Covering an Eight-Block PETER ROBERTSON V

THE MAGAZINE OF YESHIVA UNIVERSITY WINTER 2003–2004 / HOREF 5764 YUReview

SPECIAL ISSUE: Stern at 50 YESHIVA UNIVERSITY REVIEW

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY TheWomen of Yeshiva: RONALD P. STANTON CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF TRUSTEES Stern College at 50 RICHARD M. JOEL PRESIDENT

DANIEL T. FORMAN ALTHOUGH THE PHRASE “WOMEN OF YESHIVA” may seem singular to some, VICE PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT women are both central to all of Yeshiva University’s academic programs and are PETER L. FERRARA major participants at the faculty, administration, and board levels in the support and DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS development of the university. The women of Stern College, in particular, have been breaking new ground in the education of the Jewish woman for 50 years. YU REVIEW

For Yeshiva University, steeped in history and tradition, our ambitions are and JUNE GLAZER have been no less consequential—to transform the world around us. In 1954, the EDITOR visionary leadership of President Samuel Belkin and YU benefactor Max Stern cre- NORMAN EISENBERG ated Stern College for Women. Stern’s founding was revolutionary, becoming the MANAGING EDITOR first college in which Jewish women could simultaneously pursue religious and sec- JUDY TASHJI ular studies in a rigorous academic setting. Today, a half century after its maiden CREATIVE DIRECTOR class of 32 students arrived at the one-building campus of 253 Lexington Ave., CONTRIBUTING TO THIS ISSUE: Stern’s 1,000-strong student body continues to embody the most enduring qualities KELLY BERMAN of Yeshiva University, in an environment that encourages the fulfillment of human ESTHER FINKLE ’98S DAVID HILLSTROM potential on multiple levels. CARA HUZINEC The theme for the Stern jubilee is “Five Decades. One Dream.” But its mean- HEDY SHULMAN ing is less a reflection of Stern’s illustrious past than a validation of the dynamic PHOTOGRAPHY growth of the college, its campus and its programs, and its proud membership YESHIVA UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES among the YU family of colleges. Stern’s vision expands daily and its achievements YU STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS: are embodied in its new Midtown campus, shared with the women’s division of Sym NORMAN GOLDBERG Syms School for Business—a complex of seven buildings covering an eight-block PETER ROBERTSON V. JANE WINDSOR radius in Manhattan’s historic Murray Hill district, with a superb honors program, a landmark graduate Talmudic learning program, and curriculum offerings and intern- ROBERT R. SALTZMAN ships that develop continually. Stern’s stature in our communities is anchored and UNIVERSITY DIRECTOR OF fostered by its 6,000 graduates, who give meaning and life to our most revered val- ALUMNI AFFAIRS ues—in their homes, communities, and in professional leadership roles across a Yeshiva University Review is published broad spectrum of fields. twice each year by Yeshiva University, This year, as Yeshiva University celebrates Stern College’s jubilee anniversary, let Department of Communications and Public Affairs. It is distributed by mail us together celebrate the dream and the vision, steeped in the values and principles to alumni and friends of the university of our rich heritage, as we advance new frontiers of learning and creative expression. and on campus to faculty and adminis- trators. Paid subscriptions are available at $15 per year.

Editorial contributions and submissions to “Classnotes” are welcome, but the publication cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photo- graphs. All submissions are subject to RICHARD M. JOEL editing. Opinions expressed in the Review are not “ofﬁcial” university policy. PRESIDENT Send mail to: Yeshiva University Review, 500 West 185th Street, New York, NY 10033-3201. Phone: 212-960-5285. Email: [email protected].

2 © YESHIVA UNIVERSITY 2003–2004 WINTER 2003–2004 / HOREF 5764 YUReview

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From the President: 2 Stern at 50 Welcome to the Revolution 3 The establishment of Stern College for Women marked the first time in Jewish history that the frontiers of advanced Jewish scholarship opened up to women.

Stern through the Decades 8 Slice-of-life remembrances by alumnae from six decades. Creating Women of Substance 17 Dean Karen Bacon reflects on how far Stern College has come, and where it is headed.

Outstanding Alumnae 18 Reflections on their alma mater by some of Stern’s most prominent graduates. STERN COLLEGE FOR WOMEN AT 50

Welcome to the REVOLUTION BY JUNE GLAZER

Historically, the tradition of yeshiva learning had always been primarily the domain of men. But in postwar America, a revolution was brewing that would defy convention, opening up advanced Jewish scholarship to women for the first time. And Yeshiva University, a flourishing institution by the mid 1950s, was the logical venue. YU was already an address for growth in the Orthodox world because of its self-defining philosophy of Torah Umadda.

