Lander College
| Lander College for Men | |
|---|---|
| Established | 2000 |
| Type | Private, Jewish |
| Location |  Kew Gardens Hills, NY |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | www.touro.edu/LanderCollege |
Coordinates: 40°43′26″N 73°48′54″W / 40.724°N 73.815°W The Lander College for Men[1] (LCM) (often referred to as "Lander's") is a private, men's division of Touro College located in Kew Gardens Hills, New York. Its stated goal is to provide a rigorous college curriculum while maintaining a traditional yeshiva environment. Generally, its attendees are students who have attended post-high school programs studying Talmud prior to their attendance, primarily in Israel.
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[edit] Background and history
Lander College for Men opened in the fall of 2000 on a 7-acre (28,000 m2) campus in Kew Gardens Hills, NY[2] and graduated its first class in 2003. Geoffrey Alderman, who was a Vice President of Touro College, was Dean of the Lander College from its inception, and served until the end of February 2002. He left to work at American InterContinental University in the UK.[3]
The school was created partially in response to dissatisfaction with the liberalization of Yeshiva University during the tenure of Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm. In response to this, some of Yeshiva University's rabbinical faculty, specifically Rabbis Abba Bronspigel and Yehuda Parnes, decided to leave the school. With the assistance of Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, they created a school with the goal of providing a more religious and more challenging Yeshiva environment than that of Yeshiva University. Bernard Lander called it the "flagship" of Touro College.[4]
[edit] Faculty and staff
Landers' rabbinical staff has a number of well-respected figures in Talmudic education, including the Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Abba Bronspigel, Rabbi Yehuda Shmulewitz, as Menahel, and Rabbi Moshe Bamberger as the Mashgiach Ruchani. Other maggidei shiur include Rabbis Yehuda Parness, Azarya Berzon[5], Dovid Mirsky, Ephraim Tenenbaum, and Eliyahu Soloveichik (son of Rabbi Aharon Soloveichik).[6] The college is also host to a number of well known educators, among them, Rabbi Dr. Moshe Sokol (Ph.D., Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania), Dean as well as professor of literature, Dr. Kenneth Bigel, professor of finance and business ethics and Deputy Chair of Business (for Lander College for Men) at Touro College, and Dr. Ann Shinnar (Ph.D. in biochemistry from Princeton University - postdoctoral research at Harvard University, Rockefeller University, and the University of Pennsylvania), a biochemist who has also worked as a Senior Scientist in a biotechnology company and is an inventor with eight patents.
[edit] Academic environment
Lander College For Men offers a wide range of classes within itself and through its parent, Touro College. More than a dozen Degrees can be obtained on campus, and more than a dozen more can be earned in conjunction with Touro campuses in Flatbush and Manhattan. The average SAT score has increased since the school's inception, and been above 1300 (excluding the writing section) in most recent years.
The vast majority of students in the school transfer from Israeli institutions focusing on post-high school full time Judaic studies, where most have studied for multiple years. The school has a Beis Medrash program, in conjunction with the associated Beis Medrash L'Talmud, for full time Judaic studies for students who are either pre- or post-college. In accordance with school policy, all students are required to pray with the school's prayer services thrice daily. All students must also attend the morning program of Talmud studies, usually from 9:15am until 2:30pm, each Sunday through Friday, with a break for lunch. Following afternoon prayers at 2:30pm, academic classes start, Monday through Thursday, lasting until 7:00pm or so for most students. Night Seder (evening Judaic studies) from 8pm until 10pm is also mandatory.[7]
LCM, along with the other related schools under the Touro aegis, (which are not differentiated for this purpose,) have ranked nationally in the top several universities for passing several sections of the CPA exam, including the Business Environment and Financial Accounting and Reporting sections.[8]
Lander College boasts an active and cohesive student organization. The student organization was informally started and managed by Daniel & Ziva Glanz and functions under the Office of Student Life, currently chaired by Ariel Kopitnikoff.
In addition to the Lander College kollel (for those who finish college and want to continue Torah study) there is a kollel elyon (an advanced kollel, a.k.a. "The Super Kollel"). The kollel elyon is a group of the top students and is designed to enhance the level of learning in the yeshiva.
Lander College for Men has recently developed an active alumni society, led by the President of the Alumni Society, Moshe Ornstein, in conjunction with the college liaison, Aryeh Young, Director of Alumni Affairs for LCM.
[edit] Extracurricular activities
Lander College has an active club program, sponsored by the student government. Among the clubs are the Lander Investment Group, the Lander Historical Society, the Lander Mathematics Society, Biology Club, Anatomy Club, Psychology Club, and the Political Science Club. Former clubs include the Chai (Community Health Awareness Initiative) Club.
There are also some intramural sports, including football and baseball, on Friday and Sunday afternoons.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ or, as it is also known, Lander College for Knowledge
- ^ Lander College for Men: About the School
- ^ Dr. Alderman's Home Page
- ^ http://www.touro.edu/LanderCollege/Welcome.asp
- ^ www.touro.edu/media/pr/releases/PR-rabbi berzon aptmt.pdf
- ^ http://www.touro.edu/LanderCollege/Faculty.asp - Though this list is not at all up to date.
- ^ Lander College for Men: Class Schedules
- ^ Lander College for Men: Class Schedule
