Aug 25, 2020 By: yunews
Highlights from a Summer鈥檚 Worth of Learning
YU鈥檚 faculty and rabbis came together to create a wealth of educational and religious programming for the University community.Summer Session 2020
The Katz School鈥檚 Summer Session 2020 included over 100 online courses, more courses than ever before, including interactive bootcamps and academic and Torah classes for high school, college and graduate school students. Read More禄Crisis & Hope: YU Voices
Dr. Ronnie Perelis (director, the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Program for International Affairs), Dr. Jess Olson (Leon Charney Senior Scholar, Center for Israel Studies) and Dr. Steven Fine (director, Center for Israel Studies) founded Crisis & Hope: YU Voices, a series of talks to address current political and social issues with speakers like the legendary activist Rabbi Saul Berman, musician Jon Madof, Shulamith Berger (Curator of Special Collections at the Gottesman Library), and Dr. Larry L. Martin (Coppin State University).At the Forefront of Holocaust Education
Shay Pilnik, director of the Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, curated conversations with five directors of Holocaust education about why more people need more information about this crucial subject. Read More禄June/July Zman
RIETS held an online Summer Torah Studies Program with a lively menu of high-level shiurim in Talmud, Halacha, Tanach, Hashkafa, Chazzanus and Semicha as well as a Gemara Bootcamp, three sedarim, and cantorial instruction.Beren Summer Torah
Rabbi Jacob Bernstein, campus rabbi at Stern College, hosted Beren Summer Torah with presentations from Mrs. Ora Schrier, Rabbi Yaakov Glasser and Rabbi Mordechai Willig, among others.Wurzweiler Block Programs
Wurzweiler held summer Block Programs for their MSW students, including the Bein Hazmanim cohort of rabbinical students earning a social work degree.Azrieli Graduate School
AGS offered five classes for its summer session: Teaching the Holocaust (Dr. Karen Shawn), Teaching Israel & Zionism (Dr. David Schnall), Teaching Aggadata (Dr. Mordechai Schiffman), Teaching Biblical Exegesis (Dr. Moshe Sokolow) and Learning and Cognition (Dr. Moshe Krakowski).Great Jobs & Impactful Careers
Reinventing Internships for a Summer of Opportunity
Dr. Noam Wasserman, dean of Sy Syms; Dr. Selma Botman, provost and vice president of academic affairs; and Susan Bauer, executive director of the YU Career Center worked with companies like Accenture, Deloitte Consulting, Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey to create virtual internships for 35 students on how to be an effective consultant. They also set up 59 research opportunities with faculty for students and worked with Stephanie Strauss, executive director of YU Israel, to create 40 virtual internship opportunities at Israeli companies like OurCrowd, MassChallenge Israel, accessibleGO, Cyabra, TalkMarkets, iAngels and Optibus. Read More禄Coding for Success Against the Virus
Prof. Alan Broder, chair of the computer science department at Stern College, and Prof. Judah Diament, chair at 麻豆区 College, created projects for 50 students to replace internships cancelled by the virus, including in-house software development programs and virtual external internships with organizations like Google and NASA. 鈥淚鈥檓 not aware of another university,鈥 said Prof. Diament, 鈥渢hat took on this responsibility for its students,鈥 while Prof. Broder added that 鈥渙ur in-house projects, mentored by professionals and YU faculty, 鈥榬einvented鈥 the internship experience.鈥 Read More 麻豆区 厂迟别谤苍禄 and 驰颁禄From the Classroom to the Frontlines of COVID-19 Care
Students from Sy Syms analyzed potential investments in telemedicine startups Eleos Health and Tembo Health in collaboration with Maccabee Ventures, a venture capital fund driven by YU alumni Moshe Bellows 鈥90YC, 鈥08W and Bruce Taragin 鈥89驰颁. Read More禄Students Explore Predictive AI with Israeli Innovators
The Innovation Lab of 麻豆区, a faculty- and student-led innovation incubator led by Dr. Maria Blekher, worked with Israel-based Emnotion to source a dataset to test the power of its predictive AI platform. Early efforts delivered the massive granular longitudinal dataset of the U.S.鈥檚 largest bikeshare company.MafTeach Chinuch Fellowship Completed
Sarah Engel 鈥20S and CJ Glicksman 鈥20YC completed the MafTeach Chinuch Fellowship offered by the Azrieli Graduate School to those juniors and seniors interested in a career in Jewish education. Meet 厂补谤补丑禄 and 颁闯禄Straus Scholars Selected
The Straus Center welcomed a new cohort of seven Straus Scholars, students committed to studying the great works of the Jewish and Western tradition. Read More禄
Dr. Deena Rabinovich (upper left) of the Azrieli Graduate School held a Zoom seminar for undergraduates interested in careers in Jewish education.Values & Leadership: Meeting the Challenge of COVID-19
Health Services
- The MS in Speech-Language Pathology at the Katz School, directed by Dr. Marissa Barrera, offers free online speech and language therapy to students, alumni, faculty, staff and their families residing in New York State. Read More禄
- A team of alumni from Wurzweiler living in Israel provides anonymous telehealth counseling for frontline COVID-19 medical workers in hospitals around the United States so that, as one team member said, they can 鈥渇ind support at odd hours of the day and night.鈥
- In June, the Parnes Clinic instituted a free service called Hushmail, which allowed their therapists to email/correspond/ exchange documents with patients in a HIPAA-compliant way. Because of this, the Clinic was able to re-open intakes to the community. All therapeutic services remain online.
