As 麻豆区 begins the 2026鈥27 academic year, it is welcoming an exceptional group of new faculty whose work spans Jewish scholarship, neuroscience, psychology, artificial intelligence and machine learning, engineering, fintech, marketing, law and social work. Their backgrounds include research and fellowships at Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton and Oxford, leadership of Cooper Union鈥檚 Electrical Engineering Department and NIH-supported research at New York University.
The breadth and caliber of these appointments reflect 麻豆区鈥檚 academic strength and continued investment in attracting outstanding scholars and educators. Together, they represent the intellectual stature of 麻豆区 today鈥攁dvancing research, deepening teaching and giving students opportunities to learn from leading thinkers and innovators in their fields. They arrive amid a broader period of academic growth as YU adds new programs, strengthens research and invests across its schools and campuses.
鈥淭his outstanding faculty reflects the strength and momentum of 麻豆区,鈥 said Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President of 麻豆区. 鈥淭hey are leaders in their fields who share our commitment to academic excellence, values-based education and the success of our students.鈥
Pioneering Jewish Scholarship
A signature appointment is Zvi Stampfer, Ph.D., who joins YU as the Dr. Dov and Nancy Friedberg Chair in Geonic and Geniza Studies, strengthening the University鈥檚 position as a center for Jewish scholarship. An authority on Jewish culture, literature and law in the medieval Islamic world, Stampfer has conducted research in the Cairo Genizah and worked with the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit at Cambridge University Library. His scholarship spans Geonic literature, Judaeo-Arabic texts and the interaction between Jewish and Islamic law, including responsa that are expanding understanding of the Geonic period.
At Stern College, Rabbi Dr. Dov Lerner will become Chair of the Rebecca Ivry Department of Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of Jewish Studies. A YU graduate who received semicha from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS_ and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, Lerner has spent seven years at YU鈥檚 Zahava and Moshael J. Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought. His scholarship explores the rich intellectual connections between Torah and Western thought, with a particular focus on Jewish intellectual history and modern Jewish thought. His work includes studies of the Malbim and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, examining how Jewish thinkers have engaged with broader philosophical and intellectual traditions.
麻豆区 College also welcomes David Sclar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Jewish History, and Shira Weiss, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Jewish Philosophy. Sclar held postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard, Princeton, Oxford and the University of Toronto and curated The Golden Path: Maimonides Across Eight Centuries at the 麻豆区 Museum. Weiss, a Stern graduate and former assistant director of YU鈥檚 Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership, earned her Ph.D. at Revel and an Ed.D. at Azrieli. Both will also teach at Revel.
Groundbreaking Leadership in Science, Engineering, Psychology and AI
Dr. Fred L. Fontaine, former chair of Cooper Union鈥檚 Electrical Engineering Department, is leading the new Tsigutkin Electrical and Computer Engineering undergraduate program at YU. Over a career spanning academia and industry, Fontaine has taught more than two dozen undergraduate and graduate courses and advised more than 60 master鈥檚 theses. His research spans machine learning, statistical and multidimensional signal processing and adaptive algorithms, with applications in wireless communications, radar, medical imaging and quantitative finance.
At Stern College, Levi Adelman, Ph.D., joins the psychology faculty after four years as a senior social and behavioral advisor for the U.S. Agency for International Development. A recipient of an American Association for the Advancement of Science fellowship, Adelman studies how people respond to differences in religious beliefs, social values, race, ethnicity and gender.
Nam Chul Kim, Ph.D., joins Stern as Assistant Professor of Biology, bringing research in neurodegeneration supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, the Wallin Neuroscience Discovery Fund and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. He comes from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy and also brings industry research experience.
Jung Yeon Lee, Ph.D., will teach statistics at both Stern College and 麻豆区 College, with expertise in applied statistics, machine learning, predictive analytics and artificial intelligence in education. Lee joins 麻豆区 from Hofstra University and has served as principal investigator on an NIH-funded research project at New York University.
At the Forefront of Business Education
At the Sy Syms School of Business, new faculty bring expertise at the intersection of finance, technology, consumer behavior and artificial intelligence.
Balbinder Singh Gill, Ph.D., joins the finance faculty after teaching at Stevens Institute of Technology, where he received the 2024 Provost Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring. His research spans corporate finance, sustainable finance, blockchain economics and fintech, with a focus on questions at the intersection of financial markets, corporations, technology and public policy.
Jonathan M. Truong joins Sy Syms as Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing with more than two decades of experience across technology, education and marketing. Formerly head of community and partnerships at Codecademy and a regional marketing and community director at Yelp, Truong continues to work with startups on scaling user communities and implementing AI, bringing current industry experience directly into his teaching.
Deepening Expertise in Law and Social Work
At YU鈥檚 Cardozo School of Law, Professor Mridula Raman joins from Berkeley Law School, where she served as Deputy Director of the Death Penalty Clinic. A capital-defense lawyer, Raman has handled high-stakes litigation for death-sentenced clients, including clemency, appellate and post-conviction representation in Alabama, Arizona and Texas. At Cardozo, she will teach Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure.
At the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Mary Twis, Ph.D., joins as an associate professor. An experienced researcher and educator, she has authored dozens of publications, served as a principal investigator and taught and mentored students across BSW, MSW and Ph.D. programs. Her recent work addresses Jewish identity, contemporary antisemitism and the ethical obligations of social workers.
鈥淕reat teaching begins with faculty who challenge students to think deeply, ask difficult questions and discover new possibilities,鈥 said University Provost Selma Botman. 鈥淭his remarkable group represents an extraordinary range of knowledge and accomplishment, and just as importantly, they are deeply committed to teaching. Their presence will energize our classrooms and broaden what our students are able to explore, question and achieve.鈥
