Tenure Awarded to 20 Faculty Members

Einstein’s Rabbi Lamm’s YU Around Fall $16 Million Legacy The World Orientation Grant 4Page 2 4Pages 4–5 4Page 8 4Page 6

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

∞ FALL 2013 YUTODAY ∞ VOLUME 17 • NO. 3 Tenure Awarded to 20 Faculty Members

YESHIVA COLLEGE The Tragedy of a Generation: The Rise and DR. SILKE AISENBREY, chair of the soci- Fall of Jewish Nationalism in Eastern Eu- ology department, has served as a visiting rope, was published in June, and his sec- professor in Germany and Amsterdam ond, Oyfn Sheydveg, at the Crossroads: and as a post-doctoral associate at the Jewish Intellectuals and the Crisis of 1939, Center for Research on Inequalities and will be released in 2014. the Life Course at Yale University. Her research interests lie in the areas of gender DR. AARON KOLLER, associate professor inequality, welfare states and sociology of of Bible and newly appointed assistant education. She works mainly with inno- dean, is proficient in an array of ancient vative quantitative methods in the field of languages and has established himself as sequence analysis. an expert in the ways in which language and archaeology can illuminate life in DR. ANNA-LISA COHEN, associate profes- ancient times. His 2009 dissertation on sor of psychology, is a cognitive psycholo- the subject was published as a book, The gist whose research focuses on gaining a Semantic Field of Cutting Tools in Bibli- better understanding of human memory cal Hebrew: The Interface of Philological, and studying the influence that intentions Semantic, and Archaeological Evidence. Dr. Anna-Lisa Cohen, associate professor of psychology, was among the 20 faculty members to have on behavior. Her scholarly interests Koller’s second book, Esther in Ancient receive tenure. include theory of mind, decision-making, Jewish Thought, will be published in De- subjective well-being and nonconscious cember. his year, Yeshiva University ap- vice to our University,” said Dr. Lawrence goal pursuits. pointed 20 of its most distin- Schiffman, vice provost for undergradu- DR. JESS OLSON, associate professor of Tguished faculty members in the ate education. “These phenomenal pro- DR. JOSHUA KARLIP, associate professor Jewish history and associate director of fields of the arts, sciences and Judaic fessors are experts in various areas, and of Jewish history, has served as a visit- YU’s Center for Israel Studies, is a gradu- studies to tenured positions in both its we want to invest in them. Through their ing scholar at Leipzig University and as ate of Stanford and Oxford universities. undergraduate and graduate schools. grants, publications and working for the a fellow at the YIVO Institute for Jewish He was offered a Fulbright Fellowship “Granting tenure to a professor University as a whole, they help build the Research, Harvard University and the for research in Ukraine in 2011 and was a shows our confidence in his or her teach- reputation of YU.” Center for Jewish History. His first book, Yad Hanadiv/Beracha Foundation Fellow ing abilities, research potential and ser- Continued on Page 3 ç

Envisioning a Brighter Future for Presidential Fellowship Celebrates Israel’s Ethiopian Immigrants 10 Years of Developing Leaders

or doctoral candidate Shm- uel Legesse, the journey to FYeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Edu- cation and Administration has not been easy. As a child growing up in the poverty-stricken town of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, life was full of hardship and danger. But it The 2013–14 Presidential Fellows was also full of dreams—specifically his father’s dream, as mag- U’s Presidential Fellowship in University and Community Leadership, initi- istrate, to help his family and ated in fall 2004 by President Richard M. Joel and led by Senior Vice President all the Ethiopian Jews in their YRabbi Josh Joseph, is celebrating its 10th year. The program, which has over town make aliyah [immigration 150 alumni, places top YU graduates in key positions across the University, where they to Israel]. Sadly, Legesse’s father undergo a year of intensive training and mentorship by University leadership and par- never achieved that goal, but on ticipate in graduate seminars and retreats. his deathbed, he asked Legesse “I remember when the Presidential Fellowship was just a dream, which makes it to promise to keep fighting for it. remarkable to reflect today on the scores of outstanding young men and women who Azrieli’s Shmuel Legesse is helping improve life for “He told me that we all needed to have come through the ranks of this truly unique program,” said President Joel. “They Israel’s Ethiopian youth. make aliyah, and if we wore Is- represent the very best of Yeshiva University, and as such are invaluable ambassadors raeli uniforms and protected Je- for us.” rusalem, it would bring happiness to him in heaven,” Legesse said. In addition to adding energy, inspiration and commitment to the University, Fel- The strength of his father’s belief and dedication to Judaism made a powerful im- lows gain skills that serve them well in their future studies and careers, with many pact on Legesse. He obtained an academic scholarship to Hebrew University’s Rothberg moving on to the fields of law, medicine, psychology, business administration and non- International School and later served in the Israeli police force. While he was proud profit management. n of his identity as an Ethiopian Israeli Jew, he realized that many Ethiopians, especially teens, didn’t share that pride. Continued on Page 2 ç k For more information, visit www.yu.edu/president/fellows 2 YUTODAY

After 60 Years of Service, YUTODAY WEB EXCLUSIVES www.yu.edu/news Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm Retires WEB increased the educational standards of Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women and appointed many of the Roshei Yeshiva who remain in those roles today. Both the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and the Sy Syms School of Business were established during his tenure as president, and enrollment grew under his leadership. “Dr. Lamm’s greatest contribution was that he gave a new level of intellectual gravitas to the philosophy of Torah Umadda,” said Dr. Jeffrey S. Gurock, the Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History at YU. “He further concretized that teaching for a new generation of students and Explore the Core saw them embrace it.” Discover the new and improved Yeshiva College Core Curriculum Since retiring as president in 2003, Dr. Lamm k yu.edu/yeshiva-college/core served as chancellor of the University and Rosh HaYeshiva of RIETS. In his retirement letter, Dr. Lamm wrote, “Ye- VIDEO fter more than a half-century of service as shiva nurtured me, challenged me and formed me. faculty member, president, chancellor and Yeshiva took me in as a young, untested and un- ARosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm proven boy and gave me opportunities for religious announced his retirement from Yeshiva University and intellectual growth, personal development on July 1. and professional achievement. For these 60 years, A graduate of Yeshiva College, YU-affiliated I lived and breathed Yeshiva, its problems, its chal- Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary lenges and its successes.” (RIETS) and the Bernard Revel Graduate School He added: “Yeshiva University is not only an of Jewish Studies, Dr. Lamm was elected as the institution. It is a faith, a vision, a dream, a destiny.” third president of Yeshiva University, succeeding Dr. Lamm has gained wide recognition for his Dr. Samuel Belkin and Dr. Bernard Revel, in Au- writings and discourses on interpretation of Jew- gust of 1976. He was the first native-born Ameri- ish philosophy and law in the modern world. He can to head the University. has authored 10 books, including The Religious ELI @ YU “During Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm’s tenure, he Thought of Hasidism: Text and Commentary, Select presentations from July’s ChampionsGate National Leadership helped guide the University with steadfastness which won the coveted Jewish Book Award in Conference are available online as part of a series of ELI Talks (www. and vision,” said President Richard M. Joel. “Dr. Jewish Thought in 1999. elitalks.org), short 12-minute videos that share innovative and thought- Lamm’s contributions to the Jewish world as a dis- Dr. Lamm has edited or co-edited more than provoking Jewish content. Featured talks include: “Jewish Perspectives tinguished rabbi, philosopher and scholar are un- 20 volumes, including The Library of Jewish Law on Happiness” by Dr. David Pelcovitz, the Gwendolyn and Joseph paralleled.” and Ethics. He was the founder and first editor of Straus Chair in Jewish Education at Azrieli; “Patience and Process” During his presidency, Dr. Lamm focused on Tradition and associate editor of Hadarom, a jour- by Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, University Professor of Jewish history improving the University financially, academically nal of Jewish law; founder of the Torah U-Madda and Jewish Thought and senior scholar at the CJF; and “Being in the and spiritually. He created new kollel programs, Journal; and founder of the Orthodox Forum. n Business of Tikkun Olam” by Anita Zucker, CEO of the InterTech Group and recently-elected member of the YU Board of Trustees (pictured). k Watch them at www.yu.edu/elitalks

Azrieli’s Shmuel Legesseç Continued from Page 1

According to Legesse, many Ethiopian Jew- ground up and that Azrieli was the right place to YESHIVA UNIVERSITY ish children in Israel experience deep confusion begin. “Here, I can learn not only how Jewish day ∞ FALL 2013 and alienation caused by the cognitive dissonance schools are structured, but also about concepts in between their religious upbringings in Ethiopian American education that provide me with differ- YUTODAY ∞ VOLUME 17 • NO. 3 Jewish culture, the Judaism they are taught in ent perspectives, while strengthening my English schools and the larger secular world around them. skills,” he said. DR. HENRY KRESSEL Chairman, YU Board of Trustees He believes that this confusion leads many teens Courses in School Management, Jewish Ed- RICHARD M. JOEL to drop out of school or the army and become in- ucational Policy and Community Relations and President volved with drugs or crime, further disenfranchis- Jewish Education have given Legesse a solid foun- MICHAEL SCAGNOLI Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs ing them from Israeli society. “People get fed up dation on which to build his own school—as well YUTODAY with them because they do these things, but they’re as the opportunity to study closely with leading MATT YANIV YAFFI SPODEK GISEL PINEYRO too young to be branded as criminals and given up educators and administrators such as Dr. David Director of Media Relations, Editor Art Director on,” he said. Schnall, dean of Azrieli, who has provided him Editor in Chief Barbara Birch, Philippe Cassamajor, Perel Skier Hecht, Linda Hsia, David Huggins, This realization led Legesse to Azrieli. with a framework for how school leaders are facing Meg van Huygen, Elie Klein, Peter Robertson, Tova Ross, Sam Ulrich, V. Jane Windsor He began by starting a six-week summer day many of today’s toughest educational challenges. Contributors camp called Yechalale [It is Possible] that provides “Shmuel Legesse has committed his life to [email protected] www.yu.edu/cpa leadership training to more than 100 disadvan- creating opportunities for his fellow Ethiopian YUToday is published quarterly by the Office of Communications and Public Affairs and is distrib uted free to faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors and friends. It keeps them informed taged teens of all backgrounds each summer, pri- Jews to succeed economically and socially in their of news from across Yeshiva University’s undergraduate and graduate divisions and affiliates. The quarterly newsletter covers academic and campus life, faculty and student research, com- marily aimed at Ethiopian youth. But Legesse also new homes in Israel,” said Schnall. munity outreach and philanthropic support. It showcases the University’s mission of Torah started thinking of ways to prevent Jewish Ethio- Legesse hopes that ultimately, after years of Umadda, the combination of Jewish study and values with secular learning, through stories about the diverse achievements of the University community. pian teens from feeling alienated in the first place. hard work, study and preparation, he will turn his © Yeshiva University 2013 • Office of Communications and Public Affairs “There need to be schools that integrate Ethiopian skills and dreams into action when he graduates Furst Hall Room 401 • 500 West 185th St. • New York, NY 10033-3201 • Tel.: 212.960.5285 and modern Jewish practice in the same place, and returns to Israel. He is proud of his Azrieli edu- Stanley I. Raskas, Chairman, Board of Overseers, Yeshiva College; Shira Yoshor, Chairman, Board teaching our children to respect who they are as cation and excited to begin building his school. But of Overseers, Stern College for Women; Alan Kestenbaum, Chairman, Board of Overseers, Sy for him, the school is only the beginning. Syms School of Business; Ruth L. Gottesman, Chair, Board of Overseers, Albert Einstein College Ethiopians and making sure they emerge from of Medicine; Leslie E. Payson, Chair, Board of Overseers, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; their schooling with self-esteem, self-respect and “I want to make sure all disadvantaged Is- Froma Benerofe, Chair, Board of Overseers, Wurzweiler School of Social Work; Mordecai D. Katz, Chairman, Board of Overseers, Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies; Carol self-identity,” he said. “Once we have that, we can raelis can get a better education and even attend Bravmann, Chair, Board of Overseers, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology; Moshael J. Straus, talk about how they can contribute to the modern university,” he said. “We need to break the cycle of Chairman, Board of Overseers, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration; Joel M. Schreiber, Chairman, Board of Trustees, (affiliate) Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological religious world, Israeli society and the interna- poverty and ignorance and make these people a re- Seminary; Miriam P. Goldberg, Chairman, Board of Trustees, YU High Schools; Michael Jesselson and Theodore N. Mirvis, Co-Chairs, Board of Directors, (affiliate) Yeshiva University Museum. tional Jewish community.” source for our Jewish nation.” n Board listings as of October 1, 2013. Legesse knew he’d have to start from the

