Oct 13, 2004 -- As Stern College for Women celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, the Yeshiva University Museum (YUM) is marking the school’s milestone with an exhibit that highlights its growth and achievements. “Five Decades. One Dream,” the history of YU’s undergraduate women’s college through photos and artifacts, opens October 21 and will run at YUM until January 9, 2005. “The exhibit celebrates the history of Stern as an incubator for scholarship and leadership and as a living example of the synthesis of Jewish and general studies,” said Dr. Karen Bacon, PhD, The Dr. Monique C. Katz Dean at Stern. Valedictorian of the Stern 1964 graduating class, her essay of celebration, “A Brilliant Future,” is part of the exhibit. The exhibit groups items around the ideas of study, spirituality, social responsibility, and campus life. A timeline explores the essence of a Stern education featuring events during its history and pairing them with milestones in Jewish life, the nation’s history, and international events. In addition, a video, “Portraits of Promise,” helps bring the Stern experience to life through testimonials by current students, accomplished alumnae, faculty, and college supporters. When Stern was founded in 1954, it became the first college where Orthodox Jewish women could simultaneously pursue Jewish and liberal arts studies in a rigorous academic setting. Thirty-three students made up the first class, and the campus boasted one building, at 253 Lexington Avenue. Today, the 1,000-strong student body makes full use of an expanded campus of seven buildings in Manhattan’s Murray Hill section. “Stern’s Jubilee theme, ‘Five Decades. One Dream,’ is both a reflection on its illustrious past and a validation of its vibrant growth,” Dean Bacon said. “In just fifty years, the school has graduated thousands of women who have achieved stellar records in fields such as medicine, law, education, and the liberal arts and have attained solid and wide-ranging command of the various disciplines within Jewish studies.” Yeshiva University Museum is located at 15 W. 16th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues in the Center for Jewish History. It is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 11 am to 5 pm. For further YUM information, call 212-294-8330 or visit www.yumuseum.org. To find out more about Stern Jubilee events, contact 212-340-7862 or rentas@yu.edu.