List College

Last updated
Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies
Type Private
Established1909
Dean Amy Kalmanofsky
Undergraduates 195
Location, ,
United States
Campus Urban
MascotHeffy the Red Heifer
Website jtsa.edu/list-college

Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies, known simply as List College, is the undergraduate school of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS). It was founded by Solomon Schechter in 1909 as the Teachers Institute with the original goal of training American Jewish educators. [1] List College is closely affiliated with Columbia University; almost all List College students are enrolled in dual-degree programs with either Columbia University’s School of General Studies or Barnard College.

Contents

History

As chancellor of JTS, Solomon Schechter established the Teachers Institute as the undergraduate division of the seminary in 1909. The primary goal of the Teachers Institute was to train young Jewish educators. A co-educational school from its inception, the Teachers Institute was one of the few places in the country where women could study Judaics on a collegiate level. Mordecai Kaplan served as the school's first dean; his leadership and vision led to early successes. In 1931 a second undergraduate division, the Seminary College of Jewish Studies, was established for the education of Jewish lay-leaders.

In 1953, the scope of List College was greatly broadened by the establishment of a joint program with Columbia University, enabling students to simultaneously earn two bachelor's degrees—one from each school. A similar program for women only was created in conjunction with Barnard College in 1979. The Seminary College of Jewish Studies-Teachers Institute was renamed the Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies in 1986 in honor of a philanthropic donation to JTS. [2] Students who attend List College today represent a wide spectrum of religious backgrounds, with many reasons for attending the program. While the original intention of the Teachers Institute was to train young Jewish educators, List College students pursue a variety of career paths upon completion of the program.

Academics

List College grants a degree of Bachelor of Arts in twelve formal Judaic Studies majors ranging from Bible to Jewish Women's Studies. Students may also design their own interdisciplinary majors with institutional approval. The vast majority of students concurrently pursue a second B.A. from either Columbia University or Barnard College—dual-degree programs entitled the Joint Program and the Double Degree Program respectively. [3]

The college is need-blind for domestic applicants. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia University</span> Private university in New York City

Columbia University, officially Columbia University in the City of New York, is a private Ivy League research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan, it is the oldest institution of higher education in New York and the fifth-oldest in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon Schechter</span> Moldavian-born rabbi and scholar (1847–1915)

Solomon Schechter was a Moldavian-born British-American rabbi, academic scholar and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the United Synagogue of America, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and architect of American Conservative Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Theological Seminary of America</span> Religious education organization located in New York, New York

The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies. The Jewish Theological Seminary Library is one of the most significant collections of Judaica in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Finkelstein</span> American rabbi and scholar (1895–1991)

Louis Finkelstein was a Talmud scholar, an expert in Jewish law, and a leader of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) and Conservative Judaism.

Joel Roth is a prominent American rabbi in the Rabbinical Assembly, which is the rabbinical body of Conservative Judaism. He is a former member and chair of the assembly's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) which deals with questions of Jewish law and tradition, and serves as the Louis Finkelstein Professor of Talmud and Jewish Law at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City, where he formerly served as dean of the Rabbinical School. He is also Rosh Yeshiva of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, an institution founded and maintained by the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism and under the academic auspices of JTS. In 2006, Rabbi Roth took over as chair of the Hebrew Language department at JTS. Rabbi Roth is a well-known teacher of Hebrew grammar. He is a vociferous proponent of the existence of the "sheva merakhef".

The Seven Sisters are a group of seven liberal arts colleges in the Northeastern United States that are historically women's colleges. Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and Wellesley College are still women's colleges. Vassar College became coeducational in 1969, and Radcliffe College was absorbed in 1999 by Harvard College and now offers programs in advanced study.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia University School of General Studies</span> Undergraduate school of Columbia University in New York City

The School of General Studies, Columbia University (GS) is a liberal arts college and one of the undergraduate colleges of Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights, New York City. GS is known primarily for its traditional B.A. program for non-traditional students. GS students make up almost 30% of the Columbia undergraduate population.

Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history, Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, Oriental studies, religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages, political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies. Jewish studies as a distinct field is mainly present at colleges and universities in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Golinkin</span> American-Israeli Conservative rabbi

David Golinkin is an American-born conservative rabbi and Jewish scholar who has lived in Jerusalem since 1972. He is President of the Schechter Institutes, Inc., President Emeritus of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies and Professor of Jewish Law at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Jewish University</span> Private university in Los Angeles, California

American Jewish University (AJU) is a private Jewish university in Los Angeles, California. It was formed in 2007 from the merger of the University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute.

The Schechter Day School Network, formerly the Solomon Schechter Day School Association, located at 820 Second Avenue, New York, New York, is an organization of Jewish day schools that identify with Conservative Judaism. The network provides guidance and resources for its member schools in the United States and Canada.

Amy Eilberg is the first female rabbi ordained in Conservative Judaism. She was ordained in 1985 by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, one of the academic centers and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Eisen</span> American Judaic scholar

Arnold M. Eisen is an American Judaic scholar who was Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. He stepped down at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Koshland Professor of Jewish Culture and Religion and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty in 1986, he taught at Tel Aviv University and Columbia University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hebrew College</span> American religious college

Hebrew College is a private college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, the college conducts Jewish scholarship in a pluralistic, trans-denominational academic environment. Its president is Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld. Hebrew College offers undergraduate completion and graduate degrees, Hebrew-language training, a rabbinical school, a cantorial program and adult-learning and youth-education programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy</span> School in New York City , New York, United States

Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy, better known by the acronym, SAR Academy, is a coeducational, private Modern Orthodox Jewish day school. The school is located in the Riverdale section of the New York City borough of the Bronx.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon Schechter High School of New York</span> School in New York, NY, United States

Solomon Schechter High School of New York was a coeducational Jewish high school located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The school, which was affiliated with the Conservative Movement of Judaism and a member of the Solomon Schechter Day School Association, merged in 2006 with the New Jersey-based Schechter Regional High School, to form the Metro Schechter Academy, which in turn closed permanently in 2007. SSHSNY was a laboratory school of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and provided students with a dual general and Judaic studies curriculum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Theological Seminary</span> Non-denominational Christian seminary

The New York Theological Seminary (NYTS) is a private non-denominational Christian seminary in New York City. It was founded in 1900 as the Bible Teacher's College.

Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, located in the Neve Granot neighborhood of Jerusalem, is an Israeli academic institution.

Sylvia Cutler Ettenberg was a Jewish educator at the forefront of many Conservative Jewish educational initiatives and was one of the founders of the Camp Ramah camping movement. A graduate of Brooklyn College and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), she was invited by JTS Chancellor Louis Finkelstein to join the JTS administration in 1946. Ettenberg served as registrar and oversaw the development of the Teachers Institute and Seminary College of JTS. Along with Rabbi Moshe Davis, a dean at JTS, she was responsible for establishing the Ramah camping movement as a program of JTS. She was also instrumental in founding JTS's supplementary high school (Prozdor) program, its Melton Research Center, and, later, its William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, and she played a key role in the development of List College's joint program with Columbia University. Sylvia Ettenberg died on June 21, 2012

Alan Cooper is an American religious scholar and former musician who was the provost of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), an academic institution that teaches Jewish studies and one of the centers for Conservative Judaism. He is also the Elaine Ravich Professor of Jewish Studies at JTS.

References

  1. A History of List College Archived 2008-04-07 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Kaufman, David. "Jewish Education as a Civilization: A History of the Teachers Institute" Tradition Renewed: A History of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Volume One: The Making of an Institution of Higher Learning. Jack Wertheimer, Editor. The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Inc.: New York, NY 1997.
  3. List College Academics Archived 2009-04-28 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "List College Financial Aid". List College. Archived from the original on 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2021-01-11.

40°48′43″N73°57′39″W / 40.811859°N 73.960723°W / 40.811859; -73.960723