----- Forwarded Message -----From: "Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President, Yeshiva University" <president@comms.yu.edu>To: "mates57564@aol.com" <mates57564@aol.com>Sent: Tue, Aug 26, 2025 at 7:48 PMSubject: Welcome Back to Campus
My Dear Friends,
I love this time of year, greeting our students as they enter a new year filled with promise and possibility. This fall, we are making history with record enrollment across the University, a powerful testament to YU's growing global reputation as the premier destination for students seeking academic excellence, core Torah values and a life of meaning and impact. As we begin the month of Elul, a time of reflection and renewal, we set the tone for a year of growth in our learning and in our lives.
Whether you are joining us for the first time or returning to continue your journey, you are part of a remarkable student body whose talent, passion and commitment inspire everything we do.
The start of a new year brings anticipation and energy. As the flagship Jewish university, our mission has never been more urgent or more far-reaching. Across our campuses, ambitious new programs, world-class faculty, and bold initiatives are creating unparalleled opportunities for our students to learn, grow, and lead.
Interest in Yeshiva University has flourished greatly across undergraduate and graduate programs. In fact, undergraduate enrollment is at the highest level in a generation. At the graduate level, we've more than doubled enrollment in seven years—from 2,054 students in 2017 to over 4,300 in 2025. Schools like Katz and Wurzweiler have seen tenfold and fourfold growth respectively, and our nursing program saw applications more than double in just one year.
This year also marked the launch of several new academic initiatives, including the YU Undergraduate-Graduate School Early Assurance Programs at the following schools:
- YU-Einstein Medical Scholars Program: This longstanding partnership offers top students early assurance to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine once they complete their YU undergraduate degree.
- Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law: Up to 10 students annually will receive admission to Cardozo, including eligibility for a minimum 50% tuition scholarship.
Each of these tracks provide a select number of honors students a premier undergraduate education at YU, followed by guaranteed admission to our world-renowned graduate schools mentioned above.
- Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology: Up to four students annually will be selected for early admission into Ferkauf's Ph.D. and Psy.D. programs.
To accommodate this surge of new students, YU is expanding its footprint in Manhattan and opening new facilities. For example, Katz is adding 30,000 square feet of new space this Fall at the Beren Campus. This major new facility (above right), located at 205 and 215 Lexington Avenue, will include seven modern science classrooms, new faculty offices, collaboration spaces, advanced research labs and a 14,000-square-foot learning commons designed as a vibrant hub for student life, learning and professional development.
One of YU's largest ongoing construction projects is a new Health Sciences Campus. Over the last year, YU launched a complete rebuild of the new 160,000-square-foot space in the Herald Square area of midtown Manhattan (above left) , installing state-of-the-art technology and clinical facilities.
All of these new facilities and increase in new students finding success demonstrates YU's role in educating the leaders of tomorrow and shaping the future.
Later this fall, I will be launching the 'Great Conversations' series at YU, speaking with world-class thought leaders and visionaries shaping history. I am proud to announce that the first speaker scheduled for September 3 will be Jonathan Haidt (above), one of the leading social psychologists in the country, whose recent book The Anxious Generation is currently #1 on the NY Times Best Seller list for nonfiction. This book and his others, The Coddling of the American Mind, The Righteous Mind, elevate his groundbreaking work on moral psychology, free speech, and the future of democracy.
Our conversation, titled Reclaiming Higher Education in the Age of Social Media, will explore the challenges students face with mental health, how America's universities lost their way and what we must do to fix it. I am very excited to launch this series to foster cross-campus dialogue and firmly establish YU as a leader in common-sense and principled discourse on the issues that matter.
The world of higher education is a burning focus in the news across the country. I am honored to help contribute to the conversation through positive dialogue with the administration and my colleagues across the university world. Recently, I met with the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon (above left) and her senior staff to explore ways to strengthen the core values of higher education and participated in national forums like the Milken Global Summit (above right) on a panel with the presidents of Stanford, Dartmouth and UCSD. In June, I delivered a talk at the American Council on Education on civil discourse on US campuses; and was interviewed at the Hudson Institute about moral clarity and Jewish values in a fractured world.