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Tenure Awarded to Facultyç Continued from Page 1 in 2010. Olson’s areas of research include the Jews of the bullying prevention program through YU’s Institute for Goldberg Appointed Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany, the history of University-School Partnership. Vice Provost Zionism and the intersection between Jewish Orthodoxy and political engagement. His first book, Nathan Birn- BERNARD REVEL GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JEWISH Dr. Scott J. Goldberg has baum and Jewish Modernity, was published in January STUDIES been appointed vice pro- 2013. DR. JONATHAN DAUBER, associate professor of Jewish vost for teaching and learn- mysticism, received a PhD from New York University and ing at Yeshiva University. STERN COLLEGE FOR WOMEN specializes in historical stages of kabbalah and Eastern His new role is to advance DR. MARIAN GIDEA, a new associate professor in the European Hasidism. His book, Knowledge of God and the the teaching and learning at mathematical sciences department, has taught at Princ- Development of Early Kabbalah, was published in 2012. YU’s undergraduate and graduate schools through eton University and Northeastern Illinois University. His 21st-century methods and media, including online research focuses on financial mathematics, dynamical ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE and blended learning. He will also work to develop systems, differential equations and space mission design. DR. JILL CRANDALL, professor of clinical medicine, holds new educational programs locally and globally. joint appointments in the divisions of endocrinology and “I appreciate the opportunity to work with DR. MARINA HOLZ, associate professor of biology, earned geriatrics. She is the director of the Diabetes Clinical Tri- deans, faculty and students to ensure that we her PhD from Harvard University. She has received hun- als Unit and principal investigator for the Diabetes Pre- remain on the cutting-edge of higher education,” dreds of thousands of dollars in awards and grants—from vention Program Outcomes Study. said Goldberg. “Higher education is at a critical the American Cancer Society, National Institutes of inflection point—people are asking what the role of Health and others—to help fund the research done in her DR. NIKOLAOS FRANGOGIANNIS is a professor of car- the university is in a global information age. What lab, which uses biochemical and cell-based techniques to diology specializing in cardiac injury and repair. His is learned and how and when it is learned may dissect signaling pathways and study their role in normal research aims to identify therapeutic targets for attenu- change, but universities must continue to be cen- and cancerous cells. Holz was honored as a Point of Light ation of adverse remodeling following cardiac injury and ters of teaching and learning.” at YU’s 88th Annual Hanukkah Dinner in 2012. preventing the development of heart failure.

DR. ANN PETERS, associate professor of English, specializes in 20th-century American literature, literary nonfiction and gender studies. She is the recipient of the McGinnis Ritchie Award from The Southwest Review for best published essay and the Dean Karen Bacon Award for Excellence. Her first book, House Hold: A Memoir of Place and Property, will be published in January. Schneider Explores Jewish History of DR. EMIL PRODAN, associate professor of physics, has re- Lower East Side ceived the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, lectured extensively at international conferences and ob- A three-volume set of books, tained several research grants. Prodan’s contributions to titled Jews: A People’s History of the Lower East Side (Clay- ton Books LLC), co-edited by Dr. Mareleyn Schneider, associate professor of sociology at Yeshiva University, has been made available as an institutional set. The 1,349-page volume addresses the social history of Judaism in the neighborhood and follows it into modern culture, examining contributions to Dr. Nikolaos Frangogiannis art, business and community in downtown New York. Contributors include an international host of historians, neighborhood preservationists, artists, DR. MIMI KIM is the Harold and Muriel rock stars, poets, filmmakers and others. Block Chair in Epidemiology & Population Schneider, a lifelong Lower East Sider, is the Health and head of the Division of Biosta- author, co-author or editor of eight previous books. tistics. Her research focuses on statistical She co-edited this volume with Clayton Patterson, methods for designing and analyzing clini- a photographer, artist, historian and community cal trials and epidemiologic studies. activist.

Dr. Rona Novick DR. VLADISLAV VERKHUSHA is a professor of anatomy and structural biology. Utiliz- the field range from theories of electronic structure and ing existing and novel red-shifted fluorescent proteins transport of novel nanomaterials to a new theory he de- and chromoproteins, his work aims to develop three veloped on topological insulators. types of novel protein labels with applications to biomedical research. DR. LEA SANTOS, associate professor of physics, received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, as BENJAMIN N. CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW Kanarfogel Named well as multiple grants, and has published over two RICHARD BIERSCHBACH is an expert in criminal law, University Professor dozen articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals. San- administrative law and corporations. His scholarship fo- tos’ research has focused on understanding and finding cuses on the intersection of criminal law and procedure, Dr. Ephraim Kanarfogel has ways to control quantum many-body systems far from specifically on the relationship of procedural and institu- been appointed a University equilibrium. tional design to substantive law concerns. Professor at Yeshiva Univer- sity—the sixth faculty member SY SYMS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ALEXANDER REINERT specializes in civil procedure, to be granted this prestigious DR. ARCHISHMAN CHAKRABORTY, a new associate constitutional law and prisoners’ rights. He argued be- distinction, reserved for those professor, will occupy the Mel Harris Chair in Financial fore the United States Supreme Court in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, who have achieved outstanding goals in teaching, Risk and Insurance. He earned a PhD in economics from which held that government officials are not liable for un- publications and research. His new title designates Princeton University and previously taught at York Uni- constitutional actions of their subordinates. him as the E. Billi Ivry University Professor of Jewish versity and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. History, Literature and Law. Kanarfogel teaches WURZWEILER SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK Jewish history at YU’s Bernard Revel Graduate AZRIELI GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JEWISH EDUCATION DR. GARY STEIN, associate professor, focuses on areas School of Jewish Studies and at Stern College for AND ADMINISTRATION of social policy, palliative care and health care ethics. He Women, and is the founding and current director of DR. RONA NOVICK is the director of the Fanya Gottes- was named a Fulbright Specialist in 2010 and has been the Rebecca Ivry Department of Jewish Studies at feld Heller Doctoral Program and a clinical psycholo- vice chair of the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Stern. gist. During her time at Azrieli, she expanded the BRAVE Network since 2006. n k Keep up with the latest faculty news at www.yu.edu/facultynews

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From academic conferences and programs to volunteer work and events, Summer Abroad a glimpse into the worldly excursions of YU students, faculty and alumni

CANADA ENGLAND In July, Dr. Debra Kaplan, the In August, Dr. Gareth Roberts, Dr. Pinkhos Churgin Associate Professor of research fellow in psychology, presented at the Jewish History, traveled to Montreal to participate annual meeting of the Linguistics Association of in an international research project titled “Recovering Great Britain in London. the Records of Early Modern European Jewry: The Pinkassim Project.” In June, Cardozo hosted its third international alumni reunion in London, a two-day event featuring a walking tour of the Dr. Eliezer Schnall, clinical associate professor of city, along with dinner and brunch at two local restaurants. psychology, served as scholar-in-residence at Congregation B’nai Torah in Toronto, lecturing on marital satisfaction and Rabbi Kenneth Brander, vice president for university and community life stressors in the Orthodox Jewish community. and the David Mitzner Dean of the CJF, delivered three lectures at a two-day rabbinic conference organized by Chief Rabbi-Elect of the United Kingdom, The 53rd annual convention of the Cantorial Council Ephraim Mirvis. of America, an affiliate of the Philip and Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music, was held at In June, Dr. Thomas Otway, chair of the Department of Mathematical Congregation Beth Ora in Montreal. Sciences, gave a mini-course on Differential Geometry and Continuum Mechanics at an International Centre for Mathematical Sciences workshop in Edinburgh. Dr. Nora Nachumi, associate professor and acting chair of Stern CANADA: Canadian Friends of YU (CFYU) paid trib- College’s English department, presented a paper titled “Is ute to community leaders at its June dinner in Toronto. Theatre to Masquerade as Performance Is to Disguise?” Standing: Stuart Haber, national director, CFYU; Hy at a conference in Hampshire called “Pride and and Helen Bergel, Legacy Award; and Shayna and Dr. Prejudices: Women’s Writing of the Long Gerald Friedman, Alumnus of the Year Award. Sitting: Eighteenth Century.” Shaya Berglas, event co-chair; Allan and Malka Rutman, Keter Shem Tov Award; and Jeremy Magence, president of CFYU and event co-chair.

ITALY Dr. Bruno Galantucci, chair of Yeshiva College’s psychology department, delivered a lecture on experimental semiotics at the Galilean Academy of Sciences, Literature and Arts in Padua in June. Dr. Avi Giloni, associate dean of Sy Syms and director of the Sy Syms Business Honors and Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, presented a paper at the European Conference on Operational Research at Sapienza University of Rome in July.

