2008 Woodie Awards
New Center for Israel Studies Established
Yehudah L. Rosenblatt
Issue date: 9/4/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Among the many changes taking shape at Yeshiva University this fall is the opening of the new Center for Israel Studies. The Center was created as a blanket organization to inject Israel studies into the academic curriculum in Yeshiva College.
The creation of YUCIS was initiated at the behest of President Richard M. Joel and was further developed under Vice President for Academic Affairs, Mort Lowengrub. The planning process took approximately one year and involved many Yeshiva administrators.
Dr. Steven Fine, a professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva College and newly appointed head of YUCIS, hopes that the Center will aid students in finding Israel-related internship opportunities, research projects, and thesis research, in addition to providing YC students with a rigorous, comprehensive education of Israel.
Furthermore, the Center will have a part in many departments within Yeshiva College. "The Israel Studies Program will be an interdisciplinary program," said Dean Srolovitz. "As such, it will provide a wonderful complement to the activities of many YC departments. It will provide new opportunities for students with majors in history, political science, economics, sociology, and of course, Jewish Studies. I see the new program as enriching for students, for faculty scholarship, the life of the University, and the intellectual life of the campus."
The Center is planning to offer an Israel Studies minor in YC. As such, it will promote Israel Studies tracks within existing majors like business, history and political science.
Eventually, some of the YC faculty members will develop courses on Israel-related issues throughout various departments in the college. Additionally, the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program and the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program at Stern College for Women will offer courses and seminars dealing with Israel studies. All course development will be done in collaboration with the S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program.
The establishment of the YUCIS represents the University's desire to expand on its longstanding relationship with education in Israel. According to Dr. Fine, support for Zionism and the State of Israel based in the study of Bible and Talmud, ancient and modern Hebrew, Jewish history, geography, literature, archeology, art, and numerous other subjects has been integral to Yeshiva since its inception.
The YUCIS will cover all facets of Jewish life in Israel, from Biblical times to the present, with a commitment to study Israel within the context of the culture, religion, history, and politics of the Middle East, Europe, and North America. The Center will integrate traditional areas of the YC curriculum - the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities - with a focus on politics, history, anthropology, sociology, religion, arts, archaeology, economics, language and literature.
"YU is strongly connected with the academic institutions and yeshivot throughout Israel and is viewed internationally as a major institution of Israel-related study, scholarship, and social action," said Dr. Fine.
In addition to its many other functions, YUCIS will sponsor the YC Summer in Israel Experience, a program offering undergraduate courses and pre-professional internships for students interested in Israel. The Center will also work closely with a Torah learning program, taught by YC faculty and Israeli scholars.
Currently, the YUCIS plans to sponsor conferences, symposia, archaeological excavations, other forms of field work and various publications. In addition, the Center will establish strong relationships with Israeli and international scholars and institutions, and it will bring in specialists from around the world to teach, lecture, and conduct research in and around YU.
Dr. Fine said that the Center's faculty will include current YC faculty, visiting faculty, and new hires. YUCIS will eventually hire 10 new, full-time faculty over the next five years as well as a research fellow each year for the foreseeable future.
The projected budget for the first year is just under $200,000. That budget is expected to grow to over $1.2 million by its fifth year.
The creation of YUCIS was initiated at the behest of President Richard M. Joel and was further developed under Vice President for Academic Affairs, Mort Lowengrub. The planning process took approximately one year and involved many Yeshiva administrators.
Dr. Steven Fine, a professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva College and newly appointed head of YUCIS, hopes that the Center will aid students in finding Israel-related internship opportunities, research projects, and thesis research, in addition to providing YC students with a rigorous, comprehensive education of Israel.
Furthermore, the Center will have a part in many departments within Yeshiva College. "The Israel Studies Program will be an interdisciplinary program," said Dean Srolovitz. "As such, it will provide a wonderful complement to the activities of many YC departments. It will provide new opportunities for students with majors in history, political science, economics, sociology, and of course, Jewish Studies. I see the new program as enriching for students, for faculty scholarship, the life of the University, and the intellectual life of the campus."
The Center is planning to offer an Israel Studies minor in YC. As such, it will promote Israel Studies tracks within existing majors like business, history and political science.
Eventually, some of the YC faculty members will develop courses on Israel-related issues throughout various departments in the college. Additionally, the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program and the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program at Stern College for Women will offer courses and seminars dealing with Israel studies. All course development will be done in collaboration with the S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program.
The establishment of the YUCIS represents the University's desire to expand on its longstanding relationship with education in Israel. According to Dr. Fine, support for Zionism and the State of Israel based in the study of Bible and Talmud, ancient and modern Hebrew, Jewish history, geography, literature, archeology, art, and numerous other subjects has been integral to Yeshiva since its inception.
The YUCIS will cover all facets of Jewish life in Israel, from Biblical times to the present, with a commitment to study Israel within the context of the culture, religion, history, and politics of the Middle East, Europe, and North America. The Center will integrate traditional areas of the YC curriculum - the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities - with a focus on politics, history, anthropology, sociology, religion, arts, archaeology, economics, language and literature.
"YU is strongly connected with the academic institutions and yeshivot throughout Israel and is viewed internationally as a major institution of Israel-related study, scholarship, and social action," said Dr. Fine.
In addition to its many other functions, YUCIS will sponsor the YC Summer in Israel Experience, a program offering undergraduate courses and pre-professional internships for students interested in Israel. The Center will also work closely with a Torah learning program, taught by YC faculty and Israeli scholars.
Currently, the YUCIS plans to sponsor conferences, symposia, archaeological excavations, other forms of field work and various publications. In addition, the Center will establish strong relationships with Israeli and international scholars and institutions, and it will bring in specialists from around the world to teach, lecture, and conduct research in and around YU.
Dr. Fine said that the Center's faculty will include current YC faculty, visiting faculty, and new hires. YUCIS will eventually hire 10 new, full-time faculty over the next five years as well as a research fellow each year for the foreseeable future.
The projected budget for the first year is just under $200,000. That budget is expected to grow to over $1.2 million by its fifth year.