“The ability to think, to learn, and to express oneself both rigorously and creatively, the capacity to understand ideas and issues in context, the commitment to live responsibly in society, and the yearning for truth are fundamental expressions of our humanity. In centering education upon these qualities, liberal learning is society’s best investment in our shared future.”
-The Association of American Colleges and Universities, 1998
Stern College is a proud member of the community of liberal arts colleges that subscribe to the ideal that the aims of liberal learning are to teach students to think critically and to act responsibly. In addition, our special Torah U’Madda curriculum guides our students to realize the ethical imperatives that must underpin their behavior and to value their shared commitments to Jewish tradition. Time and again, through word and deed, our students have demonstrated that they have fully incorporated these goals. The young alumna who balances a medical career with the role of wife and mother; the twenty-one year old graduate who dedicates herself to assisting underprivileged children as a member of the Teach American team; the talented young lawyer who helps Holocaust survivors live out their years in dignity; all proudly call Stern College their alma mater. This is our past, and it is a good one. But, what of the future? Your future?
When Stern College opened in 1954, it began a quiet revolution, the creation of an academic model that challenged women to pursue higher Jewish education. Over the years, this model developed, the program grew, the students came, and the idea caught on. Today, in communities large and small, throughout the country, there are opportunities for women to engage in Jewish studies. Yet, nowhere is there a program as remarkable in scope and quality as the Rebecca Ivry Department of Jewish Studies at Stern College. This is our greatest strength, and this positions us well for a splendid future.
The students of today have access to splendid academic programs that respond to their broad interests. They seek to study art and history, literature and psychology, biology and physics, political science and mathematics, and they want to know how these intellectual interests can prepare them to enter the workplace. We meet this challenge by providing a wide range of research and internship opportunities and a comprehensive program of academic career guidance. Now, as we begin our sixth decade, we celebrate the fact that Stern College is the college of choice for women who wish to speak forcefully and effectively to the shared responsibility we all have for the future of the Jewish people, women who will make a difference in the world.
Karen Bacon, Ph.D.