Stern College student Navah Rosensweig Sura (Schreiber) Katz YH,’58S STERN AT 50

n the heels of victory in World War “For years we have been playing the melody of Judaism in II, the 1950s in America seemed a America on a defective instrument. For generations some time of prosperity and great possi- strings have been missing and the symphony has lacked full- bilities. An urge to build and ness and harmony.” Absent was the participation of Jewish expand was impelled by the hope women—other than as individuals—in the intellectual life of of a more stable world. Judaism. Hence the revolution, which gained momentum in For Jews, rebuilding was an im- 1954; that was when YU’s second president, Dr. Samuel perative after the Holocaust, and this Belkin, convinced his good friend Max Stern to support the country seemed a safe haven in which to create anew the start-up of a school to replicate the Yeshiva College experi- Oinstitutions of Jewish learning destroyed in Europe. In the ence for women. postwar period, Jews worked assiduously to cultivate Jewish scholarship, on the very soil that European Jewry had once A Natural Outgrowth deemed a Torah wasteland. Dr. Belkin, an authority on rabbinic and Hellenistic litera- Historically, the tradition of yeshiva learning had always ture, sought to expand and develop Yeshiva University. Under been primarily the domain of men. But his leadership, several YU schools and in postwar America, a revolution was programs were established, including brewing that would defy convention, the Harry Fischel School for Higher opening up advanced Jewish scholar- Jewish Studies, Institute of Mathema- ship to women for the first time. And tics, boys’ and girls’ high schools in Yeshiva University, a flourishing in- Brooklyn, a Community Service Divi- stitution by the mid-1950s, was the log- sion, and a School of Education and ical venue. YU was already an address Community Administration. The cam- for growth in the Orthodox world pus also expanded physically. In Dr. because of its self-defining philosophy Belkin’s presidency, YU acquired its first of Torah Umadda. Dr. Samuel Belkin Max Stern additional property since it had arrived The notion of an organized university- in Washington Heights in 1929. In level program for women that incorporated advanced Jewish 1950, the university charter was amended to authorize grant- studies did not materialize in a vacuum. There were, after all, ing Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Dental Surgery de- existing women’s colleges. And YU had established the prece- grees. This opened the way for establishing a medical school, dent for amalgamating general academics and Jewish studies today’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine—another of Dr. under one roof in 1928, when it founded Yeshiva College for Belkin’s dreams. men. The university later applied the same formula to the Dr. Belkin, who had a daughter, had another dream: a girls’ high school it opened in Brooklyn in 1948. In 1952, the women’s college. He often spoke with Mr. Stern about the idea. university subsumed the Hebrew Teachers Training School Max Stern, a German émigré who was YU Board of Trustees for Girls, begun by the Mizrachi Organization in 1928, and vice chairman at the time, was president of Hartz Mountain reopened it as Teachers Institute for Women. (Central, YU’s Products—he arrived in the US in 1926 on the same ship girls’ high school in Manhattan, opened in 1959.) that carried his first shipment of canaries—and also the Still, as Dr. Leo Jung, spiritual leader of The Jewish father of a daughter. A visionary philanthropist, he felt he Center and then professor of ethics at YC, once lamented, owed much to his adopted country. As a Jewish communal

“For years we have been playing the melody of Judaism in America on a defective instrument.”

STERN AT 50 • YESHIVA UNIVERSITY REVIEW • 2003–2004 5 STERN AT 50

leader and president of the former Hebrew Teachers Training and Caroline. The gift represented the largest single contri- School for Girls, he understood that a college for Jewish bution to the institution in its then 58-year history. women at Yeshiva University was a natural outgrowth of its During Passover 1954, Dr. Belkin and Mr. Stern decided high school for girls and its Teachers Institute for Women. to open Stern College the following September, as YU’s 12th “My loyalty to traditional Judaism, my interest in Jewish school. The two walked the length and breadth of midtown and general scholarship, and above all, my desire to give the Manhattan seeking a suitable site, and found it in the Murray opportunity to young women and young men to receive an Hill section: Packard Junior College, 253 Lexington Avenue, integrated education in divine wisdom and human knowl- at 35th Street, a school of commerce that was going out of edge, I owe to my parents,” he said at a dinner feting him for business. Very quickly—seemingly overnight—the two men his contribution of $500,000 toward the founding of Stern shaped their idea into a concrete college program. Dr. Belkin College for Women, named in honor of his parents, Emanuel decided that, unlike Yeshiva College where Jewish studies

First graduating class, June 1958 Seated (from left): Joan Philipson, Brooklyn, NY; Debra Roth, Atlantic Beach, NY; Saralie Zeitz, Bronx, NY; Roberta Miller, Baltimore, MD; Joanne Klein, Brooklyn; Max Stern; Dr. Samuel Belkin; Sura Katz, Kew Gardens, NY; Audrey Katz, Brooklyn; Eva Osterreicher, Jersey City, NJ; Faith Celnik, Miami Beach, FL Standing (from left): Evelyn Hertzberg, Baltimore; Rosa Leah Hirsch, San Francisco, CA; Gilda Wohl, Brooklyn; Marilyn Bell, Chicago, IL; Rachel Rosenberg, Danville, VA; Judith Ochs, Toronto, Canada; Anne Rosenbaum, North Bergen, NJ; Ruth Solomon, Philadelphia, PA; Barbara Gross, Brooklyn; Dvora Abramson, Bronx; Beatrice Cyperstein, Bronx; Rosalie Rabinowitz, Brooklyn; Tamar Fromer, Tel Aviv, Israel; Pearl Edelman, Newark, NJ; Bryna Miller, Baltimore; Eva Dier, Newark, NJ

