Jewish Sponsored Liberal Arts School to Develop Sense of Jewish Commitment

Touro College, a liberal arts schools under Jewish sponsorship, will be opened in Manhattan next September. One of its objectives will be to create a sense of Jewish commitment among its students, according to an announcement by its sponsors today. Named for the American Jewish philanthropist who founded the first synagogue in the U.S. in Newport, R.I., the new school has been chartered by the New York State Board of Regents as a private four-year liberal arts college. Dr. Bernard Lander of Forest Hills, N.Y. a leading Jewish scholar, has been named its president. Another goal of the new college will be to “answer a need for smaller colleges which give students an opportunity to establish relationships with faculty and to eliminate the feeling of indifference that they are subjected to at a ‘multi-university’ campus,” according to Eugene Hollander of New York, who left Hungary after the postwar Communist takeover of that country to settle in New York. He is treasurer of Bar-Ilan University, an Orthodox-sponsored American University in Israel.

Dr. Lander, who told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency he is planning to leave his posts as professor of sociology at Hunter College and as senior research consultant at Notre Dame University to devote all of his time to his post as president of Touro College, said the new school will seek to fill the gap for young Jews in their Jewish outlook which many of them suffer when they enter secular colleges. The new school will be for men only, he said, adding that a women’s division is being planned. The new college will be housed in a 12-story building deeded to it by the federal government after it was declared surplus property. Hollander said students will be able to obtain a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree in three rather than four years and that the traditional grading system has been modified so that students will receive a certification of course completion on the basis of honors, pass or fail. Academic excellence will be stressed by a series of departmental examinations by visiting scholars. He said the new school would seek to “meet the educational needs of large numbers of students who otherwise might be lost to the Jewish community and ultimately to the American democratic tradition.” He indicated this referred to the phenomenon of Jewish youth who have committed themselves to anti-Jewish New Left positions. He expressed the hope that Touro College might serve as a prototype for similar schools in other major Jewish population centers.

Hollander also said that students will be required to take three core programs in the humanities, sciences and the Jewish heritage. Dr. Lander said that “studies in Hebrew language and literature, Jewish history, philosophy and culture will be available at a variety of levels of student achievement and will be included in the required core curriculum for all students.” One year of study in Israel also will be a requirement, he reported, adding that plans were being made for creation of a “sister” school in Israel so that eventually students here will be able to do their required Israel study within the Touro college framework. Between 60 and 70 students are expected for the initial freshman class next fall, he said, and in line with the goal of a small college, 750 students is planned as the maximum enrollment for all four years. Tuition will be $2,000 a year. Dr. Lander said that an “outstanding faculty,” made up of committed Jews had been engaged. They include Dr. Milton Konvitz, the Cornell University expert on law and industrial relations; Dr. Alvin Radkowsky, the nuclear physicist; and Dr. Michael Wyshogrod, a philosopher and Jewish scholar. Finances to operate the college will come from private sources.