PORTUGAL In July, Dr. Paula Geyh, associate professor of English, presented ACROSS THE U.S. WITH THE CJF a paper at the 6th Annual MOROCCO International Deleuze The Center for the Jewish Future organized several Cardozo professor Studies Conference in Justin Hughes completed programs this summer, with undergraduate stu- Lisbon. dents interning and teaching Torah in Jewish com- his work as chief negotiator for the United States at the World munities throughout the country. Intellectual Property Organiza- tion’s Diplomatic Conference in In August, students spent two weeks at the Boston Marrakesh, joining delegates from over Beit Midrash, studying Torah with community mem- 150 countries. bers in Newton and Brookline, MA. UKRAINE: Twenty undergraduate students spent nine days in Odessa as part of a service-learning mission Students traveled to East Brunswick, NJ, in June, led by the Center for the Jewish Future in partnership with the American Joint Distribution Committee. where they interned with doctors in 12 different HUNGARY The group engaged in hands-on service projects, built fields and learned with community members in the In June, Cardozo offered relationships with members of the Jewish community local beit midrash. a two-week alternative dispute and learned about local Jewish life. resolution program through the Central European University in Budapest, where In June, four pre-med students spent three weeks students learned about conflict resolution in Houston, Texas, performing clinical internships PERU processes with international peers. at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Yeshiva College Dr. Bruno Galantucci presented a lecture student Daniel Benchimol titled “Experimental Semiotics: What Is interned in Lima over the In June, eight students interned during the day and It? What Is It Good For?” at the Central RWANDA summer at South American European University in Budapest Dr. Carl Auerbach, spent evenings and weekends running programs Gaming, where he gained in June. professor of psychology for community members and learning in the Kansas experience in accounting, at Ferkauf, continued his finance, marketing and City Beit Midrash Program in Overland Park, KS. research on the psychology human resources. of trauma at the University of Rwanda, where he previously For three weeks in June, YU students interned in served as a Fulbright the fields of information technology, accounting and Fellow. the sciences in South Bend, IN.

Learn more at www.yu.edu/cjf

s WWW.YU.EDU/NEWS FALL 2013 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AT WWW.TWITTER.COM/YUNEWS ß YUTODAY 5 GERMANY Dr. Joseph Angel, assistant professor of Bible at Yeshiva College, was awarded the Humboldt Research Fellowship by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, allowing him to conduct research in Germany, collaborating with colleagues at the Georg August University in Göttingen. Dr. Gareth Roberts presented at the fifth Joint Action Meeting and at the 35th annual meeting of the Cognitive Science Society in Berlin.

Dr. Debra Kaplan received a National Endowment for ISRAEL Humanities Summer Stipend, allowing her to travel and The CJF’s Counterpoint Israel program research the archives of Frankfurt am Main. tripled in size this summer, with 70 YU undergraduates GREECE Peninnah Schram, professor of speech and drama running five summer camps for 300 Israeli children from varied In June, Dr. Lawrence at Stern College, was featured in two storytelling socioeconomic backgrounds. Schiffman, vice provost for events at Jüdische Kulturtage 2013, a undergraduate education, and Dr. Twenty-eight science majors from YU participated in the third Summer Science 10-day festival of Jewish Culture held David Berger, Ruth and I. Lewis Research Internship program, a joint initiative with Bar-Ilan University that enabled in Berlin in August. Gordon Professor of Jewish History students to gain hands-on experience in emerging scientific fields while being mentored and dean of Revel, participated in a by Israel’s top scientists. three-day conference to help improve Dr. Eric Goldman, adjunct associate professor of cinema, participated in the Jerusalem relations between the Orthodox Film Festival in July. Christian and Jewish faiths in Thessaloniki. In July, Dr. Debra Kaplan was a panelist at an international conference on Medieval and Early Modern Ashkenaz at the Leo Baeck Institute in Jerusalem. Stern students participated in an archaeological dig this summer at Tel Safi, the biblical city of Gat, under the guidance of Dr. Jill Katz, clinical associate professor of archaeology, as part of a program organized by Bar-Ilan University. In July, nearly two dozen YU faculty members presented on various topics at the 16th World Congress of Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Nechama Price, instructor of Jewish studies and Bible at Stern College, graduated from the first class of Nishmat’s American Yoetzet Halacha Program this summer, and completed her final exam for the program in Jerusalem in August. In August, Dr. Michelle Levine, associate professor of Bible at Stern College, GERMANY: Fourteen Yeshiva College students spent presented a lecture in Efrat on “Testimony for the Generations: Nahmanides’ two weeks exploring Germany’s rich Jewish history and Analysis of the Song of Ha’azinu.” culture as part of the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors study abroad program. The group visited iconic Dr. Fredy Zypman, professor of physics at Yeshiva College, sites in Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig and Weimar. Pictured: delivered a lecture to the Israel Vacuum Society in students at a plaza near Berlin’s Holocaust memorial. Herzliya in September.

CHINA Cardozo’s Justin Hughes signed an ISRAEL: Participants in the Sy Syms Executive MBA international treaty on intellec- Program spent nine days in Israel gaining an in-depth tual property in Beijing in June. He understanding of the country’s innovative and entrepre- also led the U.S. delegation at the neurial business environment as part of field study for World Intellectual Property Orga- students’ Management of International Business course. nization’s Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Audio- visual Performances in Beijing.

SOUTH KOREA Dr. James Kahn, the Henry and Bertha Kressel University Professor of Economics, attended the Society for Economic Dynamics in Seoul, along with fellow economics professors Dr. William Hawkins and Dr. Omer Acikgoz.

UKRAINE: Twenty undergraduate students spent nine INDIA: Dr. Sonia Suchday, director of the Clinical days in Odessa as part of a service-learning mission Psychology Health Emphasis Program and associate led by the Center for the Jewish Future in partner- professor at Ferkauf, led a group of students from Fer- ship with the American Joint Distribution Committee. kauf, Stern College and Baylor University to India as The group engaged in hands-on service projects, built part of YU’s Summer Institute in Global Health to relationships with members of the Jewish community learn about the challenges of research on health in a and learned about local Jewish life. globalized world.

KENYA: Chanie Shalmoni (left), business major at Sy Syms, and Avital Levine (right), biology major at Stern College, traveled to Nairobi for five weeks this summer as part of the Advance Africa internship, where they spent time volunteering at a hospital and orphanage.

AUSTRALIA In August, Rabbi Kenneth SOUTH AFRICA Brander visited shuls and schools In October, President UGANDA in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, where Richard M. Joel delivered the For 11 months each he met with rabbis, community leaders and opening keynote address, “Building year, faculty, residents and students and delivered lectures on topics Wholeness in Our Community: medical students from Einstein related to Israel, Orthodoxy and Jewish life. Knowing Our Story and Owning Our join with Doctors for Global Health Story” at the Cape Town Board of and Montefiore Medical Center, Dr. David Pelcovitz, the Gwendolyn and Jewish Deputies Conference. the University Hospital for Joseph Straus Chair in Psychology and Jewish He also keynoted the Yeshiva Einstein, to staff Kisoro District Education at Azrieli, traveled to Melbourne College Centennial Dinner in Hospital in southwestern and Sydney to meet with local leaders and Johannesburg. Uganda. discuss approaches to preventing child abuse in the Jewish community.

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Rabbi Penner Named Rabbinic Alumni Give Back Acting Dean of RIETS our 2,200 living alumni to give back to their alma mater,” said Rabbi Menachem Penner, acting dean of RIETS. “Usually, it’s the rabbis who are raising the money, but RIETS alumni have a long history of supporting the University—beginning in 1890, preceding even Yeshiva College— and we want to build on that legacy by en- couraging them to join the Elef L’Mateh Society and make a donation that will benefit other rabbis and the greater Jew- ish community.” Rabbi Ari Rockoff, associate dean of institutional advancement for YU’s Az- rieli Graduate School of Jewish Educa- Rabbi Menachem Penner has been RIETS’ Elef L’Mateh campaign aims to raise $1 Million. tion and Administration and the Bernard appointed acting dean of Rabbi Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, Isaac Elchanan Theological Semi- eshiva University-affiliated Rabbi Joel and Maria Finkle Visiting Israeli is spearheading the campaign with assis- nary (RIETS). Isaac Elchanan Theological Semi- Rosh Yeshiva, who gave the first dona- tance from the Rabbinic Alumni Commit- Rabbi Penner has been at Ynary (RIETS) has launched Elef tion, the campaign hopes to reach a goal tee—rabbis throughout the country who RIETS since 2001, serving as asso- L’Mateh, a fundraising campaign appeal- of $360,000 by the upcoming Chag HaSe- are volunteering their time and resources ciate dean and director of profes- ing to rabbinic alumni to make an an- micha ceremony, which will be held on to help in the fundraising efforts. n sional rabbinic education, and as nual donation of $1,000 to the school in March 23, 2014. a mentor to rabbinical students. an effort to raise $1 million to help sup- “As one of the country’s only insti- He also serves as the rabbi of the k For more information about the campaign and to Young Israel of Holliswood, Queens. port the institution and its programs. The tutions of higher learning that does not donate, contact [email protected], call 646.592.4022 brainchild of Rabbi Meir Goldwicht, the charge tuition, we want to galvanize or visit www.yutorah.org/elef

YU Unveils GeneSights Online Einstein Researchers Secure Educational Resource $16M NIH Grant to Study HIV

he Program for Jewish Genetic Health, a joint initiative of Yeshiva University he Albert Einstein College of Medicine and and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, recently unveiled a new online ed- Montefiore Medical Center have received a $16 Tucational resource called the GeneSights Jewish Genetics Online Educational Tmillion grant from the National Institutes of Series to inform people about the various genetic health conditions that affect the Health (NIH) to investigate the impact of HIV and Jewish community. AIDS on women. The funds allow Montefiore and “Advances in scientific research have identified many genetic diseases and condi- Einstein to continue as a scientific and clinical site tions that are commonly found among Jews,” said Dr. Nicole Schreiber-Agus, scientific for the Women’s Interagency HIV Study, an observa- and programming director for the Program for Jewish Genetic Health. “GeneSights is tional study of women who are either HIV positive or designed to provide easy access to information and a better grasp of genetics.” at risk for HIV infection. GeneSights consists of individual lessons with topics on diseases, medical condi- The grant supports research on strategies to de- tions, genetic technologies and bioethical issues. Once registered, viewers can access feat HIV and will allow researchers to investigate a full-length webinar presented by an expert in the field, supplemental materials and whether epigenetic changes that the HIV virus ge- links to other resources. GeneSights also features a two-part “Genetics 101” webinar Dr. Kathy Anastos nome undergoes might present potential targets for that provides a genetics overview. curing the disease. Seed funding for the GeneSights series was provided in part by UJA-Federation “Anti retroviral medications have transformed HIV infection from a deadly dis- of New York and by a generous grant in honor of Beatrice Milberg. n ease to a chronic condition for the entire world,” said Dr. Kathy Anastos, principal investigator on the grant and professor of epidemiology and population health at Ein- stein. “Information on the long-term effects of infection and treatment and predictors k For more information, visit www.genesights.com of a favorable response to treatment are critical for effective care.” n