In August, I had the opportunity to meet in Jerusalem with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (above left) and Israeli President Isaac Herzog (above right). I spoke with these leaders about ways YU can further bring in Israeli students and professors, and create collaborations between Israeli universities to leverage our great strengths and shared vision.
I am pleased to welcome the renowned mathematician Dr. Stephen D. Miller (above left), who is joining us as the Moise Y. and Chella Safra University Professor of Mathematics. A leading expert in analytic number theory, Miller comes to YU after more than two decades at Rutgers University, where he served as Distinguished Professor and chaired one of the nation's most active math departments. He holds a Ph.D. from Princeton and a B.A. from UC Berkeley and has also taught at Yale. Widely published and highly cited, Miller has received numerous NSF grants.
Prof. Rebecca Chalme comes to YU after conducting post-doctoral work at Columbia University and earning a Ph.D. from University of West Virginia. She has been named a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology, both at Stern and Yeshiva College. Her research focuses on human behavior and fundamental questions of why people do what they do. She applies data to uncover these insights, with her research focusing on behavioral effects of commonly used drugs such as alcohol and nicotine. Her goal is to use research to bring meaningful change in people's lives.
Originally from the Persian community in Long Island, Rabbi Mordechai Djavaheri teaches Laws of War, Experiential Halacha, and Sephardic Halacha in IBC while also pursuing Dayanut in the Kollel L'Hora'ah. He is a student of Rav Hershel Schachter and author of Birkat Rivka: a Quick Guide to the Jewish Wedding. The Djavaheri family currently resides in Washington Heights.
Annette Penstein is teaching Halacha, Jewish Philosophy and Gemara at Stern College for Women. Additionally, she is pursuing a doctorate in Jewish philosophy at Revel. Penstein holds Master's degrees in Talmud and Jewish Law from GPATS and in Jewish Philosophy from Revel. She earned a BA in philosophy at Princeton University. This past year she served as the community scholar-in-residence at Congregation Shaarei Tefillah in Dallas. She currently lives in Washington Heights with her husband Jacob.
Faculty are also securing large grants to fund cutting-edge research. For example, Prof. Anderson Oliveira recently received a $580,000 grant from the NSF to harness the benefits of marine bioluminescence. That is just one of the many grants YU has received. From a $3.6 million NIH grant secured by Prof. Roee Holtzer (above left) to study mobility in seniors, to a $400,000 NSF grant for Dr. Honggang Wang to study mobile health monitoring technology, YU's faculty are innovating a path to a better world.
YU is honoring our faculty's role in innovating and spreading knowledge. YU has named three Distinguished Professors in 2025: Steven Fine, Ph.D. (Yeshiva College/Revel) pictured above right; Dr. Roee Holtzer (Ferkauf); and Stewart Sterk (Cardozo). The Distinguished Professor designation is bestowed upon select Yeshiva University faculty members who are recognized nationally or internationally for their outstanding contributions to their academic, creative or intellectual disciplines. It is an honor to walk amongst such accomplished teachers who are passing on their wisdom to future generations.
Our students are doing much with the opportunities found at YU. Aharon Cohen '27YC studied in Jerusalem as part of the YU in Israel summer internship program. Aharon interned in the Knesset and the Israel Foreign Ministry, as well as helping Ambassador Michael Oren (pictured with Aharon above) research for his new book about Oct. 7. Aharon is doing all this while also serving as a reservist in the IDF.
Elle Ohayon '27SB is an exceptional example of a student leader. The busy junior is serving in her second year as the elected president of the Sy Syms School of Business, on YU's volleyball team, a member of the YUWILL and Golda Meir Fellowships, TAMID and the Sy Syms Honors Committee. Both of these students demonstrate that the extraordinary and the exceptional are found every day at YU.
As we embark on this semester, I want to thank our exceptional Rabbis, faculty, and staff for the dedication and care you bring to our students every day. Together with our extraordinary student body, I am confident we will achieve even greater heights in the year ahead.
May this year bring you—and all of Am Yisrael—joy, success and fulfillment.
Warm regards,
President, Yeshiva University
2495 Amsterdam Avenue, Belfer Hall 12th Floor
New York, NY 10033
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Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Fw: Welcome Back to Campus
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