A five-year cooperative relationship has been established between Yeshiva University and Federation of Jewish Philanthropies to train graduate students for careers as leaders in Jewish community organizations. The joint venture, first of its kind in any school of social work, was announced today by Lawrence B. Buttenwieser, president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, and Dr. Samuel Belkin, president of Yeshiva University.
Under the program, Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work will offer a two-year master’s degree program in Jewish community organization in which students will receive field work experience at Federation and its agencies. Federation will subsidize the program by setting up the William E. Wiener Chair in Jewish Communal Organization. Appointed to the chair, and heading the Community Organization Department is Dr. Martin Greenberg, director of the Social Planning and Research Department of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds.
Sanford Solender, executive vice-president of Federation, hailed the joint undertaking “as an important step forward in the education of urgently needed, highly trained personnel for Jewish communities throughout the country.” He also pointed out that the relationship with a major academic institution will make Federation a teaching organization with a university relationship similar to that which exists between its agencies and medical schools. schools of education and schools of social work.
Dr. Morton I. Teicher, dean of Wurzweiler said, “The enormous demands and problems of Jewish communities can be met more adequately by providing prospective Jewish communal professional leaders with the opportunity to acquire the kind of academic education and field work experience to deal with these problems.” Students will enter the program in September 1972, for the 1972-73 academic year.
As part of the program, the Community Organization Department at Wurzweiler will develop in cooperation with the staff of Jewish Federation an enrichment program of inservice training for all levels of the Federation staff, to include Jewish background courses, a knowledge of the social welfare scene and administrative skills. In 1969, Federation created the Wiener Center, named for the late philanthropist in whose memory the initial grant establishing the unit was made.
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