of education at WagnerCollege in Staten Island. Adoctoral graduate of TeachersCollege, Columbia University,he is the author of nine bookson various educational topicsand co-author of SupervisionThat Improves Teaching andSupervision in Practice. “WithDr. Glanz’s national and inter-national reputation and his re-markable research productivity,

he will be instrumental in Azri-eli’s efforts to reach out to Mo-dern Orthodox day schools,”Dr. Lowengrub said.

Other faculty who are join-ing YU this year are:

YESHIVA COLLEGESilke Aisenbrey, AssistantProfessor of SociologyAnna-Lisa Cohen, AssistantProfessor of PsychologyBruno Galantucci, AssistantProfessor of PsychologyMarc Garcelon, AssociateProfessor of SociologyJoshua Karlip, AssistantProfessor of Jewish HistoryJoan Mazelis, AssistantProfessor of SociologyRachel Mesch, Assistant Pro-fessor of Modern LanguagesJess Olson, Assistant Professorof Jewish History

Francesco Ruscitti, Instructorof EconomicsMehmet Sencicek, VisitingAssistant Professor ofEconomics

JEWISH STUDIESMark Dratch, Instructor ofJudaic Studies and JewishPhilosophy

STERN COLLEGEChaya Gorsetman, ClinicalAssistant Professor ofEducationEvan Mintzer, AssistantProfessor of ChemistryEmil Prodan, AssistantProfessor of PhysicsElizabeth Radziszewski,Assistant Professor ofPolitical ScienceSmadar Rosensweig, ClinicalAssistant Professor of Bible

Lea Ferreira dos Santos,Assistant Professor of Physics

SHAREDDaniel Rynhold, AssistantProfessor of JewishPhilosophy (YC, Revel)Timothy R. White, AssistantProfessor of History(YC, SCW)

SY SYMSBrian Maruffi, ClinicalProfessor of ManagementAliza Rotenstein, Instructorof Accounting

AZRIELIRona Novick, Associate Pro-fessor of Jewish Education

FERKAUFGreta Doctoroff, AssistantProfessor of Psychology �

YU Adds Facultycontinued from p. 2

YESHIVA COLLEGE

Philosophy Scholar to Head Honors Program

James Otteson, PhD, chairof the department of phi-losophy at the Universityof Alabama, takes the

reins at the Jay and JeanieSchottenstein Honors Programat Yeshiva College this fall.

Dr. Otteson is initially de-voting himself to directing thehonors program, said JoanneJacobson, PhD, associate deanfor academic affairs at YeshivaCollege. He also has a jointappointment in the philoso-phy and economics depart-ments, where he will teach laterin the year.

A highly regarded philoso-phy scholar specializing in thework of political economistAdam Smith, Dr. Ottesonreceived his PhD from theUniversity of Chicago. He haspublished two books withCambridge University Press,one of which—Adam Smith’s

Marketplace of Life—was namedOutstanding Academic Title in2003 by the American LibraryAssociation. A new book, AdamSmith, is forthcoming fromContinuum Press.

He has held teaching andresearch fellowships at the Uni-versity of Edinburgh, the Uni-versity of Aberdeen, and Bowl-ing Green State University.

“Dr. Otteson is a strongcontributor to our researchand teaching profile,” MortonLowengrub, PhD, provost andsenior vice president of aca-demic affairs, said. “He is akey appointment in our ambi-tious initiative to strengthen

the quality of our faculty.”Dr. Otteson has taught at

the University of Alabama since1997, chairing the philosophydepartment since 2005. He spe-cializes in the history of mod-ern philosophy, political phi-losophy, and ethics.

He is looking forward toenhancing the honors pro-gram so that it reaches its fullpotential, he said.

“Yeshiva University is dedi-cated to providing the coun-try’s best overall education tostudents interested in bothaspects of its Torah Umadda[the confluence of Torah andsecular knowledge] mission,

and the honors program willplay a central role in helpingYU to reach its highest poten-tial,” Dr. Otteson said.