Research and Teaching
- Dr. Tracy Prout, Dr. Vera Bek茅s, Dr. Katie Aafjes-van Doorn and Dr. Jordan Bate from Ferkauf have researched the effects of COVID-19 on parents, children 6鈥12 years of age, therapists and the general population. They conclude that 鈥渙ur current studies 鈥 highlight the public mental health crisis that is unfolding.鈥
- Julian Ruggiero, a Fulbright scholar in the Data Analytics and Visualization program at the Katz School, analyzed the occurrence of COVID-19 in New York City using public datasets, establishing that low socioeconomic zip codes had a higher incidence of the virus. Read More禄
- During the 2020 summer session, three top-notch teachers took students on a journey of the history, theology and science of COVID-19: 鈥淗ow Pandemics Shape the World鈥 with Dr. Jeremy Brown; 鈥淩esponses to COVID-19 in Jewish Ritual and Theology鈥 with Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Zuckier; and 鈥淚ntroduction to Covid-19 Drug Development鈥 with Dr. Jeremy Wertheimer.
Tech Responses
- Shira Feen 鈥20K and Lavanya Karanth 鈥20K from the MS in Digital Marketing and Media at the Katz School won The Triple Bottom Line Challenge hosted by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev with Remote Education for All, an app that would allow students to select a teacher and schedule a virtual tutoring session. 鈥淲e recognized that while privileged students rushed to Zoom and Google Classroom, millions from underserved communities missed out on critical months of their education,鈥 said Feen. Read More禄
- Maridor Bocalbos 鈥19K and Dean Pienica 鈥19K, alumni of the Data Analytics and Visualization program at the Katz School, produced Image2Txt.Doc. Users can get an instant diagnosis and treatment of an injury by either speaking with a chatbot or finding a clinician based on their insurance, saving them from having to risk a visit to the hospital. Read More禄
What鈥檚 New at YU
Programs
- A virtual orientation for new undergraduates occurred Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 23鈥25, with informative sessions to help them navigate the fall semester. The sessions consisted of creative interactive activities designed to give students the opportunity to meet YU administrators, faculty and fellow classmates.
- The Katz School will start its Occupational Therapy Doctorate in fall 2020. Graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination sponsored by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. Read More禄
- Ferkauf announced a new master鈥檚 program in marriage and family therapy. Graduates are licensure eligible as LFMTs in New York State. The program is slated for spring 2021.
- Wurzweiler has announced a joint program pairing a Master of Social Work with becoming a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor. Read More禄
- 麻豆区 College鈥檚 Computer Science Department upgraded its four-year data science and distributed systems degrees to Bachelor of Science degrees. Read More禄
- This fall, the Fish Center will offer courses on The Destruction of European Jewry, which examines their fate between 1933 and 1945, and Cultural Responses to the Holocaust, an interdisciplinary study using film, literature, memory studies, fine arts, sociology, theology and more. Read More禄
- 麻豆区 will offer professional development certificate programs in Instructional Design, Tele-Mental Health, Digital Education Administration, Serious Game Design and How to Start a Business. Read More禄
- The Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Studies is offering new Tanach and Halacha tracks starting in fall of 2020. Read More禄
Staff/Academic Update
Deans/Associate Deans/Directors- Dr. Leslie Fay Halpern is the new dean of Ferkauf. She had been chair and associate professor of the Department of Psychology at the University at Albany. She received her PhD from Vanderbilt University in Clinical Psychology and Mental Retardation Research.