6 2003–2004 • YESHIVA UNIVERSITY REVIEW • STERN AT 50 AYear of Celebration

TO COMMEMORATE Stern’s founding and first year of existence, a Jubilee Committee chaired by Dr. Sharon Herzfeld ’88S and Dr. Susan Ungar-Mero ’87S planned a slate of events that began November 2 with a Family Day at the Puck Building in Manhattan. Festivities included were divided into separate, distinct divisions, Stern would games, music, and food, and were geared to alumnae with young have an integrated department accommodating all levels, from families. President and Mrs. Joel (the event honorary chair); Marjorie beginners to advanced, within one framework. Also, he ap- pointed Dr. Norma MacCrury, then dean of Skidmore Diener Blendon, Stern board chairman; and Dean Bacon attended. 5Also planned is a lecture series February–December 2004 on College, to advise him on building a liberal arts and sciences curriculum. She recommended that, for the first year at least, 0 topics of Jewish interest by Stern alumnae and others who have distin- Stern model first-year courses after Yeshiva College. guished themselves in related fields. The series includes a presentation With the September 14 opening date looming, Dr. Belkin hired YC assistant math professor Mrs. Cecile Feder to be- February 29, under the Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf Scholar-in-Residence come the Stern registrar. The first freshman class comprised Program, by David Makovsky, senior fellow and director of the Project 32 students—representing 14 states, Israel, and Canada. on America, Israel, and the Peace Process at the Washington Institute; Many of the students took up residence on two floors of the a lecture titled “Breaking New Ground: Orthodox Women in the 21st Windermere Hotel, on West End Avenue. That first year, Century” by Shani Taragin, lecturer at Midreshet Lindenbaum, and classes met in the midst of construction of a library, cafeteria, offices, and science labs (science was not taught that first Rivka Lubitch, an Ohr Torah Stone legal advocate for women seeking a year). Most instructors were borrowed from Yeshiva College. get (halakhic writ of divorce); and will end with a lecture by Sylvia “Most of the students then did not plan to further their Barack Fishman ’64S, assistant professor of contemporary Jewish life educations [beyond college] or pursue a professional career,” and sociology of American Jews in the Near Eastern and Judaic studies said Dr. Louis Feldman, Abraham Wouk Family Professor of Classics and Literature, who had been teaching full-time at department at Brandeis University and codirector of the Hadassah the uptown campus. He became an instructor at Stern in International Research Institute on Jewish Women. She will speak on 1955, and Dr. Belkin’s daughter, Linda, was one of his stu- challenges facing the contemporary Orthodox Jewish family. dents. “For the most part, students planned to get married Israel alumnae and women students will gather next May 28 for and take care of families,” he said. “Nobody ever mentioned the idea of graduate school, not even in Jewish studies. They a celebration at the Tisch Family Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem; and a simply wanted to be well-educated, knowledgeable, and well- Jubilee Dinner is planned for next fall. Celebrations will culminate with informed.” Others described the students as “naïve” and a retrospective exhibit at Yeshiva University Museum next fall, high- “wholesome,” many with parents who were “petrified of hav- lighting Stern’s history through photography, memorabilia, and text. ing their daughters in New York City.” As we go to press, other events are in the planning stage, In 1955, Dan Vogel (soon to be Dr. Vogel), Yeshiva College assistant registrar and English instructor at Stern, replaced including a Jubilee Back-to-School Day in December 2003; Mrs. Feder as registrar and became de facto dean. In 1957, a young leadership seminar in spring 2004; and an international YU was preparing for a review from the Middle States conference in November 2004, “Between Rashi and Maimonides: Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, one of six Themes in Medieval Jewish Law, Thought, and Culture,” sponsored by major regional accrediting associations, and it was then that Dr. Belkin named Mr. Vogel acting dean, a title he accepted Stern’s Rebecca Ivry Department of Jewish Studies and the Leonard on condition that Elizabeth Isaacs, wife of YC dean and and Beatrice Diener Institute of Jewish Law at YU’s Benjamin N. chemistry professor Dr. Moses Isaacs, be named Stern’s first Cardozo School of Law. YU scholars from throughout the United States dean of students. Also in 1957, Esther Zuroff began working and from Israel will participate. at Stern, first as switchboard operator, then as a secretary. She went on to replace Mrs. Isaacs as dean of students and For more information, please contact Joan Apple, director of devel- remained in that position until 1987. opment for Stern, at 212-340-7863 or [email protected]; or the Office of “These were the years all of us were learning about Stern University Alumni Affairs at 212-960-5373 or [email protected]. College—its potential, status, and requirements,” said Dr. Check the YU Web site frequently for Stern Jubilee news and events