He will build on the workof Will Lee, PhD, program di-rector for the past six years.Department heads and pro-gram chairpeople at the col-lege are limited to serving twothree-year terms.

“Dr. Lee did a tremendousjob shepherding the studentsin the honors program,” saidDavid Srolovitz, PhD, dean ofYeshiva College. “We are happythat we are continuing to ben-efit from his expertise as asso-ciate professor of English.” �

TWO NEW VICE PRESIDENTSGeorgia Pollak (left) has been namedvice president for communications andpublic affairs and Jeffrey Rosengarten(below) as vice president for adminis-trative services. Both serve on thePresident’s Cabinet and report directlyto President Richard M. Joel.

“Georgia Pollak has led a profession-al team through a period of renewal,” President Joel said.“She continues to bring her formidable management andcommunications skills to this vital leadership task.”

Mr. Rosengarten has been part of theuniversity administration for more than33 years in positions at Albert EinsteinCollege of Medicine and on both Man-hattan campuses. His responsibilities spancampus planning; design and construc-tion; and operations, which includesadministrative responsibility for major

campus service departments such as facilities management,security, food services, and mail and production services. �

Dr. James Otteson

T hree YU alumniare among the20 outstandingyoung gradu-

ates chosen this year forWexner Foundation GrauateStudy Fellowships.

The fellowship programwas established by Jewish phi-lanthropists Leslie and AbigailWexner to encourage promis-ing candidates tomeet the chal-lenges of professional Jewishleadership in North America.

Moshe Goldfeder ’07Y,Sharon Weiss ’03S, AG, andAvi Narrow-Tilonsky ’06Y havebeen awarded the prestigiousfellowships, which provide astipend for students toward

graduate studies in Jewisheducation, Jewish communalleadership, the rabbinate, thecantorate, and Jewish studies.

Goldfeder enters the semi-khah [ordination] program atthe Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theo-logical Seminary (RIETS) thisfall as well as Fordham Uni-versity Law School as a first-year law student; Weiss beginsdoctoral studies in educationand Jewish studies at NewYork University; and Narrow-Tilonsky, a Presidential Fellowat the Center for the JewishFuture last year, enters RIETSas well as Baruch College-TheCity University of New York tostudy for a master’s in public

administration.Eitan Ben-David, a graduate

of Columbia University, alsowon a fellowship to study atRIETS and NYU.

TheWexner Foundationwasestablished in 1984 by busi-nessman Leslie Wexner, whofounded The Limited, Inc.(now Limited Brands). Alumniof its programs serve in lead-ership roles throughout theJewish community and bene-fit from an extensive networkof nearly 2,000 North Amer-ican and Israeli leaders.

Goldfeder said, “I am hon-ored at the responsibility beforeme—to realize my dreams andto represent YU and its dreams

Three Recent Grads Are Wexner Fellows

The Metropolitan

Experience at Stern

College organizes

fun trips in New York

City—to Broadway

shows, ice-skating, and

the zoo. Try to do as

many as you can.

LEAH ZEFFpsychology majorSacramento, CA

“

“

TIP # 2


BENJAMIN N. CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW

Innocence Project Passes 200th Milestone

Byron Halsey was exoneratred in July of murder and sexual assault.

With new DNAtests proving thatByron Halsey didnot commit the

brutal sexual assault and mur-der of two young children inNew Jersey for which he wasconvicted in 1988, theInnocence Project at BenjaminN. Cardozo School of Law wonexoneration in July for its 205th

client.Halsey narrowly escaped the

death penalty at the time of hisconviction, which was over-turned in May.

DNA testing on several keypieces of evidence used to con-vict Halsey indicated the guiltof another man, Cliff Hall, al-ready in prison for several other

sex crimes in New Jersey andwho testified against Halseyduring his trial.