Cardozo Launches Video Series

Yeshiva University Women’s Organization President’s Society for Torah Chesed and Future Builders Young Leadership 68th Annual Benefit Performance and 31st Dinner Gala eshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law has launched Bench- marks, an online video series featuring faculty analysis on important legal Saturday evening, December 7, 2013 Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center Ycases that have made the headlines. To date, law professors have offered their expertise and opinions on major Supreme Court decisions, including DOMA, gene Following a performance by the New York Philharmonic, patenting and affirmative action, as well as the trial of George Zimmerman and the featuring pieces by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Adès role race plays in the legal system. “Our faculty are world-class scholars and practitioners,” said Cardozo Dean Mat- Elissa and Michael Katz, Guests of Honor thew Diller. “The Benchmarks series allows our community and others to hear their Rabbi Yonason and Adina Wassner Shippel will be awarded the analysis and insights about the justice system in America today.” n Dr. Diane Wassner President’s Society for Torah Chesed Award

For more information, please call 212.960.0855 or email [email protected] k Watch the Benchmarks videos at www.cardozo.yu.edu

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p Bringing Classroom Lessons to TV Charlie Harary, assistant clinical professor of management and entrepreneurship at Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business, is filming a TV show called the “Elements of Success.” p YU Undergrads Conduct Advanced Research at Einstein Eleven Yeshiva Univer- “The show is based on my class at Sy Syms, Principles of Success, where we try to sity undergraduates were selected to participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research identify various principles, values and strategies present in different types of success and Program (SURP), an advanced biomedical research program at YU’s Albert Einstein Col- bring to life those values that we learn in the classroom,” said Harary. “We want to be able lege of Medicine. In fields ranging from neuroscience to epidemiology to microbiology, to articulate certain principles from our classroom, show their application to the world and the students received hands-on research experience in their areas of interest normally connect them back to the classroom again.” reserved for graduate-level work. The program provided participants with a stipend and The show, which debuted on The Jewish Channel this fall, tries to identify the traits on-campus housing at Einstein. Group seminars and workshops gave a broad overview of successful leaders such as Michael Steinhardt (pictured above left with Harary) and of the many types of research conducted at Einstein, while providing students with strate- explore how their strategies are implemented in daily practice. Harary plans to enlist the gies to become better scientists. In August, the students shared their work as part of a help of his students to assist with filming and production of future episodes. n poster session. n k Learn more at www.yu.edu/elements-of-success

u Athletic Center Gets a Makeover The Yeshiva Uni- versity athletics department completed a monthslong renovation of the Max Stern Athletic Center in August. The centerpiece of the project was the renovation of the floor of the Melvin J. Furst Gymnasium, which was originally put down in 1985. The design features the new YU athletics shield logo, longtime men’s basketball Coach Jonathan Halpert’s updated signature on both sides of the court and a new NCAA logo. Other improvements included a new lighting system and a renovated ceiling. n

k For the latest YU athletics news, visit www.yumacs.com

p A Fresh Perspective President Richard M. Joel t Summer of Science at Central This summer, a select group of captured his first words of welcome to new stu- students at the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for dents at Fall Orientation with Google Glass, inviting Girls (Central) were chosen to conduct high-level scientific research them to imagine shaping their college experiences for several weeks, as part of the school’s Science Institute Program. through a different lens: Torah values. “Education is The institute is designed and led by Ruth Fried, chair of Central’s sci- not just downloading information,” he said. “It’s cre- ence department, and includes a post-10th-grade summer intern- ating an environment where we converse with you ship, Advanced Placement science and math courses during 11th to enable you to pursue any career or profession and 12th grades and a post-junior year internship. Central students you desire in a values-oriented way. You’re a part- worked alongside doctors and researchers at Albert Einstein College ner with all of us in this sacred community where of Medicine, Jacobi Hospital, Stony Brook University and the Ameri- you can work together to make a profound differ- can Museum of Natural History, among other places, and conducted ence in the world.” n hands-on research on topics ranging from reproductive endocrinology and stem cells to corneal ulcers and pharmaceutical genetics. n k Follow @PresJoel on Twitter

VP Appointments

t Rabbi Josh Joseph has been appointed t Rabbi Kenneth Brander has been senior vice president of Yeshiva University. appointed vice president for university and In addition to his current responsibilities, community life at Yeshiva University. For Rabbi Joseph will launch the next phase the past eight years, he has served as the in the University’s strategic planning pro- inaugural David Mitzner Dean of the Cen- cess and guide its University-wide imple- ter for the Jewish Future (CJF). In his new mentation. He will also work to ensure the role, Rabbi Brander will be responsible efficiency of various departments around for the broad areas of community service, the University, developing collaboration undergraduate admissions, student life opportunities and partnerships among and programs in Israel. He will retain the faculty, administration, staff, students and CJF deanship pending appointment of a trustees. n successor. n

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Nowhere But Here

Save the Date! SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2013

The Waldorf Astoria 5:30 p.m. Hundreds of new students embarked on their collegiate journeys at Yeshiva University’s Fall 2013 Orientation. k To see the full photo gallery, visit www.yu.edu/orientation2013

Wurzweiler Celebrates Linzer’s 47-Year Journey

This past June, Wurzweiler held Joel. “The work he has done, both in teaching and in his a tribute event to celebrate Linzer’s 47 profession, is the very manifestation and translation of years at the school before his retire- Torah Umadda, the philosophical underpinning of this ment from his position as Samuel J. and great institution.” Jean Sable Professor of Jewish Family “Norman Linzer was the first professor I met when Social Work. Attended by his students, I began my master’s program at Wurzweiler, and I knew colleagues and mentors, the event re- that he would have an enormous influence on my life,” flected on Linzer’s journey from stu- said Dr. Lynn Levy, an assistant professor at Wurzwei- dent to professor and the many lives he ler, in a tribute video titled “Norman Linzer, Full Circle: touched along the way. Celebrating a Career of Accomplishment and Distinc- “An international leader, scholar tion,” which was screened at the event. “As a teacher, and colleague extraordinaire, Dr. he has the ability to inspire, and as a friend, he has the Linzer’s passion is teaching and he capacity for enormous empathy, kindness and a gener- loves to teach and be taught by inquisi- osity of spirit that is incomparable.” tive minds,” said Dr. Carmen Ortiz In his honor, Wurzweiler has established the Diane Hendricks, Wurzweiler’s Dorothy and and Norman Linzer Endowed Scholarship. Linzer him- David I. Schachne Dean. “We can’t self pledged $25,000 and an additional $37,000 has thank Dr. Linzer enough for his contri- been raised by current and former students, colleagues, butions to Wurzweiler and all his efforts friends and the Linzer family. Rabbi Norman Linzer toward making us an internationally re- Looking back on his career, Linzer shared the rea- nowned school of social work.” son he never left the school. “I felt at home here,” he n 1958, newly ordained Rabbi Norman Linzer de- A graduate of Yeshiva College as well as RIETS, said. “Whether it was through colleagues, the courses I cided to do something different with the semicha he Linzer received his master’s in social work from Wurz- taught, the supervision I received in the course of teach- Ihad just received from Yeshiva University-affiliated weiler in 1960 before joining its faculty as assistant ing, the opportunities that the school provided for me Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). professor in 1966. He earned two additional degrees—a in terms of giving lectures at outside conferences, pre- Rather than lead a congregation, Linzer wanted to pur- master’s and PhD from the New School for Social Re- senting papers or developing myself intellectually—all sue a career in Jewish communal work. So he turned search and published five books. of those came true for me right here during the course of to YU’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work, which had “By his values, his manner, his interest in oth- my career at Wurzweiler.” n opened its doors the year before, to pursue a degree that ers, his concern and his love, and by his self-effacing would equip him with all the right tools to accomplish strength, Dr. Linzer has been an absolute poster child k To learn more about the Diane and Norman Linzer Endowed his dream. for what Yeshiva University is, what it aspires to be and Scholarship, please contact Tamar Major at [email protected] or Linzer had been there ever since. for what it says to the world,” said President Richard M. 212.960.5393

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Ari Goldman ’71YC Shayndi Raice ’05S, ’07BR Gary Rosenblatt ’68YC Avital Chizhik ’12S

