YESHIVA UNIVERSITY
Yeshiva University, in its second century, is an independent institution under Jewish auspices chartered by the State of New York. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and by specialized professional agencies. It offers programs leading to associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees.
Beyond its extensive teaching programs, the university maintains a network of affiliates, conducts widespread programs of research and community outreach, and issues publications.
The university’s thousands of graduates
are found throughout the United States and overseas, in every
profession. Among its alumni are judges, university professors and
presidents, religious leaders, business executives, government
officials, artists, writers, physicians, and scientists. The
university’s roster of honorary degree recipients includes Nobel
laureates, world political leaders, philanthropists, and other
individuals committed to the betterment of society.
MISSION
Yeshiva University is a top-tier national research institution with the
guiding vision that the best of the heritage of contemporary
civilization and knowledge is compatible with the ancient traditions of
Jewish law and life. On the undergraduate level, this is embodied in the
dual curriculum under which students pursue liberal arts, sciences, and
business in conjunction with comprehensive Jewish studies. On the
graduate level, the university’s mission emphasizes the moral dimensions
of the search for knowledge and the Jewish ethical values and principles
that govern professional practitioners. Both are linked by a common
quest: to ennoble students’ deepest human needs for purpose and
discovery, and to enable them to transform their communities and society
through meaningful action.
Yeshiva University is committed to the love of learning for its own sake
(known in Jewish tradition as Torah Lishmah) and to teaching and
research that emphasize excellence.
HISTORY
Yeshiva University traces its origins to Yeshiva Eitz Chaim, established
in 1886 on New York’s Lower East Side. In 1896, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
Theological Seminary (RIETS) was founded; it was chartered in 1897 by
the New York State Board of Regents. In 1915, the two schools merged.
Under the leadership of Dr. Bernard Revel, president from 1915 until his death in 1940, the institution pursued educational development and growth. In 1929, the institution moved to its Main Campus in Manhattan’s Washington Heights. Liberal arts programs began with the establishment of Yeshiva College in 1928, and the first graduate curriculum (in Jewish studies) was introduced in 1935.
The election of Dr. Samuel Belkin as president in 1943 inaugurated a new era of expansion. In 1945, the New York State Board of Regents granted the school University status. The institution initiated programs of general and professional studies, research, and special projects to benefit many constituencies. These included a college of liberal arts and sciences for women and graduate schools of medicine, law, social work, and psychology.
Dr. Norman Lamm was elected president in 1976, following Dr. Belkin’s death. He undertook a complete review of the university’s structure and operations and significantly expanded undergraduate study opportunities to include a new undergraduate school of business. He also enriched graduate and professional school resources and established a carefully monitored fiscal system and development program to further the university’s goals. After 27 years of service to the university, Norman Lamm became the school’s chancellor and retains the title of Rosh HaYeshiva (dean) of the university’s affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
Richard M. Joel was inaugurated on
September 21, 2003 as Yeshiva University's fourth president in its
117-year-history. In assuming the leadership of one of the nation's top
academic research universities at his investiture, he put forth a vision
that embraces time-honored values in a 21st century context. That
includes his desire to ennoble YU students' deepest human needs of
intellectual curiosity and discovery, and to educate and enable them to
care for others and contribute to society. The pillars of his vision are
nobility of purpose, excellence in education and endeavor, community
building and communal responsibility, and the centrality of Israel and
its people.
President Joel's success in revitalizing Jewish campus life and activism
defined his 14 years as president and international director of Hillel:
The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, where he greatly expanded
programs, activities, and branches in the nation and around the world.
President Joel is known for his
accessibility to and advocacy for students and is highly influential
leader and educator in the Jewish community, key qualities in the
strengthening of Yeshiva University as a premier center of Jewish and
worldly learning. He received BA and JD degrees from New York
University, where he was a Root-Tilden scholar. Before leading Hillel,
President Joel was assistant district attorney in New York, and an
associate dean at YU’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law as well as a
member of its faculty. President Joel’s wife, Esther (Ribner), earned
her PhD from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology in 1983.
FACILITIES
The university’s undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools are
located in Manhattan (Wilf Campus, 500 West 185th Street; Israel Henry
Beren Campus, 245 Lexington Avenue; Brookdale Center, 55 Fifth Avenue)
and the Bronx (Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus, Eastchester Road and
Morris Park Avenue). All campuses have residence facilities; the Wilf,
Beren, and Resnick campuses have dining and athletic facilities as well.
While part of a multifaceted university community, each school retains
the intimate character of a smaller institution.
LIBRARIES
The university’s four-campus library system houses some 1.1 million
volumes, 1.3 million microforms, and provides access to well over 20,000
journals and serial publications in paper and/or electronic format. It
is a selective depository for US Government publications.
The D. Samuel Gottesman Library of Albert Einstein College of Medicine
and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology is at the Resnick Campus. The
Dr. Lillian and Dr. Rebecca Chutick Law Library of Benjamin N. Cardozo
School of Law is at the Brookdale Center.
The Mendel Gottesman Library—a six-story, block-long central library
building at the Wilf Campus—houses the Pollack Library, Landowne-Bloom
Library, and Mendel Gottesman Library of Hebraica-Judaica.
The Hedi Steinberg Library, serving undergraduates, Azrieli Graduate
School of Jewish Education and Administration, and some programs of
Wurzweiler School of Social Work, is at the Beren Campus. Electronic
resources at the libraries include bibliographical and statistical
databases, indexes and abstracts, journals on line, and journal article
full-text services.
Special Collections
The University’s Rare Books and Manuscripts Division contains several
thousand rare Judaica and Hebraica volumes, 39 Hebrew incunabula (books
printed before 1500), and more than 1,000 literary and historical
manuscripts. The archives document the university’s history as well as
the activities of important Jewish organizations and individuals.
Affiliations
Since 1974, the university’s libraries have participated in OCLC, a
computerized bibliographic network of more than 30,000 libraries in 65
countries. Members of this online system have access to 38 million
catalog records and borrow materials from OCLC libraries online
requests.
The library system is a member of METRO,
the Metropolitan Reference and Research Library Agency. Students with
legitimate research needs gain entry to all METRO member-libraries by
requesting a METRO card.
Through special membership in the Research Libraries Group, the
libraries participate in RLIN, the Research Libraries Information
Network, in cooperative projects among libraries with Hebraica
collections and in programs for preservation of library materials.
Each University library maintains affiliations with agencies devoted to
its particular specialty, such as psychology, medicine, law, social
work, and Jewish studies.
YESHIVA
UNIVERSITY MUSEUM
The Yeshiva University Museum moved in 2000 from the Wilf Campus to a
new home at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street. The
museum presents innovative exhibits reflecting Jewish life through the
humanities—art, architecture, music, literature, science, history, and
anthropology. It fulfills its mission as a teaching museum through
community outreach programs, satellite galleries, and cultural events,
including crafts festivals, concerts, and children’s workshops. YUM
branch galleries at the Wilf Campus continue to offer exhibitions and
children’s art education programs.
COMPUTER
FACILITIES
Yeshiva University continually enhances its computer facilities and
services. A wide area network (WAN) links computer resources on all YU
campuses, yielding access to such resources as the online catalog and
mini-MEDLINE systems at Albert Einstein College of Medicine as well as
all Internet-based resources worldwide, with library computers offering
menu-driven search capabilities.
A scientific/educational computer center on the Resnick Campus provides
an excellent research-oriented educational environment for students,
faculty, and researchers.