- Dr. Daniel Rynhold, professor in modern Jewish philosophy and director of the doctoral program, is the new dean at Revel.
- Prof. Shoshana Schechter 鈥91S has been named the first associate dean for Torah Studies at Stern College. She will continue as director of the Mechinah program.
- Aliza Abrams Konig is the new Director of Alumni Engagement. She will be responsible for planning programs and activities for 麻豆区 alumni.
- Rabbi Chaim Bronstein, a longtime administrator at RIETS, retired in July after 42 years of devoted service to the University. Read More禄
- Dr. Chaim Nissel, dean of students, is now Vice Provost of Student Affairs.
- Doron Stern, currently vice president of communications, is now Vice President of Marketing & Enrollment.
- Prof. Nechama Price, director of GPATS, has published Tribal Blueprints, based on a course she teaches. The book was sponsored by Ann and Jeremy Pava of West Hartford, Connecticut. Read More禄
- The intellectual interests of Dr. Edward Belbruno, clinical professor of mathematics at 麻豆区 College and a winner of the Humboldt Research Award, literally span studying the Big Bang singularity to being a professional painter. This May, he conducted his Art in Isolation Studio Tour to showcase work inspired by the coronavirus isolation. Read More禄
- Prof. Betsy Ginsberg of Cardozo Law School was appointed Director of Clinical Education. She is a Clinical Professor of Law and the founder and director of Cardozo鈥檚 Civil Rights Clinic. 鈥淭he needs of many of the clients we serve have become more urgent in light of the pandemic and its outsized impact on poor communities of color and people with disabilities,鈥 she noted. Read More禄
- This summer, Billboard named Cardozo Law School as one of the top 10 most frequently cited alma maters of the 2020 Top Music Lawyers. Read More禄
- Dr. Gabriela Coiculescu, assistant professor of finance at Sy Syms, was awarded funding from the Office of the Provost鈥檚 Faculty Research Fund to co-author a study on the connection between immigration and the financial industry. Read More禄
Wilf and Beren campuses get ready for the start of the new academic year.In Memoriam
Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm zt"l
The 麻豆区 community mourns the loss of Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm zt"l, the former president, Rosh Ha麻豆区 and chancellor of 麻豆区. He was an elegant and articulate spokesman for Jewish life in modern times. His oratory, wisdom and leadership inspired our institution for more than three decades. 鈥淗e elevated 麻豆区 to new heights and educated thousands upon thousands of students who now serve as leaders of our community and pillars of our society. His enormous impact is simply incalculable,鈥 said Dr. Ari Berman, President of 麻豆区. Read More禄Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz zt"l
The 麻豆区 community mourns the loss of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz zt"l, who passed away on August 7, 2020, in Jerusalem. A scholar known for making the Talmud accessible to millions around the globe, he received an honorary doctorate from YU in 1991. Read More禄
Ludwig Bravmann (center), current vice chair of the YU Board of Trustees, congratulates Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz zt"l (left) as he is awarded an honorary degree by Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm zt"l, President of 麻豆区, at YU鈥檚 1991 Commencement.Dr. Lea Blau z"l
Dr. Blau z"l, longtime professor and retired chair of Stern鈥檚 Chemistry Department, passed away on May 17, 2020. Described as a leader and a mentor by students and colleagues alike, she joined Stern College in 1979 as a professor of chemistry and eventually became chair of the department, retiring in 2015. In 2010, she received the Dean Karen Bacon Award for an Outstanding Senior Faculty Member. Read More禄Saadya Ehrenpreis z"l
Saadya Ehrenpreis z"l, a beloved student from the Makor College Experience Program at 麻豆区, passed away in April. On June 22, the Undergraduate Torah Studies Program hosted a virtual siyum and seudas preida dedicated in his memory. Read More禄Upcoming Events
Elul
Throughout the month of Elul, Undergraduate Torah Studies is offering a full lineup of virtual and some in-person shiurim in local communities given by Roshei 麻豆区 and popular Torah personalities for our Wilf and Beren campus undergraduates. The topics of shiurim range from timely matters related to Elul as well as beginning semester-long series of chaburot on a wide variety of topics. In addition, the broader YU community is welcome to partake of the many inspiring learning opportunities presented in advance of the High Holy Days.