he British playwright Tom Stoppard once said, “I still believe that if “I agree with Rabbi Chanina, who says in the Talmud that he learned the your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short- most from his students,” said Goldman. “My students have opened my eyes to Tterm weapon.” Yeshiva University is proud to have many alumni who so many new ideas and ways of thinking. What I try to teach my students is believe that the pen is mightier than the sword and who are changing the not explicitly in the Talmud, but it is certainly rooted there. I tell them to world through their written words. write about other people the way they would like to be written about—with respect, knowledge and sensitivity.” ARI GOLDMAN ’71YC: RELIGION AND REPORTING INTRINSICALLY TIED Goldman is excited whenever a YU graduate shows up in his classes at The decision to attend YU was not a difficult one for Ari Goldman, originally Columbia, and he encourages current students to truly consider a journalism from Hartford, CT. “It was the only school I applied to,” he said. His father, career if they maintain an interest in the field. “Don’t be afraid; take chances Rabbi Marvin Goldman, was a 1944 YC graduate; an uncle, Rabbi Israel and do something you love,” he said. “Many people told me that I shouldn’t be Miller, served as the senior vice president of YU; and another uncle, Rabbi a journalist, and said that I couldn’t be observant, that I couldn’t make a living. Dr. Norman Lamm, was YU’s third president. I am glad that I didn’t listen to them.” As a freshman, Goldman joined The Commentator. “From the time my Goldman remains optimistic about the future of journalism. “Too many first byline appeared in the Commie, I decided I wanted to be a journalist,” people complain about the state of journalism, but these young people are he said. going to make it better,” he said. Goldman’s fondest memories include those of putting out the paper Goldman is married to Shira Dicker and lives in Manhattan. They have every two weeks. “This was in the precomputer era, so it was a very labor- three children: Adam, Emma (who is engaged to Michael Goldberg ’09YC) intensive process,” he explained. “Late at night, we’d pile into cars and head and Judah. for the printing district in Lower Manhattan, where we’d write headlines, size pictures and lay out the paper, sometimes finishing in the wee hours of SHAYNDI RAICE ’05S, ’07BR: WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER FINDS the morning.” SCOOPS AND CHALLENGES IN DIFFERENT BEATS It wasn’t only the Commentator that inspired him. “I also credit Profes- Shayndi Raice ’05S, ’07BR comes from a longtime YU family. “My family sor Leo Taubes with imbuing me with a love of literature and the belief that I believes strongly that a Jewish education should not stop after high school,” could be a writer someday.” she said. With their encouragement, Raice attended YU’s Stern College for While at YU, Goldman’s work on the Commentator led to a gig as a New Women, where she double-majored in Jewish studies and English, with a York Times campus correspondent. After YU, he attended the Columbia Uni- concentration in journalism. versity Graduate School of Journalism. When he graduated in 1973, he went At Stern, Raice had visions of entering academia until she became to work at the Times as a copy boy, and, from there, worked his way up to news involved with the student newspaper, The Observer. “I had written an opin- clerk and then to reporter, where he primarily covered the religion beat and ion column that criticized a YU humanitarian mission to Israel for being too also politics, education and transportation. political and realized the power of the press,” she said. She began writing “When I look back at my body of work at the Times, I realize that many regularly and, eventually, served as editor-in-chief of the paper in her senior of my stories were incremental, such as the passing of a bill, a budget enacted year. She also made great friends and found professors whose courses really or a candidate elected,” he said. “What seems to be most lasting were the challenged her, like Rabbi Ephraim Kanarfogel’s class on the Tosafists and obituaries that I wrote, including obits of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Haym Soloveitchik’s class on the Rishonim. “Ari Goldman also taught Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson and Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach.” a great class, and he ended up writing my recommendation for Columbia,” Goldman often had to field angry questions from fellow community she said. members, who asked him why the Times printed certain religion stories but Raice graduated with a joint BA/MA in modern Jewish history through chose not to cover others, about its perceived anti-Israel slant and even about an undergraduate program with the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jew- articles in sections that had nothing to do with religion or Goldman at all. ish Studies. She began working for the Jewish Advocate and later the Boston Goldman’s work has also appeared in the Washington Post, the Forward, Courant, a larger paper, where she covered city issues, including transporta- The New York Jewish Week and the New York Daily News. He has written three tion and real estate development. books: the best-selling memoir The Search for God at Harvard, about his year After three years of professional experience, Raice attended Columbia studying religion at Harvard Divinity School; Being Jewish: The Spiritual and University Graduate School of Journalism. During her studies, she interned Cultural Practice of Judaism Today; and Living a Year of Kaddish. Goldman at Dow Jones Newswires, a financial news organization that is owned by the has also been a Fulbright Professor in Israel and a Skirball Fellow at Oxford same company that oversees The Wall Street Journal. Her clips that appeared University, and sits on the boards of several organizations, including the Jew- in the Journal impressed several editors, who hired Raice after her internship ish Book Council and the Covenant Foundation. He was also a visiting profes- to cover the telecom industry. A year later, she was sent to San Francisco to sor for a semester at Stern College for Women. cover social media companies like Facebook, Groupon, LinkedIn and Zynga, Goldman began teaching at Columbia University Graduate School of all of which were about to go public. Journalism in 1993, where he is currently the director of the Scripps Howard Raice’s big scoops included breaking the news that Verizon planned to Program in Religion, Journalism and Spiritual Life. He teaches a popular sell the iPhone and almost every aspect of Facebook’s IPO. “My favorite part seminar, Covering Religion, which features an annual trip abroad to places about journalism is finding out news that nobody else knows and getting like Israel, Jordan, Russia, Ukraine, India and Ireland. His students have gone people to tell me things they aren’t supposed to tell me,” she said. “Some- on to cover religion in newspapers across the United States. Continued on Page 2 ç

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Telling It Like It Isç Continued from Page 1

times I feel like being a journalist is like being a spy, except everybody knows of an achievement in itself; it’s a tough, fast-paced business and a constant learning you’re a spy, so it makes your job much harder. But the fact that it’s so challenging experience. is what makes it so much fun.” “There’s a certain corrective element to managing a newspaper, and we make Last summer, the Journal brought Raice back to New York to cover the bank- mistakes all the time,” he said. “There’s always that pressure to be both timely and ing industry, which she calls her biggest career challenge to date. “I write about humane, and you certainly need a measure of humility in this business. Journalism complex regulatory issues, like how banks are struggling to meet new capital is not a science but an art, if you do it well, and it needs constant refinement. But if ratios or charge all sorts of punitive fees, even as regulators crack down on them,” young people love it and worry about where the field is headed, I think there’ll she said. “My job is to make it all easily relatable and, at the end of the day, fun to always be a need for talented professional journalists, whatever the format.” read. When my Savta [grandmother] calls me and tells me she understood my Rosenblatt lives with his wife, Judy ’68S, in Teaneck, NJ. They have three chil- story, then I know I’ve done a good job.” dren: Avi (and Daniela), Tali (and Sender Cohen ’90YUHS, ’94YC, member of the Current students encouraged by Raice’s success should ignore those who YU Board of Trustees) and Dov ’08YC (and Aura) and six grandchildren. downplay their own budding journalism dreams. “I think a lot of people think that journalism is not the kind of job that an observant Jew can do,” said Raice. “I take AVITAL CHIZHIK ’12S: A CAREER TAKES ROOT WITH A NEW YORK TIMES BYLINE off for all the Jewish holidays, and I’ve never once had anything but complete and AND ASSIGNMENT ABROAD total support from my editors at the Journal.” Writers sometimes work their entire careers for that coveted New York Times Lawyers also have grueling schedules, she pointed out, “and nobody tells an byline, but for Avital Chizhik, that measure of journalistic success came early on: observant Jew that he or she can’t be a lawyer.” as a recent graduate of Stern College for Women. Raice advises students who wish to pursue journalism to obtain internships “Somehow, I always knew I wanted to write,” said Chizhik, now 21. “When my at publications. “Journalism is not something that’s easily taught in school,” she family first began keeping Shabbat when I was 7 years old, the most difficult part said. “It’s something you learn by trial and error. If you can, in addition to intern- for me was not being able to write stories.” ships, get a lot of clips in different publications outside of the Jewish community. Chizhik grew up in Highland Park, NJ, with her parents—Russian immigrants Mainstream experience is really important and, you don’t want to get pigeonholed who came to New York in 1980. “I was really excited about Stern’s honors program as a Jewish journalist, even if that’s ultimately what you decide to do.” and its courses and community. Later on, I appreciated the experience of writing Above all, Raice advised, “Just do what you love and don’t worry about the rest. my honors thesis, too,” said Chizhik, who majored in English communications I wish more people had told me that along the way.” with a concentration in journalism. At Stern, Chizhik headed the Israel Club and wrote for The Commentator, GARY ROSENBLATT ’68YC: EDITOR COMMITS TO HIS CRAFT DESPITE CRITICS although the majority of her writing was done on the side or in class. “I found Gary Rosenblatt’s long and storied career as editor-in-chief and publisher of two more value in meeting people, attending lectures, researching literature in the of the most prominent papers in the Jewish community almost never happened. library and exploring New York City than I did attending editorial staff meet- There are a lot of stories that would never have been told and a lot of injustice that ings,” Chizhik said. would have been left unearthed. In 2011, Chizhik was honored as a Point of Light at YU’s 87th Annual Hanuk- Rosenblatt, who grew up in Annapolis, MD, as a son of the rabbi (Morris kah Dinner and Convocation, where she was recognized for her award-winning Rosenblatt ’38R) of the only shul in town, majored in English at Yeshiva College writing and involvement in extracurricular activities at Stern, including the with the vague idea of entering academia. A stint as a freshman writer for The World Zionist Organization, Political Science Society and a CJF service mission Commentator, the college’s undergraduate newspaper, led to a full-blown case of to Kharkov, Ukraine. the journalism bug, with Rosenblatt writing a wide variety of features and news Since graduating, Chizhik has written for many publications in addition to stories over the next four years. the Times, such as The Jewish Daily Forward, Moment Magazine, Tablet Maga- “Some of my fondest memories at Yeshiva are going downtown and laying out zine and Haaretz, where she is a regular contributor. She is also working on a col- the paper all night at the printers before putting it to bed, and the camaraderie of lection of short stories, set mostly in the Orthodox and Russian Jewish émigré the whole staff heading to Ratner’s at 5:30 a.m. for breakfast,” Rosenblatt recalled. communities. That love of journalism stayed with him through his graduate studies in Eng- Chizhik recently traveled to Belarus and Russia for her first reporting assign- lish at the City College of New York, where he also wrote part time for the Jewish ment abroad. “It was my first time in both countries, and it was incredibly mean- Chronicle of London. Gradually, Rosenblatt came to realize that he wanted to pur- ingful to walk the streets of Moscow, a city I have heard about my entire life, to see sue journalism as a full-time career. the city for what it is today and to decide what it should mean for me, a generation “It had never occurred to me that you could be shomer shabbos and work in after my family’s exodus.” journalism, because I was only thinking of reporters who write for daily news- While Chizhik writes often on the Russian Jewish community, many of her papers,” Rosenblatt said. “Of course, today there are many outlets you can write pieces are personal in nature: thoughtful essays on observant life and being a reli- for without working on Shabbos.” gious Jewish woman. She has written about modesty and dress codes, professional Rosenblatt took a position as a sports editor for TV Guide, which, at the time, ambition within Orthodoxy and, for the Times, a piece on the similarities between had a weekly circulation of more than 20 million. In 1972, he began working at The marriage-minded young women of both the Jewish and Muslim faiths. New York Jewish Week, which was under different management then and was a “I write about what I know, and I try to offer glimpses into communities that more modest version of the paper he edits today. “I was probably 35 years younger might be underrepresented or misrepresented in the media,” said Chizhik. “I am than the next editor, but that meant I was the one who got sent out in the field to constantly inspired by the present, by images and conversations, but also by texts cover all sorts of stories,” said Rosenblatt. “I got to learn from veteran editors who of the past, like the Torah and writings by Chekhov, Agnon, Borges, Oz and Keret.” covered events like World War II; it was a great training ground.” Chizhik also finds herself returning to many of the readings and lessons of Rosenblatt worked there for two years before heading to Baltimore to her English and journalism courses at Stern: Holocaust Literature with Dr. Linda become the editor of The Baltimore Jewish Times, where for the next 19 years Shires; The Philosophy of Literature with Dr. Kim Evans, The Art of the Essay he helped the paper grow in circulation and prominence. His investigative with Dr. Ann Peters; and The Craft of the Newspaper Feature with Professor report on the Simon Wiesenthal Center—which explored the rapid growth of the Alan Tigay. famous Holocaust museum and education center and the marketing of it as a non- Chizhik’s favorite part of being a journalist is the positive and inspiring letters sectarian, humanitarian institution qualified to receive state funding—was one she receives from readers. “I read each message I receive and always try to of two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in the category of Special Reporting in 1985. respond,” she said. “Knowing my words resonated with someone, or that some- “That remains one of my proudest journalistic achievements, as it was the first thing in my work moved him or her to think differently, is a great blessing.” time that an article in a Jewish publication was recognized and nominated for a One thing that doesn’t come easily is dealing with criticism, which Chizhik Pulitzer,” said Rosenblatt. said is constant. “I think I was pretty naive when I began writing about life as In 1993, Rosenblatt returned to New York as editor and publisher of The New a frum Jew,” Chizhik said. “I had no idea what a Pandora’s box I was opening, York Jewish Week, a post he still holds. He has written more than 1,000 weekly and a part of me wonders if this will be a lifetime struggle as I cover the Jewish “Between the Lines” columns, and he has written and overseen major breaking community.” stories in the Jewish world. Despite the naysayers who would rather Chizhik not “expose” certain less Rosenblatt often receives disapproval from critics who question why he feels favorable aspects of Orthodox life, she remains undeterred. “I strive to write the need to “air dirty laundry,” so to speak, of the Jewish community, and it is with an unflinching eye because I want to offer my readers full and real experi- something Rosenblatt frequently grapples with and does not take lightly. ences,” said Chizhik. “I hope to capture the nuances of what it means to be Ortho- “It’s a little bit like having people look in the mirror and not always liking dox in the modern world, and that demands both celebrating the beautiful and what they see reflected there,” he said. “It’s a very big responsibility, and one of confronting the difficult.” my constant challenges is not to dismiss the criticism but use it as an opportunity Chizhik admits that her confidence has taken some time to build, and she is to learn and grow.” helped along by the unwavering support of her parents. “Upsetting readers is cer- Rosenblatt spoke to YU students at the annual Commentator/Observer Shab- tainly not my purpose in writing, but if that’s a consequence, I think it only indi- baton this past April, where he shared some of the wisdom he’s accumulated in cates the urgency of the problem I’m addressing.” n Jewish journalism over the years. He considers his longevity in the field something