Cardozo Professors BarryScheck and Peter Neufeld,cofounders of the InnocenceProject and codirectors of thenational organization, said theexonerations “are the greatestdata set ever on the causes ofwrongful convictions in theUnited States and yet just thetip of the iceberg,” since so fewcases involve evidence that canbe subjected to DNA testing.

The Innocence Project laun-ched a month-long nationalcampaign to address and pre-vent wrongful convictionsafter it won its 200th exonera-tion in April.

“The first 200 DNA exoner-ations have transformed thecriminal justice system in thiscountry. These exonerationsprovide irrefutable scientificproof of the causes of wrong-ful convictions, and they pro-vide a roadmap for fixing thecriminal justice system,” Pro-fessor Scheck said.

A primary goal of the na-tional campaign is to supportthe formation of innocencecommissions, state entitiesthat identify causes of wrong-ful convictions, and developstate reforms that can improvethe criminal justice system.

Six states already have suchcommissions, and seven moreare currently considering leg-

Public Service Graduate Awarded Skadden Fellowship

R ecent Cardozograduate SarahHudson-Plush’07C won a

Skadden Fellowship to work inthe field of public interest law,the second Skadden Fellow inCardozo’s history. She isknown for numerous leader-ship roles at Cardozo, espe-cially the founding of CardozoYouth Advocates, a law studentorganization that holds law-related sessions for teenagersat risk.

She also served on the exec-utive board of the Public Inter-est Law Students Association;trained and served as an advo-cate for the Courtroom Advo-cates Project of Cardozo Ad-

vocates for Battered Women;and volunteered for the Un-employment Action Center,Sanctuary for Families’ Uncon-tested Divorce Project, andthe New York Civil Rights Coa-litions’ Unlearning StereotypesProgram. Hudson-Plush also in-terned at Cardozo’s Bet Tzedek

Legal Services Clinic.Upon being informed of

Hudson-Plush’s award, DeanDavid Rudenstine said, “Sarahis an outstanding student, wasa compelling candidate forthe Skadden Fellowship, andwill do exemplary work. Shehas brought honor to herselfand the law school, and I amthoroughly delighted and im-pressed by her accomplish-ments and successes.”

The Skadden FellowshipFoundation, described by theLos Angeles Times as “a legalPeace Corps,” was established,according to the foundation’sWeb site, in 1988 by Skadden,Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flomand annually provides two-

year fellowships to talentedyoung lawyers so that theymay pursue the practice ofpublic interest law on a full-time basis.

Since graduating, Hudson-Plush—whowanted to combinechild welfare and educationlaw—has worked at the Centerfor Family Representation (CFR)

in New York.For the fellowship applica-

tion, she worked with CFR todevelop an educational ad-vocacy program for families,which she now runs. She helpsparents obtain education serv-ices for their children, many ofwhom have been in the fostercare system or are at risk of

Sarah Hudson-Plush

ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

Microbiologist Honored byPeers for Original Research

L iise-Anne Pirofski,MD, professor ofmedicine, micro-biology and im-

munology, and MitraniProfessor of Biomedical Re-search at Albert Einstein Col-lege of Medicine, has beenelected a fellow of the Amer-ican Academy of Microbiol-ogy. The honor recognizesDr. Pirofski’s contributions tothe field of microbiology.

Specifically, Dr. Pirofski’s research has led to new insightsinto the immune response to Cryptococcus andPneumococcus, microbes that cause meningitis and pneu-monia. Her studies focus on the antibody and cellularresponses that can protect against these organisms, with theultimate goal of developing improved approaches to pre-venting and treating the diseases that they cause.

Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology areelected annually through a highly selective, peer-reviewedprocess, based on their records of scientific achievementand original contributions that have advanced research inmicrobiology.

Dr. Pirofski, who is also chief of the Division of InfectiousDiseases at Einstein, has been a member of the Einstein fac-ulty since 1988. She received her bachelor’s degree at the

Dr. Liise-Anne PirofskiShabbat on campus is

a good opportunity to

spend time with friends

who you don’t see

during your hectic week

and to make new ones.

