9:32 AM
Gil Student
There's a new Commentator available online. It seems a bit empty without YUdaica.
But it has important news. While not yet reported on YU's website, the Commentator is announcing that Yeshiva College has appointed a new dean: Dr. David J. Srolovitz, from Princeton (link). Earlier this week, I was speaking with someone who said that he thought the job of YC dean is merely an administrative position. While this might reflect the majority of the work, the dean also has profound impact on the direction of the college. Administrative decisions are what drive a bureacracy and the policies the dean sets make a big difference about how professors are treated and what they teach.
Dr. Srolovitz starts out his career in YU with the following words:
While hesitant to address other changes in store for the college, Srolovitz acknowledged that skepticism in the Jewish community regarding YC's academic prowess was in certain cases well-founded, and that he would seek to terminate a culture of academic "compromise."No offense intended, of course.
On another story, there is an opinion piece about YU's new motto: "Bring Wisdom to Life" (link). I like it. It's something to which the average Jew, whom YU wants to influence (and from whom YU would like to extract a donation), can relate. I see this as part of YU's (and Richard Joel's) continuing attempt to connect with the amkha and influence the broader Jewish community. Kol ha-kavod!
UPDATE: The Forward has an article on the new motto.