STERN AT 50 • YESHIVA UNIVERSITY REVIEW served until 1967. “Those on the staff who had a perspective of Jewish history were keenly aware that Stern College for Women was an absolutely new phenomenon in the education of Jewish women.” As the school grew, majors were developed in English, history, psychology, sociology, math, biology, chemistry, and pre-med. Dvora (Abram- son) Petroff ’58S became the ﬁrst Stern graduate to go on to medical school. Building a faculty also became crucial. Dr. Belkin shouldered the responsibility for Jewish studies at Stern, and those he brought to the faculty included Dr. Shlomo Eidelberg ’52B and Prof. Noah Rosenbloom ’39I,R,B to teach Jewish history, Rabbi Howard Levine for basic Jewish studies, and Rabbi Saul Berman ’59Y,B,R for Jewish texts. Dr. Vogel engaged the general studies faculty, including Dr. Marcel Perlman ’56Y and Dr. Jules Greenstein for psychology, Dr. Doris Goldstein for history, Dr. Eleanor Ostrau for political science, Dr. Carole Silver Stern through the decades

Dorothy (Gewirtz) Berman ’59S

“Being in a small, pioneering group created special bonds with both fellow students and the school that have lasted through the years. Dorm life at the Hotel Duane on Madison Avenue—for myself and the other small group of out-of-towners—was a most wonderful part of the Stern experience. New York students invited us to many happy Shabbatot, and, coming from a small 1950Jewish community, I could never get over the sight of a full shul with so many shomrei Shabbos families in one place.”

Rebecca (Tausig) Berlin ’69S

“I remember when we moved from the Prince George Hotel to Brookdale Hall [1965]. One of the most memorable1960 events for me was our first Hanukkah there, when certain rooms were blacked out and others were lit up to display the shape of a menorah. We danced and sang in the streets.”

8 STERN AT 50

and Dr. Morris Epstein for English literature, they were also pursuing law, medicine, den- and Natalie Lookstein Schacter for sociology. tistry, and business. “In the beginning, Stern women tradition- Stern’s growth during the middle years was ally majored in education,” said Laurel shepherded by Rabbi Norman E. Frimer, pro- Hatvary, an English professor who arrived at fessor of ethics at Stern who served as dean Stern in 1960. She was instrumental in insti- from 1967 to ’68, and Dr. David Mirsky ’42Y, tuting the Shaped Major, which gained dean from 1968 to ’77. Dean Mirsky, profes- acceptance when the administration began sor of English and dean of admissions at YU, allowing students to take courses at the near- came to Stern in the midst of a $10-million by Fashion Institute of Technology. Stern expansion program that included construc- students could thus create majors not yet tion of an 11-story building at 245 Lexington developed at Stern. Avenue—with 38 classrooms accommodating Throughout the 1960s, “there was a broad- Elizabeth Isaacs 1,200 students—that would connect to the ening of career options for women and a existing structure, itself undergoing a $1.5- corresponding broadening of choices for Stern students,” said million renovation. Academically, he revamped the curricu- professor emerita of mathematics, Dr. Miriam S. Grosof, also lum to make Jewish studies more relevant and to include at Stern since 1960. “By the seventies, Stern was very career more general studies electives. More than 600 students then focused—in step with women’s education in general.” While attended Stern, and he knew they differed in many ways from teaching was still a popular profession for Stern graduates, their predecessors.

Ellen (Blau) Pearlman ’78S

“I worked the switchboard [in Brookdale Hall] and was able to give people fair warning on blind dates. I remember stuffing ourselves with linzer tarts from the machines at two a.m., hiding 1970the toaster ovens when Mrs. Millner [in charge of housekeeping] was around, [housemother] Bessie! Running to rallies at the UN or Waldorf, doors decorated for engagements.”

Dr. Miriam Ambalu ’86S

“One of the most memorable things during my years at Stern was the campaign to save Anatoly Sharansky. Attending the demonstrations and the constant reminders during class hours with Rabbi Avi Weiss, meeting and hearing Sharansky’s wife—though I was from Afghanistan and could especially relate to her plight, I thought the campaign was taking too much class time. Now I think it was a great awakening to being politically aware and concerned about others. We are part of a bigger community.”