JORDANA MAINZERAccounting majorChicago, IL

“

“

TIP # 3

Partners in Creation:FERTIL ITY, MODERN MEDICINE, AND JEWISH LAW

The Yeshiva University Student Medical Ethics Society and theYeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future present the FuldFamily Conference on Halakhah and Fertility Medicine, the soci-ety’s second annual conference.

Bringing together more than a dozen experts from acrossNorth America, Israel, and Great Britain, including Chief Rabbi ofEngland Sir Jonathan Sacks, this full-day conference will provideparticipants with a background in the fundamental halakhic andethical issues surrounding fertility, while exploring the latest incutting-edge technology.

Pre-registration required and is available atwww.yu.edu/medicalethics

SAVE THE DATESunday, October 14, 20079:30 am – 5 pmYeshiva University, Wilf Campus


WURZWEILER SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Study Ranks Social WorkFaculty Top Ten in US

Do modern-day inter-rogation techniquesviolate human rights?If so, are these tech-

niques effective? A conferencecelebrating Yeshiva University’sFerkauf Graduate School ofPsychology’s 50th anniversary,“War, Torture, and Terror: TheRole of Psychology,” exploredthese timely questions in Junewith three presentations byexperts in the field.

An audience of more than100 psychology professionals,students, faculty, and mediarepresentatives gathered atthe Geraldine SchottensteinCenter on the Beren Campusto hear the keynote speakerstalk about the role of psychol-ogists in relation to such topi-cal issues as the treatment ofprisoners at Guantanamo Bayand Abu Ghraib prison.

Shara Sand ’93F, PsyD, assi-stant clinical professor of psy-

chology at Ferkauf, set thestage with a discussion on themodern history of coerciveinterrogation. After definingthe dual purpose of torture—“to instill fear and to inflictpain”—Dr. Sand described thedevelopment of torture exper-iments in the United States inthe 20th century, specificallynaming secret projects fundedby the CIA and the Office ofNaval Research.

She also identified the fore-fathers of torture studies—StanleyMilgram, Donald Hebb,George Estabrooks, amongothers—and their associationwith government-sponsoredpsychological experiments.

Michael Gelles ’87F, PsyD,a consultant based in Wash-ington, DC, and former chiefpsychologist at the NavalCriminal Investigative Service,spoke about the professionaland ethical aspects of psychol-

ogy in the global war on terror.He focused on the evolu-

tion of psychology duringtimes of war and the functionof psychologists vis-à-visnational security. Dr. Gellesdiscouraged the use of coercionin interrogation, saying, “Weneed to use a rapport-basedapproach with the goal of elic-iting accurate information.”

Leonard Rubenstein, JD,executive director of Physi-cians for Human Rights,explored the subject of psy-chologists’ complicity. Heoutlined the procedures thegovernment uses to encour-age psychologists to play arole in torture. These rangefrom basic actions, such asmaking torture legal, to morecomplex mechanisms includ-ing creating euphemisms topersuade psychologists that itis “safe, ethical, and effec-tive,” Rubenstein said.

Workshops in the after-noon covered a broad rangeof topics including homopho-bic persecution, the resiliencyof Holocaust survivors, therape of African refugees in areasof conflict, and the depravityof war crimes.

Diana Wall, a counselor atHoward University who trav-eled to the conference from

Washington, DC, said, “I aminterested in trauma and theeffects of victims of trauma,and this conference helpedme gain a broader under-standing of these areas.”

Ferkauf Graduate Schoolplans to revisit the subject oftrauma in conferences, work-shops, and research papers inthe near future. �

FERKAUF GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY

Conference Probes Role ofPsychology in Torture

Dr. Shara Sand spoke about the history of torture.

Anne Scheiber, wholeft $22 million tofund a scholarship fordeserving Stern

College for Women studentsaccepted into YU’s AlbertEinstein College of Medicine,would be proud of the womenwho are benefiting from hergenerosity this year.

