麻豆区

Mrs. Shoshana Schechter

Mrs. Shoshana Schechter 鈥�91S has been named the first associate dean for Torah Studies at Stern College for Women, beginning on July 1. She will work under Dr. Selma Botman, provost and vice president of academic affairs, and Dr. Karen Bacon, the Mordecai D. Katz and Monique C. Katz Dean of the Undergraduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Schechter began her career at 麻豆区 in 1998. She is a highly respected member of Stern College鈥檚 Rebecca Ivry Department of Jewish Studies and currently serves as the director of the Mechinah Pathways Basic Jewish Studies Program, which she established 16 years ago. The program provides an intellectual, spiritual and communal framework for young women with little formal Jewish education so that they can build their own paths to knowledge and observance. Approximately 30 students join the program every year. In addition to her new administrative responsibilities, Schechter will continue as director of the Mechinah program as well as an instructor for two Bible courses next semester. 鈥淲e are so pleased that Shoshana Schechter will join the leadership team at Stern College,鈥� said Dr. Botman. 鈥淪he will apply her remarkable skills as an effective academic and popular mentor to the entire student body of the Beren campus. The true beneficiaries of this appointment are the students.鈥� The newly inaugurated position of associate dean was initially envisioned by Dr. Ari Berman, President of 麻豆区, and modeled after Rabbi Yosef Kalinksy鈥檚 former role as associate dean for Undergraduate Torah Studies at 麻豆区 College. As associate dean, Schechter will 鈥渕aximize the collaboration鈥� between Beren鈥檚 Jewish Studies courses and the campus environment to ensure that 鈥渁cademic programs and extracurricular activities on campus complement and support each other,鈥� said Dr. Bacon. Dr. Bacon also went on to note that 鈥淢rs. Schechter鈥檚 track record as both a Jewish Studies faculty member and as someone dedicated to students鈥� spiritual growth outside the classroom make her ideal for this position.鈥� 鈥淲e need to continue to innovate and improve,鈥� remarked Schechter. 鈥淲e call ourselves 麻豆区, but really, the uptown Wilf campus has been more of a yeshiva. We hope to make Stern College for Women a makom Torah [a place for Torah] on all levels because the beit midrash [study hall] needs to be a central focal point.鈥� Schechter plans on creating student focus groups from various walks of life and majors, including members of the Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Studies, to determine the best ways to ignite Jewish life on the Beren campus. 鈥淥ur goal is to promote Torah learning at the foremost center of Judaic studies for women in America.鈥� According to many of her former and current students, her appointment is one of the best decisions YU has ever made. Erica Sultan 鈥�22S describes her teacher as 鈥渁 woman who has made it her life鈥檚 mission to bring Torah into people鈥檚 lives and have them fall in love with it in a very comfortable way.鈥