1980 9 STERN AT 50

“Today’s students are gradually changing, coming from far kept throwing money into them. We went door-to-door col- more diverse backgrounds, and are exposed to greater stu- lecting money. We divided up Manhattan and rang doorbells dent participation in high school, where most of SCW’s stu- of apartments with mezuzahs. Everyone responded gener- dents come from—even in Jewish schools student participa- ously.” In 1973 Golda Meir spoke at YU, and Susan (Adler) tion is greater today,” Dr. Mirsky wrote in 1972, adding that Gotlieb ’74S, then a Stern student council member, remem- “SCW is not trying to direct students, but we are suggesting bers it as “the experience of a lifetime.” that they see themselves much more as preparing for careers, In 1975, Dr. Belkin stepped down after 32 years as presi- and using their undergraduate education to go on to graduate dent of Yeshiva University. (At the request of the Board of education.” Trustees, he assumed the position of chancellor—the first in Stern students were also becoming savvy in areas beyond the university’s history. He died eight months later.) When academics. Dr. Norman Lamm ’49Y,B,R became president in 1976, his “One of my special memories from my days at Stern took first appointment was to fill the Stern College deanship left place when war broke out in Israel in 1967,” recalled Gail vacant by David Mirsky’s retirement. He named Stern alum- (Aranoff) Sanders ’70S. “The tremendous sense of unity we na and Class of ’64 valedictorian Karen (Kermaier) Bacon, felt with Klal Israel was all-encompassing. I remember girls PhD, an assistant professor of biology at Yeshiva College. Her lined up to use telephones, begging their parents to let them selection, in fall 1977, heralded the beginning of a new era at go to Israel to help out. I remember taking to the streets Stern in which students were more demanding about the together with all the girls at Stern to collect money for Israel. kind of education they wanted and the goals they set. Dean We held out open bed sheets right on 34th Street and people Bacon, combining an emphasis on academic excellence, ad-

Judy (Horn) Goldgrab ’01S and BRGS student

“If I were to pick a single word to describe the cultural milieu of Stern at 2000the beginning of our current decade, it would defi- nitely be ‘renaissance,’ a notion that spans Jewish learning, academics, technology, and political advocacy. And attesting to the rebirth of communal concern, Stern students declared an intimate bond with Israel through participation in Operation Esther (Finkle) Hollander ’98S Torah Shield II and the and BRGS student Washington Rally, standing “During finals week, many of us would storm Kinko’s around the together for a common cause.” corner from Brookdale Hall at all hours of the night to photocopy 1990notes that we were missing to study for our exams. My usual attire during these middle-of-the-night trips was a flannel night- gown, furry pink slippers, and sometimes a jean jacket.”

10 0 STERN AT 50

The department is the largest of its kind for undergraduate Jewish studies —for men or for women—in North America.

ministrative leadership, and commitment to religious values, Jewish study and seeking to continue their learning. Stern, became a role model for them. with its newly reconﬁgured Rebecca Ivry Department of Jewish “I can still picture her as a student. I remember when she Studies, was ready for them—“with a catcher’s mitt,” quipped walked down the stairs holding a million books. She was very Dr. Ephraim Kanarfogel YH, ’77Y,R,B, department chairman bright, very serious,” said Mrs. Zuroff, who worked with Dean and E. Billi Ivry Professor of Jewish History. Core and ad- Bacon for a decade. vanced programs, tracks, and faculty were already in place. Years later, the Monique C. Katz Dean has earned the The phenomenon of women learning at yeshiva in Israel— unequivocal respect of her faculty, many of whom speak of and the proliferation of women’s programs there, at least two her in glowing terms. “I’ve watched her over the years. She’s of which were started by Stern alumnae—is directly linked to gained a sense of herself and of her strengths. She is phe- the revolution of women’s Jewish education, which in turn is nomenal in supporting women’s identity and women’s val- linked to Stern, explained Dr. Kanarfogel. Still the only school ues,” said Professor Hatvary. of its kind after 25 years, in the 1980s Stern attracted this “She has been instrumental in developing Stern College. new breed of students and met their expectations by broad- She made the faculty an effective community and has creat- ening and enhancing the Jewish studies curriculum, he said. ed and nurtured a community in which people feel comfort- The effort launched what Dr. Kanarfogel calls “revolution able. The ambiance at Stern is an open one. It’s collaborative. phase two” in advanced Jewish studies at Stern, today mak- Her faculty trust her,” said Dr. Grosof. ing it the largest department of its kind for undergraduate Jewish studies—for men or for women—in North America, A New Era with 85 courses, approximately 1,000 students, and close to Concomitant with the advent of Karen Bacon was the rise in 50 full- and part-time faculty members. popularity among young women of the post-high school expe- Enter YU’s role in revolution phase three: the Graduate rience in Israel. In rapidly increasing numbers, young women Program for Women in Advanced Talmudic Studies, a Yeshiva were returning from abroad after a year or more of advanced University program that began at Stern in 2000. With the

