Articles by Shalva Ginsparg

Campus Couple Bids Farewell to Beren Campus: An Interview with Esty and Jonathan Schwab

By Shalva Ginsparg • Published: May 12, 2015 • Comment ()

After two and a half years as campus couple, Esty (Rollhaus) (SCW’10) and Jonathan Schwab (YC’11) have decided to leave the position at the end of the semester. The couple will be moving to Washington Heights as part of Jonathan’s new position with the Wilf Campus Office of University Housing and Residence Life. Esty will […]

A Storied Career: Peninnah Schram, Professor and Award-Winning Storyteller, Retires

By Shalva Ginsparg • Published: April 13, 2015 • Comment ()

Peninnah Schram, professor of Speech and Drama at SCW for over four decades, retired this fall. Schram first joined the Speech and Drama department in 1969. In the intervening years, she created and taught the first Jewish Storytelling course, published twelve books of Jewish folktales, and was nationally recognized for her work in storytelling. With […]

The next Step towards Solving the Financial Crisis: Departments Urged to Cut Costs

By Shalva Ginsparg • Published: February 11, 2015 • Comment ()
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Much of the recent discussion about YU’s finances has surrounded the anticipated merger between YU’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine and New York’s Montefiore Health System, an agreement which would cede $50 million of YU’s debt to Montefiore. (A February 3rd announcement has confirmed that despite the termination of the governance agreement in December, an […]

Cuts to the Speech Department Spring 2015

By Shalva Ginsparg • Published: January 2, 2015 • Comment ()
Podium

On the first day of class, Professor Reuven Russell often jokingly asks students how much they paid to get a seat in Speech 1010. A required course for students of all majors, Speech 1010 is notoriously known to provoke registration anxiety, as slots can fill up quickly and seniors who face scheduling conflicts are forced […]

What Montefiore-Einstein Merger Means for Pre-Med Students

By Shalva Ginsparg • Published: August 19, 2014 • Comment ()
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Pre-med students with their sights on YU medical school encountered a twist on the road from B.A. to M.D. this May, when the university announced a merger between its Albert Einstein College of Medicine and New York’s Montefiore Health System. Students wondering how the merger will impact the educational experience at Einstein can be assured […]

Syms Student Publishes Book on the NBA

By Shalva Ginsparg • Published: May 12, 2014 • Comment ()
ESPN

Business strategies learned in the classroom have quickly gone from the hypothetical to the practical for Efraim Wakschlag, a graduating YU senior from Silver Spring, Maryland and long-time sports enthusiast.  As an accounting major and marketing minor at Sy Syms, Wakschlag combined his business education with his love of sports to develop, market, and publish […]

A Tribute to Dr. Charles Raffel

By Shalva Ginsparg • Published: May 12, 2014 • Comment ()

The YU community was shocked and saddened by the untimely passing of Dr. Charles Raffel (1950-2014), beloved teacher and assistant professor of Jewish Philosophy at Stern College.  News of his death sparked an outpouring of emotion from students and faculty; the void created by his passing and the absence of his trademark blend of humor, […]

First Time Ever: J Street Joins YU Panel

By Shalva Ginsparg • Published: March 17, 2014 • Comment ()
yu panel

A much-anticipated panel discussion entitled “Zionism Today” drew large crowds to the midtown campus on Tuesday evening, March 11th.  Sponsored in large part by the Israel Club and the Soldiers in Exile Club, the panel was advertised as a debate between “three Jews, three stories, three perspectives.” The three Jews featured were Danny Ayalon, Israel’s […]

How the Other Half Lives: Confessions of an Out-of-Towner

By Shalva Ginsparg • Published: March 13, 2014 • Comment ()

Maybe if I stare long enough at my contact list, I think to myself, someone will hear my telepathic prayer: please invite me for Shabbos! Please invite me for Shabbos!  Words fail to aptly describe the hospitality of my in-towner friends, but every once and a while there’s a week when someone has the nerve […]

YU Welcomes First Female Provost: Exclusive Interview

By Shalva Ginsparg • Published: February 17, 2014 • Comment ()
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Yeshiva University’s search for a new provost has culminated in the appointment of Dr. Selma Botman. In an interview with the Observer, Dr. Botman encouraged dialogue between the administration and the student body and called for creative solutions to YU’s financial challenges.  “YU is so important that is must be made sustainable,” she declared. Dr. […]