“It’s an unimaginable dreamnot to have the burden ofloans when pursuing yourmedical career,” said ShulamitRoditi-Kulak ’05S, fromNewton,MA. “I’ve gotten so muchhelp from Stern. I hope to beable to give something back.”

Before coming to Stern,Roditi-Kulak spent a year inIsrael in Sherut Leumi, a pro-gram of volunteer service,working at Shaare Tzedek Hos-pital. Her exposure there tothe field of pediatric oncologyset her on her present course.More recently, she worked onEinstein’s Institutional ReviewBoard, which protects the rightsof human subjects in research.

“With the practice of med-icine in so much flux, it is in-spiring to know that so manyStern College women—whopossess the intellectual skillsto solve problems and theempathic skills to care for oth-ers—are entering the profes-sion,” said Karen Bacon, PhD,

The Dr. Monique C. Katz Deanof Stern.

The scholarship was en-dowed by Anne Scheiberupon her death in 1995 andstarted distributing funds dur-ing the 2002–2003 schoolyear. The amounts awarded,which are based upon finan-cial need, range in value up tofull tuition for all four years ofmedical school.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, in1893, Scheiber paid her waythrough law school, andfound employment as a feder-al tax auditor. Throughout her23-year career, she received

superior performance reviews,but was never promoted,which she attributed to beingJewish and a woman. Whenshe retired she devoted herselfto investing in the stock mar-ket, where religion and gen-der didn’t matter. She had anacute understanding of thestock market and an uncannyability in investing.

“It’s unbelievably hum-bling to hear the story ofAnne Scheiber and how shemade her money, only to giveit away to people she wouldnever meet,” said ShulamitRoditi-Kulak. �

STERN COLLEGE FOR WOMEN

A New Generation of Healers

Scheiber Scholarship recipients: (L–R) Amanda Weiss, Ariella Nadler,Elisheva Levine, Yordanna Platt, Helen Nissim, Michelle Simpser,Shulamit Roditi-Kulak, Tehilla Stepansky, and Yelena Kozirovsky.

Arecent study showsthat professors atWurzweiler School ofSocial Work rank

among the top 10 Americancolleges and universities for thenumber of scholarly works pub-lished between 1999 and 2003.

The study, the results ofwhich appear in the Journal ofSocial Service Research, exam-ines six major, peer-reviewedjournals in the field. It wasconducted by Jan Ligon ofGeorgia State University, D.Lynn Jackson of University ofNorth Texas, and Bruce Thyerof Florida State University.

“Wurzweiler’s high posi-tion in these rankings in such prestigious and competitive socialwork journals is continued evidence of the enormous talent ofour dedicated faculty,” said Sheldon R. Gelman, PhD, theDorothy and David I. Schachne Dean of Wurzweiler. Their com-mitment to both teaching and scholarship is most deserving ofthis commendation.”

Each professor from a social work school whose nameappears as an author of an article in these journals was countedindividually toward the total number of citations credited tothat institution.

Yeshiva ranked sixth out of 137 institutions for the totalnumber of faculty citations published, ahead of such institu-tions as Boston and Fordham universities.

The study replicates four previously published studies bysome or all of its authors covering similar four-year periodsbeginning in 1979. Wurzweiler has risen significantly in therankings, jumping from 25 in the 1994–1998 study and 32 in1989–1993. �

Dr. Richard Caputo is oneof Wurzweiler’s most prolificprofessors.

NON-PROFITU.S. POSTAGE

PA I DYESHIVA UNIVERSITY

500 WEST 185TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10033 SEPTEMBER 2007A PUBLICATION OF YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

F rom the windowsof her artist’s studioin Buenos Aires,Laura Murlender

looks out at the world andremembers both the darknessand the light of the past. Theyare the continuing subjects ofher work today.

Murlender’s exhibit, “FromDarkness to Light,” at theYeshiva University Museumuntil Nov. 4, articulates her on-going search for structure inthe world as one of Argentina’sformer “disappeareds.”