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Marlene and Dr. Yale I. Sheila ’63S and Shelly Schneider She also announces the birth of her Port ’53YC, ’56R, ’59F announce the marriage of their daughter, great-granddaughter, Dalia Chanah Glasser. Introducing announce the birth of Arona ’01S, to Moshe Berow ’09YC. Mazel tov to uncle Rabbi Nathaniel YU Mobile for their great-grandson, Helfgot ’81YUHS, ’85YC,’89A, ’89R. Noaz Uriel, born to their Tova (Fishman) ’65YUHS, ’69S and Alan iPhone and grandchildren, Dr. Shani Taragin celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their Rabbi Marc Mandel ’79YUHS, ’83YC, ’09S and Shawn Moritz. Mazel tov to two grandsons, Hillel Ezra, son of Peninah ’88W, ’88R celebrated Touro Synagogue’s Android grandparents Evelyn ’78YUHS, ’83W and and Greg Gershman ’99YC and Netanel 250th year with keynote speaker U.S. Available free on Milton Elbogen ’74YUHS, and Leah and Micha Shields, son of Yehudit and Meyer Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan at iTunes and Google Play Frank Moritz. Shields. the 66th annual Reading of the George Washington Letter. Judy ’58YUHS, ’62S and Yitzchak Tova (Fishman) Taragin ’65YUHS, ’69S Rosenbaum ’60YC, ’62R, ’63BR announce co-led a “tech book camp for educators” Arney Rogoff ’79YC was named Director the marriage of their granddaughter, Shifra, at the Center for Jewish Education in of Broadcast Operations for the City of daughter of Rivky and Moshe Rosenbaum Baltimore, MD, helping teachers succeed Milford, CT. to Tzvi Pfeffer ’11SB, son of Jessica and at 21st-century education. Steven Pfeffer. Susan (Schreiner) ’72S and Michael Esther Zollman Wachsman ’65YUHS, Weingarten announced the marriage of Liza and Rabbi Benjamin Samson ’57YC, ’67TI was the Guest of Honor at the their son Adam to Philippa Levenberg. ’60BR, ’60R celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of Inaugural Shalva Beit Nachshon Dinner their grandson, Doniel Yaakov, son of Chana in Airport City, Israel on May 12, 2013. Chana and Rabbi Steven Stein ’70YC, and Victor Braverman. ’72R of Efrat announce the birth of their Dr. Chaim I. Waxman ’63YC, ’66BR, ’66R first grandchild, Yehuda Mevaser Shalom, Rabbi Hershel Schachter ’58YUHS, edited a volume of essays and articles of born to Eliana and Shlomo Lechiani. ’62YC, ’67R, Rosh Yeshiva and Nathan and his late father, Rabbi Nissan Waxman Vivian Fink Distinguished Professorial Chair ’26R, Shvilei Nissan: Chidueshei Torah, in Talmud, was the Guest of Honor at the Biographiot Uma-Amarim (Mossad Harav RIETS Annual Dinner of Tribute in May. Kook, 2012). 1980s

Dr. David Spindel ’58YUHS, ’62YC Bernice ’66YUHS and Rabbi Kenneth Brander YOUR NEWS IS OUR NEWS! completed a six-year adult semicha Rabbi Dr. Tzvee ’84YC, ’87R was Class Notes is where YU celebrates the program headed by Rabbi Dovid Schochet Zahavy ’66YUHS, appointed Vice President milestones and accomplishments of its of Toronto. His klaf was also signed by ’70YC, ’72R, ’73BR for University and alumni. In this section, you can catch up Rabbi Yisrael Mair Lau, former Ashkenazi announce the birth of Community Life of on everything your classmates have been Chief Rabbi of Israel. their grandson, Zev, Yeshiva University. up to over the years, from marriages to Miriam and Barak and births to professional and personal Zahavy. Zev is named Marcia Bronstein ’82W achievements. after his great-grandfather Rabbi Dr. Zev was named Regional 1960s Zahavy ’39YC, ’42R. Director of American Submit your class note by emailing Jewish Committee for [email protected] with the subject Donald S. Davis ’65YC was the recipient Philadelphia and line “Class Notes,” or by visiting of the 2013 Jerusalem Prize, awarded by Southern New Jersey. www.yu.edu/alumni/notes to complete the World Zionist Organization and the 1970s the online form. We hope that you enjoy Canadian Zionist Federation at a ceremony Bruce Cohen ’88YC reading about your fellow alumni and in Montreal. The Jerusalem Prize was Dr. Jeanne launched Bruce Cohen friends, and we look forward to hearing established in 1990 to demonstrate the (Lichtman) Abrams Designs and debuted his about your achievements. Diaspora’s solidarity with Jerusalem and to ’72S published her new collection at Surtex recognize an individual or organization for book, Revolutionary 2013, the leading annual demonstrating concern for the Jewish Medicine: The tradeshow for selling and people. Founding Fathers licensing surface designs and Mothers in (brucecohendesigns.com). 1940s Lippy Friedman Sickness and in ’66YC, ’69BR, Health (NYU Press, Shulamit (Pessin) ’85S and Rabbi Ann and Rabbi Hyman Arbesfeld ’69R and Maureen 2013). David Ginsburg ’86R celebrated the ’49YUHS, ’53YC, ’56R received the Eitz Goldsmith marriage of their daughter, Avigayil ’12S, Chaim award at the RIETS Annual Dinner Friedman ’74E Rachayl ’75S and Rabbi Dr. Hillel Davis to Menachem Rapp ’12YC. Their son, of Tribute in May. of Yerushalayim ’73YC, ’75BR, ’75R announce the marriage Yeshayahu Ginsburg ’11YC, completed announce the of their daughter, Nahva ’95YUS, ’99S, to a siyyum shas of Daf Yomi. Sylvia and Rabbi William Herskowitz birth of their Isaac Maman. ’48YC, ’50W, ’55R, ’74BR celebrated their great-grandson, Dr. Mark Ingwer 60th wedding anniversary in June as well Yoseph Tuvia Fishman, born to Talia and Rabbi Eliot B. Feldman ’72YC, ’75R was ’82F published his as the graduation of their grandson, Eitan Yedidya Fishman of Yad Binyamin. appointed as Head of School of the Bess book, Empathetic Katz, from Yeshiva College; the graduation and Paul Sigel Hebrew Academy of Greater Marketing: How to of their grandson, David Herskowitz, from Naomi (Minder) Lehrfeld ’64S announced Hartford, where he is an alumnus. Satisfy the Core Yeshiva University High School; and the the birth of her granddaughter, Batsheva Emotional Needs of engagement of their granddaughter, Esther, born to Brocho and Yoni Lehrfeld. Forensic podiatrist Dr. Bryan Kagan ’76YC Your Customers Jennifer, to Shlomo Shenker. Their presented his study “Comparing Static (Palgrave MacMillan, daughter, Amy Katz ’76S, ’78W, the Ruth ’69YUHS, ’73S, ’77F, ’92A and Rabbi Shod Foot Impressions with Barefoot 2012). executive director of Partnership for Elchanan Lipshitz ’67YUHS, ’71YC, ’76F, Impressions” at the 98th International Excellence in Jewish Education, was the ’77R announce the birth of their grand- Educational Conference of the International Benjamin Kaufman ’81YUHS, ’85YC, ’88C speaker at commencement for the Azrieli daughter, Kamah, to Elana and Elyasaf Association for Identification in Providence, joined the law firm of Wolf, Haldenstein, Graduate School of Jewish Education and Shweka. RI in August. Adler, Freeman & Herz LLP as a partner Administration in June. specializing in class action and commercial Rabbi Shmuel Goldin ’69YUHS, ’73YC, Judy (Miller) ’76YUHS, ’80S and Jay litigation. Benjamin resides in Lawrence, Rabbi Dr. Menachem Raab ’44YC, ’47R, ’76F, ’76R published his book, Unlocking Kalish ’79YC, ’82C announce the birth of NY, with his wife Linda ’80YUHS and their ’70BR celebrated his 90th birthday. the Torah Text: Bamidbar (OUPress, 2013). their grandson, Sahar David, born to Yael three children. The eldest, Jordan, is a and Gavriel Kalish. student in the Yeshiva College Honors Miriam ’65TI and Shimshon Halpern program. ’56YUHS, ’60YC announce the birth of their Chava (Willig) ’73S and Michael Levy 1950s grandson, Neta Yisrael, born to Chani and announce the birth of their granddaughter, Yoni Gur. Miriam and Shimshon also Temima Etta, born to Tehilah and Tuvia Shifrah and Steve Adler ’57YUHS celebrated the wedding of their grand- Negreann. announce the birth of their granddaughter, daughter, Naama Anbar, to Avishai born to Chagit and Amit Geron. Oberman and celebrated the Bar Mitzvah Dr. Rosa Perla Resnick of their grandson, Roee, born to Efrat and Helfgot ’76W chaired Claire and Rabbi Joshua Hertzberg ’51YC, Eli Halpern. a conference titled ’55R celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their “Intergenerational great-grandson, Yitzchak Aryeh Arnold. Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg ’69YC, Relationships in the ’74R, ’74F, ’92A published his article Changing Family: Jacqueline ’86S and Rabbi Dr. Marc Rabbi Elihu Levine ’50YUHS, ’54YC, ’56R “Dating 101” in the June 2013 online Impact on Society,” held Mandel ’79YUHS, ’83YC, ’88R, ’88W published the third volume of his translation edition of The Jewish Magazine. He and at the UN in May. Dr. celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their fifth into English and annotation of the Kli Yakar. his wife, Charlene, announce the birth Resnick Helfgot is the Chair of the NGO son, Carmi. Mazel tov to grandparents His first translations and annotations were of their grandson, born to Ilana and Committee on Ageing, Subcommittee on Phyllis and Eddie Berkowitz and Marian on Shemos and Bereishis through Toldos. Josh Rosenberg. Intergenerational Relationships at the UN. and Mel Klausner.