253 Lexington Avenue 245 Lexington Avenue A Campus 1970 Grows in Midtown 1965 Brookdale Residence Hall 50 East 34th Street 12 1954 involvement of the AVI CHAI Foundation, the two-year full-time graduate program for women in Talmud and Torah she-Be’al Peh (Oral Law) offers students beyond college continued study of Talmud and talmudic literature in a serious setting. Current enrollment has reached the maximum of 20 students, mostly Stern alumnae. “The establishment of this graduate program places Stern College for Women and Yeshiva University yet again on the cutting edge in providing sis topics that combine general and Jewish scholarly interests advanced Jewish studies for women at the highest level,” said because they have gained the analytical skills to do independ- Dr. Kanarfogel, program director. He noted that many of its ent research in both areas. graduates take positions as Jewish studies teachers at high In 1995, Anne Scheiber, a retired civil servant previously schools and post-high-school programs in the US and Israel. unknown to YU, died and left $22 million to the university, To make Stern an even more attractive choice to high- most of it earmarked for educating Jewish young women. Her achieving young women, in the ’80s, YU began heavily invest- gift inspired a two-pronged approach to attract a greater num- ing resources to further academics at Stern. The effort includ- ber of high-achieving students interested in the sciences, ed a merit scholarship program that offered awardees already an especially strong discipline at Stern: undergraduate enhanced cultural enrichment and mentoring. As the program scholarships that, together with other awards, can ﬁnance up became effective in the 1990s, YU developed the S. Daniel to full tuition; and graduate scholarships to cover up to four Abraham Honors Program at Stern, a multifaceted endeavor years of full tuition for Stern students entering YU’s Albert that today offers students “exceptional challenges and extraor- Einstein College of Medicine. dinary opportunities,” Dean Bacon said. The Honors program Further expansion of Stern’s science curriculum came features leadership training, individual mentoring, a senior when YU launched Chem 2000, a project to renovate and thesis requirement, and innovative summer courses and re- reﬁt all chemistry labs at the Midtown Campus with sophis- search opportunities in the US and abroad. Many students in ticated equipment that puts the school at the forefront of the three graduating groups so far have opted to explore the- undergraduate science education. Nobel Laureate Dr. Roald

Geraldine Schottenstein Cultural Center 1999 36th Street Residence Hall 237 East 34th Street 151 East 36th Street 1997 2000 1995 Jerome and Geraldine 215 Lexington Avenue Schottenstein Residence Hall 119-121 East 29th Street Stern student Nechama Gottlieb (left) marching in the NYC Salute to Israel Parade, last May, with alumnae Rachel Shtern ’03S, Sara Brodsky ’03S, and Shira Miller ’03S. Hoffmann, the Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters at Cornell University and a YU visiting professor in the 1990s, said the new labs rank among the best undergraduate facilities in the country. Dean Bacon said, “We also began renovations of the biology department with the creation of a cell and molecular biology lab and two research labs, and totally computerized our physics lab. Students now have an unparalleled experience in terms of equipment and the one-on-one attention they need to maximize their training as future scientists.” That invest- dorms, a cultural center, a new academic center and yet-to-be- ment has paid off. Midtown Campus applicants to medical designated building have dramatically enlarged the campus. schools and health-related graduate programs have more than Moving forward from the unparalleled growth of Stern quadrupled in 30 years, and acceptance rates consistently over the past 50 years, Dean Bacon feels energized by the soar far beyond national averages. vision of the future that YU’s new president Richard M. Joel In law, too, Stern students far surpass national acceptance has articulated. She says she is particularly interested in his rates into graduate programs. In the past decade, acceptances worldview, and in his “nuanced understanding” of young peo- have often approached 100 percent, and many Stern appli- ple in America today. cants enter the country’s most prestigious institutions, “He has a sense of what’s going on at college campuses “Our institution is all about text and ideas. It’s about teaching and learning and how that transforms a personality.” including YU’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. everywhere because he was so intimately involved with stu- Statistics like these, Dean Bacon says, reﬂect the academic dents [during his tenure as president and international direc- quality of both the school and its students. “Our institution is tor of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life]. I all about text and ideas. It’s about teaching and learning and think that’s going to be very important to us as we recruit stu- how that transforms a personality,” she said. dents and faculty, as we plan new facilities, and as we expand In a new century and under a new university administra- our public image,” she said. tion, Dean Bacon continues to steer a course of academic As the revolution enters its next half century, students at excellence. To assist in her efforts, YU established three Stern can build on the achievements of their predecessors. named professorships at Stern last spring—the Doris Kukin Said senior Rachel Horn, “Graduates’ hopes of instituting Chair in Molecular Biology, the David and Ruth Gottesman change in their communities and creating committed fami- Chair in English, and the David and Ruth Gottesman Chair lies have turned into calculated expectations.” Ms. Horn, in Political Science—bringing to 60 the number of full-time coeditor-in-chief of the Observer, the student newspaper at Stern faculty members, up from 40 in 1977, when Dean the Midtown Campus, adds that not only has Stern shaped Bacon took the helm. the face of the Jewish community through its students and Also up is the number of students. This year, nearly 1,000 alumnae, but “the school has had an impact on society at women study at Stern, representing 35 states and 20 coun- large because of the accomplishments and contributions of tries, and an additional 311 women are in Israel as part of the those who have passed through its doors.” S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program. In 1977, the total ﬁgure President Belkin and Max Stern would have been proud. was 509 students. To accommodate and anticipate growth, Yeshiva University has been acquiring more property in KELLY BERMAN, DAVID HILLSTROM, CARA HUZINEC, AND HEDY SHULMAN Murray Hill, Manhattan. Within the last eight years, two new CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ARTICLE.

