Spring Break
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YU embarked on major spending increases over the past five years, adding faculty, acquiring real estate, and changing the university culture. In part due to this spending spree, though, YU now faces a budget deficit. In this coming fiscal year Yeshiva University will confront a $24 million budget deficit, a 4% gap in their $560 million budget.
Though Gower Accused Of 'Sloppy' Management, YU Confident He's Their Man.
In the wake of Dr. Otteson's resignation as Director of the Honors Program, the administrators of the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program are seeking to recover lost ground over the coming academic year. In early August, Joanne Jacobson, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, was appointed Director of the Honors Program, and Dr.
Dr. Peter Lencsis, Assistant Professor of Finance and former Academic Advisor at Sy Syms School of Business for over ten years, was found dead in his apartment on Tuesday, September 16. After having missed his Principles of Insurance course for two weeks, students began to get nervous.
Students who were normally able to take their time before deciding whether to drop a class must make this decision much earlier this year. In a recent decision, Yeshiva College has moved the last date to drop a course without receiving a "W" on one's transcript to September 26th.
In an attempt to improve the quality and culture of SSSB, Dean Michael Ginzberg has continued the school's quest to obtain independent accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International accreditation agency (AASCSB).
Agriprocessors changed their CEO in response to OU threats to withdraw its hechsher.
On Tuesday September 22, thousands of Jews gathered opposite the United Nations in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza to protest the visit of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president has notoriously denied the Holocaust as well as Israel's right to exist.
Wall Street is in turmoil in the wake of the most severe financial crises since the recession of the 1980's. Lehman Brothers, the largest US underwriter of mortgage securities, declared bankruptcy last week with no federal government bailout in sight. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch reached a 50 billion dollar deal to sell itself to Bank of America, thereby avoiding Lehman's ignominious fate.
The CJF has set up a paid pre-rabbinic fellowship for undergraduate students who are considering a career in rabbinics or other fields of community service. The fellowship is currently in its second year, and is under the guidance of Rabbi Joshua Blass, who was appointed pre-rabbinic advisor for the Wilf Campus last year by the CJF.
Many of the undergraduates at YU who are interested in finding jobs in the big business firms have been watching and reading the news with some apprehension. Many jobs have been lost by the failure of Lehman Brothers and the federalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
September 15th marked the grand opening of Help Central, a program meant to assist students in numerous ways. Help Central is a "customer service" initiative run by the Office of the Vice President for University Life. It is designed, primarily, to assist students in navigating the bureaucracy of YU as efficiently as possible.
The third annual Yeshiva University Student Medical Ethics Society conference, held on September 14, focused on several sensitive and important issues that arise within the medical profession. In front of an audience of over 250 people, the conference addressed issues such as palliative, or end of life, care, with views being provided by rabbis and health care professionals alike.
Yeshiva University, together with the Center for The Jewish Future and Kollel Torah Mitzion, recently launched a Community Kollel in Chicago. Following in the footsteps of the successful Kollelim already established in Dallas, San Francisco, and Boca Raton, this Kollel plans to "enrich" and "engage" the already strong community, according to Rosh Kollel Rabbi Reuven Brand.
The Student Life Committee hopes to build on the successes of last year and continue to best serve the student body. In addition to the changes they brought about last Spring, the SLC has already made its presence felt on campus, inspiring the Internet Kiosk in Furst Lobby, the new online Form Central for the Registrar's Office, and the University Help Desk in Furst 101, as well as helping Rabbi Sobolofsky's shiur move to the more-roomy Furst Beis Medrash.
On September 17 and 18, the first two events of the Deans Series, a program sponsored by the Career Development Center, were held. SSSB Dean Michael J. Ginzberg discussed the issue of job opportunities in the retail and banking industries, and YC Dean David Srolovitz talked about students selecting their majors.
On Sunday, September 21, both the Environment/Energy Club and the Honors Program went on hiking expeditions. The Environment/Energy club went to Clarence Fahnstock State Park, located in Putnam County, New York, where thirty YU and Stern students enjoyed nature, including catching a glimpse of a snake, under the leadership of guide Rivkah Rogawski.
On Thursday, September 4th and Monday, September 8th, Yeshiva University and the Center for the Jewish Future ran two Yemmei Iyun for Pulpit Rabbis, supported by the Legacy Heritage Fund Rabbinic Enrichment Initiative (LHREI). Headed by Rabbi J.J. Schachter, the two programs, one at Congregation Beth Zion in Montreal, and one at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in Manhattan, aimed to prepare Rabbis with practical sermonic material for the upcoming High Holidays.