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ARE YOU A MEMBER OF THE CLASS OF 1954, 1964, 1974 OR 1989? SAVE THE DATE | MAY 21, 2014 MEMBERS OF THE CLASS OF 2004: It’s been 10 years since your graduation! 60-YEAR REUNION 50-YEAR REUNION 40-YEAR REUNION 25-YEAR REUNION of the Class of 1954 of the Class of 1964 of the Class of 1974 of the Class of 1989 Contact [email protected] to ﬁ nd out more about a special celebration just for your class.

Help plan this milestone event for your class and ensure a successful event. Contact the Ofﬁ ce of Alumni Affairs at [email protected] or 212.960.5412 to ﬁ nd out how you can get involved.

Sandy ’86YUHS, ’90S and Rabbi Ari Dr. Rebecca (Steiner) Sarah ’06S and Rabbi Noah Cheses Waxman ’88YC, ’90A, ’90R announce Solomon ’93S ’09YC, ’11R announce the birth of their the birth of their grandson, born to Rachel completed her Ph.D. son, Netanel Moshe. (Waxman) ’99YUHS and Eliad Dennis. in Curriculum and Mazel tov to great-grandparents Myra and Instruction from Florida Rabbi Dr. Yisrael Levitz ’55YUHS, ’59YC, Atlantic University. Her Aviva Miller ’09S married ’63R, ’73F and Chaya and Prof. Chaim dissertation focused Avi Cohen ’09YC in Waxman ’63YC, ’66BR, ’66R. on the impact of parent communications Throggs Neck, NY. and expectations on teacher practices in Shelly (Lieberman) ’99S and Rabbi Joel private Jewish day schools. Padowitz celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Yonah Elisha in Ramat Bet Benson Stone ’90YC is a pre-school Benjamin Courchia Shemesh. teacher in the Head Start Program at ’07YC began residency Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community in the Department of Dr. Matthew Levitt Action Agency. Pediatrics at Mount Sinai ’92YC published School of Medicine in his book, Hezbollah: Caren ’96S and Rabbi Mordechai Queens, NY. The Global Footprint Torczyner ’93YC, ’97R celebrated the of Lebanon’s Party Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Meira. Elise ’08S and Rabbi Boruch Danzger Michael Wildes ’89C hosted the founders of God (Georgetown ’07SB, ’10R, ’11A announce the birth of of Community Security Service, an University Press, their daughter. organization founded in 2007 to protect 2013). the lives and way of life of the American Yoetzet Halacha Atara Eis ’03S, ’09A and Jewish community. Rabbi Raphael Eis ’98YUHS, ’03YC, ’05R, Sarah and Stuart Milstein ’96YC ’06A were honored on June 4 at Nishmat’s Donna and Rabbi Joel Zeff ’85BR, ’86R announce the birth of their daughter, 23rd Anniversary Dinner at the Jewish announce the birth of their grandson, born Ella Pearl. Museum in New York City. to Chana and Uri Lichtenstein-Biran. Shira (Pfeffer) ’99S and Rabbi Zvi Romm Shoshana (Michaelson) ’07SB and Ephraim “Effy” Zinkin ’89YUHS, ’94SB, ’95YC, ’99R, ’02A received the Rabbinic Jay Nathan Feldman ’07SB announce ’96C was named president of Concept Alumnus Award at the American Friends the birth of their son, Mordechai Zev. Mazel One Associates, the premier resource for of Yeshiva Kerem B’Yavneh Annual Dinner tov to grandparents Ann (Starkman) licensed fashion, sports and entertainment celebrating the Yeshiva’s 60th anniversary. ’72S and Rabbi Eliot Feldman ’72YC, accessories. Quantum Media Holdings LLC where Ari ’75R, ’75F. Abigail and Rabbi Elie Rothberger Zoldan ’99SB is CEO was listed in the Bluma Zuckerbrot-Finkelstein and ’93YUHS, ’97YC, ’02R, ’03A announce the 2013 edition of Inc Magazine’s list of the Shoshanna ’09S and Rabbi Mordechai Rabbi Joel Finkelstein ’81YUHS, ’85YC, birth of their son, Yehuda Zalman. Mazel tov 500 fastest-growing private companies. Gershon ’07YC, ’11A, ’11R announce the ’89R, ’96BR were honored by their to grandparents Deborah and Rabbi birth of their son, Yosef Shalom. congregation, Anshei Sphard-Beth El Joseph Rothberger ’54YUHS, ’58BZ, Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler ’93YUHS, Emeth Congregation, for their 16 years ’58YC, ’61R, ’61BR, ’68F, ’89A. ’98YC, ’00R, ’04A, ’09W received the David Gibber ’09YUHS married Eliza of service. Distinguished Rabbinic Leadership Award Bernstein. Mazel tov to parents Debbie Ari Sauer ’99SB, ’01C is Chair of the Mid at the RIETS Annual Dinner of Tribute and RIETS Board Member Elliot Gibber South Chapter of the American Immigration in May. and Susan and Aviv Bernstein. Lawyers Association, which represents 1990s attorneys in Kentucky, Tennessee, Julie Yanofsky Goldstein ’00S, ’04BR has Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. Ari been awarded a Lady Davis Postdoctoral Shira ’97YUHS, ’01S and Rabbi Shlomo practices in the Memphis office of the law 2000s Fellowship from The Hebrew University in Einhorn ’01YC, ’04R, ’09A announce the firm of Siskind Susser. Jerusalem. Her dissertation from New York birth of their daughter. Dr. Aviva ’05S and Avraham Adler University is entitled “Children of the Sacred Rabbi Eliezer Schnall, ’99YUHS, ’03YC announce the birth Covenant: Imagining Child Martyrdom in PhD ’95YUHS, ’00YC, of their son, Yaakov Mordechai. Twelfth-Century Ashkenaz.” ’02F, ’03R, ’06F, Simcha Feuerman professor of psychology Sarah ’09S, ’11W and Rabbi Joshua Goller ’01YC, ’08R was ’93W published his at Yeshiva College, Rabbi Jeremy Baran named assistant rabbi at the Young Israel book, Marriage 911 presented “Positive ’06YC, ’10A, ’12R of West Hempstead. (Israel Bookshop Psychology in Jewish announce the birth of Publication, 2013). Texts and Tradition” at the their son. Mazel tov to Deborah ’08S and Rabbi Yakov Grun 25th Annual Convention grandparents Brenda and ’09YC, ’13R, ’13A announce the birth of of the Association for Psychological Rabbi Chaim Bronstein their son, Shlomo Yitzchak. Science in Washington, DC. Rabbi Schnall ’66YUHS, ’70YC, ’72R, ’73BR, and Ted and Suri ’97YUHS, ’02S, ’06A and David also delivered a series of lectures and Shari Baran ’78W. Dr. Sarah Guigui ’08S is a resident in the Landerer ’96YUHS, ’01YC announce the shiurim on psychology and Judaism at department of Internal Medicine at North birth of their son, Moshe. the Mount Sinai Jewish Center in NY. Yeshiva University Shore-Long Island Jewish Health Systems Registrar Diana in Forest Hills, NY. Jonathan “Yoni” Oppenheim ’99YUHS Tova Serkin ’98YUHS and Yair Yehuda Benmergui ’05S, was appointed by Brandeis University to the announce the birth of their son, Gil ’10W married Dr. Rabbi Gary Guttenberg ’04YC, ’07R was faculty of the threater/drama segments of Michayel. Mazal tov to grandparents Ronny Chadi of honored as the alumnus of the year at the its BIMA summer cultural program for high Paul Serkin ’75YUHS, ’79YC and Marcy Brooklyn, NY in July. Talmudical Academy of Baltimore’s annual school students. Serkin ’81S. dinner in June.