STERN AT 50 • YESHIVA UNIVERSITY REVIEW • 2003–2004 15 David S. Gottesman chairman emeritus,

YU Board of Trustees The entry under Karen Kermaier’s “I joined YU’s Board of Trustees in name in Kochaviah 1964, 1979. By the time of my election as the Stern yearbook, describes the chairman in 1993, I had a feeling that Stern College was destined for big former Los Angelena as: things, but needed a little help to get there. Karen Bacon has been a superb dean for over twenty-five years. Under her guidance the school has steadily strengthened its curriculum and grown in … a brilliant girl academic excellence—far beyond what anyone could have expected dedicated to and on the basis of its limited resources. I am proud to be among those diligently pursu- whose help has accelerated the pace of these advancements.” ing studies in biology, [and] modest to a point Marjorie Diener Blenden that makes us smile. member, YU Board of Trustees In addition to the and chairman, many extra hours she SCW Board of Directors “The high level of Jewish studies we spends in the lab, she has afford our students, and the way the chaired forums, the Pesach products sale, the junior liberal arts curriculum encourages book sale, and a chagiga committee. Awarded a independent thinking while underscoring the values and beliefs of National Science Foundation grant and nominated our Judaic heritage, provide our young women with the ability to for a Woodrow Wilson fellowship, she impressed meet the challenges of life in this modern, chaotic world. classmates and teachers with her quiet zeal for work, Supporting them through scholarships and providing them with the her integrity, and her seriousness of purpose. Karen, best of professors and facilities that foster their intellectual and however, is not impressed with herself and therein spiritual growth is the best investment I can make in our future.” lies her special charm.

E. Billi Ivry Though her list of achievements has since been member, YU Board of Trustees expanded, Stern’s Monique C. Katz Dean still ﬁts and SCW Board of Directors that description. Her unique blend of talent and “Whenever I visit Stern College, I am personality is reﬂected in the impressive institution struck anew by the caliber of the that her alma mater has become. Recently, students—their intelligence, their thirst YU Review sat down with Dr. Bacon to discuss her for knowledge and their enthusiasm to understanding of Stern’s role in an ever-changing participate in secular and Jewish life. These young women are our world, and her expectations for its students as they future leaders and future mothers. Their educational experience at prepare to meet it. The following is an excerpt. Stern College enables them to pursue career goals and participate in Jewish life, and, most important, to instill Jewish values and ideals in their children.” STERN AT 50

Creating women of substance An interview with Dean Karen Bacon, the ﬁrst recipient of the Yeshiva University Presidential Medallion “for her historic and loving dedication to Stern College for Women.”

What role does Stern College believe that the men in their lives are going to enable them to for Women play in the Jewish achieve these goals. Our women socialize with men from world today? Yeshiva College and Sy Syms School of Business. All are On a certain level we are challenging the Jewish world to growing up in an environment of Torah Umadda, living a reconsider old assumptions about women’s education. Is a Torah way of life in a contemporary world. high-school-level Jewish education enough for a woman? While the Jewish world still ponders that question, an ever- What contribution do you see Stern playing in Orthodox increasing number of young women are choosing Stern Judaism as you and others push for greater inclusion of College as the place to continue their education. They are women? excited by the idea that their heritage has something com- For centuries, women’s role in Judaism was more passive. pelling to say about their future and that they can be active They learned by imitation how to run a family and conduct players in the interaction between past and future by contin- themselves as Jews. Stern is contributing another element: a uing to engage in Jewish textual study. commitment to studying text as a way of living a Jewish life and of transforming a personality—your own, your family’s, What makes Stern students unique? and the community’s. As our women become more visible in In large measure our students make choices based on their their communities, they’ll be called upon for leadership roles. conviction that they have a responsibility to the next genera- Their input will be valued because it will be based on sub- tion as well as to their own. We see this all the time. Some stantive thinking arising from the study of Jewish philosophy, graduates choose to go into Jewish education specifically history, laws, and rituals. Stern is helping to create women of because they want to teach others the values of Torah substance. How they use their knowledge to help strengthen Umadda, which they internalized at Stern. Our women find our community remains to be seen. time for community service, even with a heavy academic load. Once they graduate, helping the community is a con- How would you like the world to see Stern College at its sistent theme in their lives, whether they’re physicians, 100th anniversary celebration? lawyers, businesswomen, or psychologists. The dual curricu- I’ve always said this institution is revolutionary. It’s just that lum at YU doesn’t allow for a lazy way of life. It makes stu- we were very low-keyed about it. Because of that, we were dents question the value of what they’re doing. It’s not all given the freedom these past 50 years to excel. Now is the about “me.” It’s about “me helping you.” time to be more open about our accomplishments and our vision of women’s education. The world will remember Stern As the first female dean of Stern College and the first for making many other women’s Jewish educational programs woman to address the Orthodox Union National Conven- possible because we established the model. Stern began in a tion, how do you encourage students to be trailblazers? highly developed, Western country where women had access I’m not sure I have to do anything actively to encourage them to a world of educational possibilities. That our students anymore! Stern women have very few feelings of limitations. chose Torah study with its attendant rigors, along with their They believe they can do it all—family, community, and general education and career preparation, reinforces the mes- career. They are surrounded by like-minded women who be- sage that this is for women everywhere and always. We have lieve that they will be there to help each other in the future, been an enabler for other institutions and we have been a whether it’s with career networking or child care. They also pacesetter. We intend to continue in both roles.

