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Andrew Rehfeld

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Andrew Rehfeld
Born (1965-12-28) December 28, 1965 (age 58)
Baltimore, Maryland
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)political scientist and academic administrator

Andrew Rehfeld (born December 28, 1965) is an American political scientist who is serving as the 10th and current President of Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, where he is also Professor of Political Thought. His main research has focused on the concepts and history of Political Representation, exploring how institutional design and reform (of voting, redistricting, and qualifications for office, for example) can strengthen democracy and advance justice.

Education

Rehfeld graduated magna cum laude from the University of Rochester in 1989, with a B.A. in Philosophy, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.[1][2] In 1994 he earned an M.P.P. in Public Policy at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.[3] He earned his Ph.D. in political sciences also from the University of Chicago in 2000 under the direction of Cass Sunstein, chair, Charles Larmore, and Susan Stokes.[4]

Career

Following his graduation from the University of Rochester in 1989, Rehfeld began an early career in Jewish communal service, working for the Union for Reform Judaism in New Jersey, and serving with Rabbi Leon Morris in Mumbai, India and Eastern Europe as part of the Jewish Service Corps of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.[5]

From 2001 to 2019, Rehfeld was a member of the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis where he held a primary appointment in the department of political science, and (from 2007 to 2010) served as its director of undergraduate studies.[6][7] He held secondary appointments in Social Thought and Analysis, and in American Studies, and a courtesy appointment in Law.[8] He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 2011 and has held visiting faculty appointments at the University of Chicago and Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali "Guido Carli" (LUISS) in Rome. In 2002 Rehfeld founded and directed the interdisciplinary workshop on politics, ethics, and society (WPES) at Washington University in St. Louis.[9]

In 2012 Rehfeld was appointed the 12th President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis,[10][11] serving until 2019. He reoriented the institution towards a collaborative, community-development approach,[12] and successfully launched a campaign to rebuild the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum.[13]

Hebrew Union College Presidency

Rehfeld was elected as the 10th President of Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in December 2018 and began service in April 2019.[14] A formal inauguration ceremony was held in the historic Plum Street Temple in Cincinnati, OH, now the Isaac M. Wise Temple, on October 27, 2019.[15] Rehfeld is the first lay person (non-rabbi) to serve in the position. In his Inaugural Address, President Rehfeld stated, “HUC drives the development of ideas and leadership that strengthen the Jewish Public Sphere: the institutions that form the canvas of communal life upon which we as a people realize our collective values to serve the highest Good and the Holy, and lead our world to Justice.” Reflecting on the changing Jewish community, he noted, “Our Jewish communities are becoming far more diverse than in the past. We are multi-racial; inter-faith; inter-denominational; non-denominational; inter-gendered; inter-oriented; multi-ideological. We must prepare our students to lead communities who are themselves not always ready to embrace this change.”[16]

In partnership with HUC-JIR's Board of Governors, Rehfeld is leading a strategic planning process focused on five key goals: advancing educational excellence, strengthening student support, growing our impact, achieving fiscal sustainability, and ensuring a sacred and respectful culture. He stated, “We are planning for a meaningful and sustainable future -- a future where Judaism thrives because of the extraordinary leaders we bring forth. We are at a crossroads. We recognize that change is inevitable and we welcome it. Our vision and determination will secure our promising Jewish future.”[17]

Rehfeld is a staunch advocate for sacred and respectful environments at HUC-JIR, stating, “We must continue to combat all abuses of power, bias, and discrimination, including on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disabilities, national origin, and other important personal characteristics. It is our sacred responsibility to create a safe and respectful environment at the College-Institute, recognizing that all of us, in all of our diversity, are created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God.” Under his leadership he has initiated two significant reviews of the culture at HUC, including leading HUC-JIR's Board to engage in a process of reconciliation, that resulted as a first step to the historic Morgan Lewis Investigation Report of November 2022.[18]

Rehfeld is deeply committed to the academic environment as a venue for fostering difficult conversations as articulated in his 2009 Convocation Address at Washington University.[19]

He has written widely on issues of social justice and Jewish ethical values,[20] the challenges of the pandemic,[21] and seminary education.[22] He has lectured on liberal Judaism and Zionism[23] and the future of seminary education,[24] and has championed HUC-JIR's commitment to Israel[25] and the Jerusalem campus's programs training Israeli Reform clergy and pluralistic educators, advancing tolerance and understanding among Jewish, Muslim, and Christian educators in Jerusalem, and educating North American rabbinical, cantorial, and education students to build bridges of mutual responsibility with world Jewry.[26]

Personal life

Rehfeld was born in Baltimore, MD, and spent his early childhood raised in Ventnor, NJ. His mother, Beverly Rehfeld, an accomplished Public Relations professional, was the founder of the Atlantic County Citizens Council on the Environment.[27] His father, R. Rex Rehfeld, was a career military officer, serving as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Korean war from 1950 to 1951. He resigned his commission as Major in 1963 and was an investment advisor until his retirement in 2015.[28] His stepmother, Ruth Wolf Rehfeld, (d. 2003) was born in Aachen, Germany and fled with her immediate family in 1939, losing most of her other relatives to the concentration camps. She was a leader in the Baltimore civic and Jewish community, serving as the founding director of the Northwest Baltimore corporation, and founding the Baltimore BLEWS, a group promoting dialogue between Blacks and Jews.[29]