A native of Buenos Aires,Murlender was abducted atthe age of 19 in 1976 by Argen-tinean military governmentofficials during that country’sDirty War, the state-sponsoredviolence against rebellious cit-izens, including young Jewishactivists like herself. Held insolitary confinement for 11days, Murlender said she sawonly darkness and experi-enced the torture of a crueland irrational world.

But by a strange twist offate—a mistake, according torecently found documents—she was liberated, turned out

on the street in the middle ofthe night, and told not toturn her head as the car thatcarried her there sped away,leaving her alone, she recent-ly recalled, “in the shadows ofthe night.”

During a phone interview,the artist recalled those mo-ments of darkness after her

abduction, as she steadied herweakened and starving bodyand finally found a taxi totake her to her parents’ house.

Her father was an activeJewish community leader andher grandparents had immi-grated to Argentina fromHungary and Russia. Drawingon a long heritage of survival,

her parents put her on a planeto Israel, where Murlendersaid she slowly rebuilt herselfphysically and spiritually whileliving on a kibbutz.

“It was like being in acocoon,” she said. Later, sheattended Bezalel Academy ofArt and Design in Jerusalemand began her life’s work.

“I find it especially mean-ingful that Israel, itself a vic-tim of so many terror attacks,could provide such a healingand nurturing environmentfor a traumatized young artist,”said Sylvia A. Herskowitz,director of the YU Museum.

Murlender eventually re-turned to Buenos Aires to bepart of its growing movementtoward democracy.

The works on view at theYUMuseum exhibit, sponsoredin part by the Friends ofBezalel Academy of Arts andDesign, make use of differentmedia and materials in oilpaintings on canvas, mixedmedia works on paper, andphotography. Her photographsof Israeli archaeological sites,for example, have been over-laid with paint and other

materials. The resulting can-vases juxtapose the old withthe new: ancient sites join thepresent among varying fieldsof space and color.

Her work expresses thestruggle between rational com-prehension and irrational feel-ing as a balanced tensionbetween grids, layers, textures,and colors.

“In my work, I continue tofocus on those main ideas ofstructure and trying to bringrationality into the dialoguethrough different media, tex-ture, and color,” she said. “Asa Jewish woman, I feel mystory is not outside the realmof comprehension. And wehave to remember, so as notto repeat history.”

Murlender has had soloand group exhibitions in Eu-rope and throughout Northand South America.

Her work is included inpublic collections such as theMuseum of ContemporaryLatin-American Art in LaPlata, Argentina, and the BassMuseum of Art in Miami, aswell as private collections allover the world. �

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY MUSEUM

Argentinean ‘Disappeared’ Reclaims the LightLaura Murlender’s Artworks at YU Museum Exhibit Search for Hope and Reason amid Cruelty

Murlender was abducted at age 19 by Argentina’s government.

YUToday

RECORD-SETTING FUNDRAISING YEAR FOR YUDONORS, ALUMNI, AND FRIENDS PROVIDED RECORD SUPPORT

FOR YU DURING THE FISCAL YEAR 2006–07. Total philanthropic

funds—that is, new gifts and pledges received between July 1,

2006 and June 30, 2007—totaled just under $160 million. The

figure includes support for everything from student scholarships

and faculty research, new chairs and initiatives, to major bricks

and mortar projects on every YU campus. President Richard M.

Joel noted, “Our year was inspired by the extraordinary benefi-

cence of Ron Stanton,” the former YU board chairman (now

chairman emeritus) whose $100 million pledge represents the

largest gift ever for Jewish education in this country. “But the

generosity of our donors at every level is what pushed us over

our goal,” the President said. Additionally, YU achieved a record-

breaking cash total of $77.6 million in the 2006–07 fiscal year.

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY TODAY September 2007

Documents

Transcript of YESHIVA UNIVERSITY TODAY September 2007