STERN AT 50 • YESHIVA UNIVERSITY REVIEW • 2003–2004 17 Outstanding Alumnae

Holly (Quint) Pavlov ’71S Founder, Shearim College of Jewish Studies for Women, Jerusalem “Stern College changed my life. Growing up, my exposure to Torah education was from the Conservative perspective. Stern was my first experience with Orthodox people. Dean Norman Frimer took a personal interest in me and nurtured my development as a person and as a Jew. I am where I am today because of Stern, and I am immensely grateful.”

Leah Laiman ’67S Writer for major TV soap operas “My English teacher, Dr. Morris Epstein, would come to class every Monday with the ‘Arts & Leisure’ section of The New York Times and ask the students what cultural events they attended over the weekend. He encouraged us to use Manhattan as our campus. He was a great influence on me, and I began going to the theater every week. Eventu- ally I got a master’s from Hunter College and began writing plays.” Sylvia (Barack) Fishman ’64S Professor of Contemporary Jewish Life, Brandeis University “Being at Stern was a happy time in my life. I had brilliant, attractive, and interesting professors who were role models for me. They led me to believe we could do it all. Laurel Hatvary, my English professor, and Doris Goldstein, who taught intellectual history, made great impressions on me. Also, Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, who taught political theory, and Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, the great Jewish scholar, taught English and had an impact on me as well. I am from a small town in Wisconsin. Stern was special because I found a supportive peer group of girls like Suri Kasirer ’80S myself. We still keep in touch.” Lobbyist “I gained my critical thinking skills at Stern, especially in my classes with Rabbi Saul Berman and Dr. Haym Soloveitchik. They taught me to look at texts and analyze them. It was a difficult period for Israel during my years at Stern. There were many debates in the cafeteria, and I made many friends who shared my passion and political viewpoint. I learned what can be done with advocacy, and the people who wanted to make a difference were the ones with whom I connected. Those people have become successful in their fields and I’ve maintained those relationships to this day.”

18 2003–2004 • YESHIVA UNIVERSITY REVIEW • STERN AT 50 Rochelle (Majer) Krich ’69S Best-selling author of 12 novels “I had great teachers and formed wonderful friendships that continue to this day. I had incredible encouragement from my English teachers, particularly Dr. Morris Epstein and Laurel Hatvary. My writing and English classes helped prepare me for life as a writer. The Traumatic Society (drama club) was great fun and I enjoyed dorm life at the Prince George Hotel and the proximity to the 42nd Street library.”

Eva (Frost) Kahana ’62S 1991 YU honorary degree recipient, Robson Professor of Humanities, Chair of Department of Sociology, Director of Elderly Care Research Center, Case Western Reserve “I had a wonderful experience as a political science/history major in studying with Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, who was my teacher and mentor. Prof. Doris Goldstein also taught history, and she too was a major intellectual influence. They both inspired me not only to get good grades but to achieve something as a scholar. “I was an immigrant from Hungary and had difficulty with English. Nevertheless, Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein, my English professor, gave me an A because he believed that it was ideas that mattered. It was truly a ‘golden age’ since there were some great scholars who taught at that time.” STERN AT 50

(From left): Jessica Russak, Judith Kaplan, and Jessica Moore were among the Stern students who performed the mitzvah of shemirah.

9-11 and the Mitzvah of Shemirah Within weeks after the September 11 attacks, Midtown Campus students performed the mitzvah of shemirah, which stipulates that a Jewish body or its parts must never be left unattended. In shifts over Shabbat throughout the school year, volunteers remained with unburied body parts found at Ground Zero and held by the NYC Medical Examiner’s Ofﬁce. There they recited tehillim (psalms) in view of the trucks containing the body parts and earned the admiration of police, medical examiners, and body escorts. The selﬂess efforts gained the students national and international attention.