Rehfeld is married to Dr. Miggie Greenberg and they have two children.[30]

Selected publications

2017. "On Representing". Journal of Political Philosophy. (Peer reviewed article) June.[31]

2018. "Representation and the US Constitution". In, Cambridge Companion to the US Constitution. Karen Oren and John Chapman, Eds. New York: Cambridge University Press. (Book chapter)

2011 "The Child as Democratic Citizen". Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (Vol. 633, January 2011)

2010 "Offensive Political Theory Perspectives on Politics. Vol. 8. June. 465–486 

2008 "Jephthah, the Hebrew Bible, and John Locke's Second Treatise on Government". Hebraic Political Studies (3:1 Winter 2008)

2005 The Concept of Constituency: Political Representation, Democratic Legitimacy and Institutional Design. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2005)

Additional speeches, writings, and videos

http://huc.edu/about/presidents-office/president-rehfelds-speecheswritings

References

  1. ^ [1] “President Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D.,” Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion Website
  2. ^ Yanna Hotter, “Andrew Rehfeld Is New President of Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion,” American Israelite, December 26, 2018
  3. ^ Keylen Ralph, “Labor, Work, Action: Andrew Rehfeld MPP’94 and the Human Condition,” University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, June 17, 2019
  4. ^ “Andrew Rehfeld Resume,” Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion
  5. ^ Josefin Dolsten, “In a First, Reform Rabbinical School Won't Be Led by a Rabbi,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, December 18, 2018
  6. ^ “Three Things to Know about Hebrew Union College and Its New President, Andrew Rehfeld,” The Cincinnati Enquirer, October 25, 2019
  7. ^ Ann Thompson, “Meet the New Leader of Hebrew Union College,” WVXU Local News, October 25, 2019
  8. ^ Josefin Dolsten, “In a First, Reform Rabbinical School Won't Be Led by a Rabbi,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, December 18, 2018
  9. ^ “Andrew Rehfeld Resume,” Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion
  10. ^ “Jewish Federation of St. Louis Elects Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D. as New Chief Executive,” JFed St. Louis News, June 27, 2012
  11. ^ Matthew Hibbard, “Jewish Federation of St. Louis Names Andrew Rehfeld as CEO,” St. Louis Business Journal, June 27, 2012
  12. ^ “The Remarkable Rehfeld Record,” STL Jewish Light, December 27, 2018
  13. ^ Josefin Dolsten, “In a First, Reform Rabbinical School Won't Be Led by a Rabbi,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, December 18, 2018
  14. ^ “Andrew Rehfeld Ph.D. Elected 13th President of HUC-JIR,” Jewish Insider, December 18, 2018
  15. ^ Josefin Dolsten, “Reform Movements Rabbinical School Inaugurates a Former Jewish Federation Leader as Its President,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, October 29, 2019
  16. ^ “Presidential Inauguration Address of Andrew Rehfeld,” Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, October 30, 2019
  17. ^ “Now is the Time,” Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, April 7, 2022
  18. ^ “HUC Presidential Task Force on Safe and Respectful Environments,” Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, September 26, 2019
  19. ^ “2009 Convocation Address by Andrew Rehfeld at Washington University in St. Louis,” Jewish Federation of St. Louis, 2009
  20. ^ “Kehillah and Byachad Newsletter: Messages from the President,” Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, 2021
  21. ^ “Points of Inflection and Infection: On the authenticity of Reform Judaism and its use in responding to our current crisis,” Scriptions, 2021
  22. ^ “Hannukah Greeting from President Rehfeld,” Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion
  23. ^ “Liberal Judaism and Zionism Panel,” Shalom Hartman Institute, July 16, 2019
  24. ^ Yehuda Kurtzer and Andrew Rehfeld, “The Great American Rabbi Shortage,” The Times of Israel, April 15, 2022
  25. ^ “A Message from the President,” Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, May 21, 2021
  26. ^ “The Teacher's Lounge: Advancing Tolerance in Jerusalem and Rikma,” Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, December 18, 2018
  27. ^ “Andrew Rehfeld and Edward Rehfeld,” Stockton Foundation Scholarship
  28. ^ “Rex Rehfeld,” Johns Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Science
  29. ^ Jacques Kelly, “Ruth W. Rehfeld, Longtime Activist Who Championed City Neighborhoods,” The Baltimore Sun, May 14, 2003
  30. ^ Ryan Torok, “Hebrew Union College Appoints New President,” Jewish Journal, December 18, 2018
  31. ^ Andrew Rehfeld, “On Representing,” Journal of Political Philosophy, September 21, 2017
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