4 ALUMNITODAY DOWNLOAD THE YU ALUMNI SMARTPHONE APP AT WWW.YU.EDU/ALUMNI/APP ß Ari Sauer ’99SB, ’01C: Advocating for Immigrants

or more than a decade, Ari Sauer ’99SB, ’01C, has been helping people from field from a single book or law school class. Immigration lawyers need to remain countries around the world obtain visas, green cards, permanent residence up to date by reading government memos and speaking to each other to share our Fand citizenship so that they can stay in the United States to continue study- knowledge and what we’ve learned. As a result, immigration law is a very col- ing, working or just being with their loved ones. It’s a tall order, but all in a day’s laborative type of law and also offers a more level playing field; younger attorneys work for an immigration lawyer. can often catch up to more experienced ones because the rules and dynamics are As an undergraduate student at Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of always changing.” Business, Sauer, who was born and raised in Memphis, TN, hadn’t even heard of In his role as chair of the Mid South Chapter of the American Immigration the highly specialized field of immigration law. In fact, he wasn’t planning on Lawyers Association (AILA), a post to which he was recently re-elected, Sauer becoming a lawyer at all. helps educate other lawyers and officials about immigration issues and possible “I had planned to become an accountant, and while I loved most of the repercussions about changes in the law. “As a general rule, immigration is a very accounting courses for my major, I didn’t care for the tax side of it,” said Sauer. hot-button topic in this country, and politically, there are a lot of different emo- “During my senior year, I realized I had enough credits from my elective courses tions involved,” said Sauer. in management, many of which were taught by the wonderful Dr. Moses Pava, to As chair, Sauer facilitates communication between lawyers in Tennessee, graduate with a degree in business management.” Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, and he also helps alert AILA’s An active undergraduate, Sauer co-hosted a popular radio show—“Popular national office when changes in immigration regulations occur in local cities. with my friends, anyway,”—where he played music and discussed current events Four times a year, Sauer travels to national meetings across the country to rep- with his co-host. “It was a great experience, and we held a party every week at the resent the Mid South Chapter, although he did not attend a recent meeting in radio headquarters when we hosted the show,” said Sauer. He also ran on YU’s Austin, Texas, because it took place on Simchat Torah. cross-country team for two years under Coach Stan Watson, and some of his clos- “I’m not the only Orthodox Jew in AILA, and at our annual conferences, we est friendships were formed at YU, including one with Joe Bednarsh, YU’s director usually do a pretty good job of organizing a minyan [quorum],” said Sauer. “As of athletics, physical education and recreation. chapter chair, I also changed our meetings from Saturday to a weekday and, over- With Sauer’s change in major and career trajectory late in the undergraduate all, everyone is understanding.” game, he decided to use his fallback plan and attend law school following gradu- Sauer suggested that students who are interested in pursuing immigration ation, enrolling in YU’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. There, he was a stu- law after graduating from YU would do well spending some time in the offices dent of Professor Leon Wildes, a prominent immigration lawyer and member of of practicing lawyers. “Seeing lawyers on the job in their offices is the best way the Yeshiva College Board of Overseers. to learn what it’s really about and to adopt mentors, which is essential for any “I had already balanced a dual curriculum at both the Margolin Hebrew immigration lawyer,” he said. “While you’re in Washington Heights, also make Academy in Memphis and at YU, so I was surprised by how few classes I had sure you practice your Spanish. It was a missed opportunity for me but one that to take each semester in law school,” said Sauer. “I decided to take a position at certainly would have come in handy in my job today, as I have a good number of Cardozo’s Immigration Law Field Clinic.” Spanish-speaking clients. My paralegals translate for me, but the more Spanish Though Sauer had not taken an immigration law course before starting you know, the better.” the job, where he assisted lawyers in drafting immigrant petitions for abused “Ari is a wonderful example of a YU student who took to heart the mission of spouses, he fell in love with the work. He realized the impact that immigra- the University and used his education to go out and help people,” said Bednarsh. tion lawyers could have on their clients and the people in their clients’ lives. He “It’s no surprise to me, because Ari has always been a compassionate and caring decided to specialize in the field and immediately signed up for immigration and person—qualities that were evident to even the casual observer during his time administrative law courses, eventually serving as president of Cardozo’s immi- at YU.” gration law society. Sauer lives in Memphis with his wife, Hanielle, and their twin daughters, Sauer worked in the tristate area for a few years before returning to Memphis Lee and Magen, 10. n to raise his family. He now works at Siskind Susser, PC, a leading immigration law firm headquartered in Memphis. “Many people think immigration lawyers just fill out forms all day,” Sauer said. “While there is that component, it’s actually an extremely complicated area Ari is a wonderful example of a YU of law with many subfields, including asylum, defense from deportation and fam- student who took to heart the mission of ily and employment-based immigration and naturalization, which are my areas “ of expertise. I help immigrants obtain the proper documentation so that they can the University and used his education to be assured a place of residence here in the United States.” At Siskind Susser, Sauer works on dozens of cases at a time, which can each go out and help people… Ari has always take months or years to resolve. At the time of this writing, Sauer’s varied clients include a university professor applying for a green card to continue teaching in been a compassionate and caring the United States, a husband who first came to the United States on a fiancé visa seeking permanent residence and a doctor who came to do his residency in the person—qualities that were evident United States applying for a green card. Most of Sauer’s clients come from India and China. to even the casual observer during For Sauer, the biggest challenge of his job is also the one that keeps him on his his time at YU. toes and, in some ways, a perpetual student; immigration law is an ever-changing field that requires continuous education. JOE BEDNARSH, YU’S DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS, PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND” RECREATION “There are constant changes to immigration laws, bylaws, regulations and how cases are processed,” said Sauer. “One can’t possibly remain informed in this

s CHECK OUT WHAT ALUMNI EVENTS ARE HAPPENING ON CAMPUS AND AROUND THE WORLD AT WWW.YU.EDU/ALUMNIEVENTS ALUMNITODAY 5 ALUMNI IN ACTION

BOARD OF TRUSTEES ESTABLISHES SCHOLARSHIP IN HONOR OF PRESIDENT JOEL’S 10 YEARS

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of his presidency, members of the YU Board of Trustees donated a total of $1.25 million to establish the President Richard M. Joel Scholars program, which will support 50 full scholarships. On June 18, Ira Mitzner ’81YC (pictured on the left) presented President Joel with a certificate at a reception honoring the milestone.

ZAHAVA AND MOSHAEL STRAUS CENTER FOR TORAH AND WESTERN THOUGHT AUTHOR CONVERSATION SERIES FEATURES PROFESSOR RUTH WISSE (JUNE 11, 2013) More than 150 people enjoyed an evening filled with food and laughter at the second Straus Center author conversation series featuring a discussion between Rabbi Meir Soloveichik ’02YC, ’03R and Dr. Ruth Wisse on her book, No Joke: Making Jewish Humor at the Yeshiva University Museum at the Center for Jewish History.

m Rabbi Soloveichik and m Hadassah Lieberman, YU Museum Director Jacob Wisse, Rebecca Lieberman, Dr. Ruth Vice Chairman and Trustee Wisse, Leonard Wisse and former Senator Joe Lieberman (D–CT) of Yeshiva University Moshael Straus ’70YUHS, ’74YC YESHIVA UNIVERSITY WALL STREET GROUP EVENT “THE CONTINUING EVOLUTION OF VENTURE CAPITAL,” HOSTED BY UBS (JULY 11, 2013) k Rabbi Soloveichik, Eric Gomberg and Gail Propp

q Rabbi Soloveichik and Wisse

m Panelists Dan Ciporin of Canaan Partners, Danny Schultz of Gotham Ventures, Jon Medved of OurCrowd and David Teten of FF Venture Capital

ALUMNI LECTURE SERIES WITH RABBI DR. EPHRAIM KANARFOGEL k Moderator Andrew J. Neff of (JUNE 19, 2013) Gartner Invest and the Israel Rabbi Kanarfogel ’73YUHS, ’77YC, ’79R, ’87BR delivered the spring lecture on the topic Finance Institute led an interactive “Making Shidduchim in Medieval Europe: History, Halachah and Life” at Blank Rome LLP discussion about venture capital hosted by Yeshiva College Board of Overseers member Emanuel Adler ’76YC.

m YU alumni and friends enjoyed a lively discussion and had the opportunity to network with members of the financial industry

6 ALUMNITODAY SUPPORT THE ANNUAL FUND AT WWW.YU.EDU/ONLINEGIVING ß LOS ANGELES CAREER CONNECTIONS (JUNE 19, 2013) Los Angeles-based alumni representing various professions came together in June to speak to current and future YU students from Los Angeles at the home of Raphy and Rivka Nissel, parents of Tzvika Nissel ’97YC. Alumni shared their professional success stories and discussed career paths and opportunities in Los Angeles.

m Head of school at YULA Girls High School m Lillian Lieberman, Lauren Weiss ’12S, Rabbi Abraham Lieberman ’86BR and Fay Weiss ’80YUHS and Revital Kempe ’85S Irwin Weiss ’82YC, ’86E

k Tzvika Nissel and Zev Nagel ’05YC

m Yitzy Katz ’06SB, Rabbi David Mahler ’02YC, ’06A and Samuel Barak ’04SB

m Ryan Hyman ’99YC, Aryeh Goldberg ’01SB, Steven Bernstein ’98SB and Tzvi Pal ’98YC

YU LEGAL PROFESSIONALS EVENT, “THE JEWISH PERSPECTIVE: A ALUMNI LECTURE SERIES (SEPTEMBER 10, 2013) COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF SELECT WORKPLACE ISSUES,” HOSTED The Fall Alumni Lecture Series featured Charlie Harary, assistant clinical professor of BY PROSKAUER ROSE LLP (AUGUST 1, 2013) management and entrepreneurship at the Sy Syms School of Business and a prolific speaker, Andrew J. Lauer, vice president of legal affairs, secretary and general counsel of who discussed “How to Get Into the Book of Life.” The event was hosted by Yeshiva Col- Yeshiva University, presented the first event for the newly launched YU Legal Professionals lege Board of Overseers member Benyamin Kaminetzky ’87YUHS, ’91YC at Davis Polk & group. Attendees received CLE credits and had the opportunity to meet other lawyers in Wardwell. This lecture was recorded and is available on yutorah.org. the YU community.

SAVE THE DATE Wrestling alumni are invited to attend the 19th Annual Wittenberg Invitational Tournament

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2014 | Come back to campus to see Yeshiva high school wrestling in action. DINNER AT 6 P.M. | YU Wrestling Coach Neil Ellman will join alumni and their families for a buffet dinner following the matches.

To ensure you are included in all communications about this program and other wrestling events and news, please let us know when you wrestled by emailing [email protected] with your information.

s WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR IDEAS FOR PROGRAMMING IN YOUR REGION. CONTACT BARBARA BIRCH AT [email protected] OR 212.960.0848. ALUMNITODAY 7 ALUMNITODAY CLASSNOTES

Rabbi Josh Joseph Dovid Strauss ’07YUHS, ’12YC is Shoshana (Adler) ’10S and Jordan ’00R, ’00BR was engaged to Allie Schnall ’11S . Kaplan announce the birth of their son, appointed Senior Vice Mordechai Yeshaya. Mazal tov to President of Yeshiva Dr. Ilana ’04S, ’07A, ’11A and Rabbi grandparents Nitza ’87S and Russell EXCLUSIVE University. Yehuda Turetsky ’08YC, ’10R, ’11A Adler ’85YC and Michael and Penny announce the birth of their son. Kaplan. OFFER ON

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