Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership (DBA for Spertus College) is an institution of higher Jewish education headquartered in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. It offers learning opportunities that are "rooted in Jewish wisdom and culture and open to all." At its core are graduate degree and certificate programs in which students engage with Jewish ideas in the service of personal growth, community leadership, and professional advancement. These offerings educate Jewish professionals, community leaders, and those pursuing advanced education in Jewish Studies."About"
on the Spertus Institute website Spertus Institute's academic and professional offerings are complemented by public programs, in an array of onsite and online formats, that invite people of all backgrounds and denominations to experience the richness of Jewish learning and culture. Spertus Institute is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

History

The institute was founded in 1924 as Chicago's College of Jewish Studies. In 1970, it was renamed to honor donations made by brothers Maurice and . Notable Faculty and Presenters During and following World War II, many renowned refugee scholars from

Nazi-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

served on the Spertus faculty. Among them were Dr. Fritz Bamberger, who, following his decades teaching philosophy and comparative literature, left academia to run '' Esquire'' magazine; and Simon Rawidowicz and Nahum N. Glatzer, who went on to establish the Jewish Studies Department at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

. More recently, Rabbi Dr. Byron Sherwin (1946–2015) was director of doctoral programs. Well-known presenters have included Supreme Court Justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by Presiden ...

, author

Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer (; born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is known for his novels ''Everything Is Illuminated'' (2002), ''Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'' (2005), ''Here I Am (novel), Here I Am'' (2016), and for his non-fict ...

, architect

Moshe Safdie Moshe Safdie ( he, משה ספדיה; born July 14, 1938) is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author, with Israeli, Canadian, and American citizenship. He is known for incorporating principles of socially responsible des ...

, hip-hop artist

Y-Love Yitz Jordan (born January 5, 1978), better known by his stage name Y-Love, is an American hip hop artist. An Orthodox Jew, Jordan was formerly Hasidic.Jerry Portwood"Y-Love is Ready for Love,"'' Out'', May 15, 2012. He is a web developer, activi ...

, pianist/actor/playwright

Hershey Felder Hershey Felder (born July 9, 1968) is a pianist, actor, and playwright known for his portrayals of classical and American composers on the theatrical stage. Early life Felder was born in Montreal, Quebec, to Jacob Felder (born 1929 in Ustrzyk ...

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

columnist

Thomas Friedman Thomas Loren Friedman (; born July 20, 1953) is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global tr ...

, Psychologist Dr.

Tal Ben-Shahar Tal Ben-Shahar Tal Ben-Shahar (Hebrew: טל בן-שחר; born 1970), also known as Tal David Ben-Shachar, is an American and Israeli teacher, and writer in the areas of positive psychology and leadership. As a lecturer at Harvard University, Be ...

, and statistician

Nate Silver Nathaniel Read Silver (born January 13, 1978) is an American statistician, writer, and poker player who analyzes baseball (see sabermetrics), basketball, and elections (see psephology). He is the founder and editor-in-chief of ''FiveThirtyEight' ...

. Honorary degree recipients from 1949 to 2011 have included Rabbi

Mordecai M. Kaplan Mordecai Menahem Kaplan (born Mottel Kaplan; June 11, 1881 – November 8, 1983), was a Lithuanian-born American rabbi, writer, Jewish educator, professor, theologian, philosopher, activist, and religious leader who founded the Reconstructio ...

, former

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i Ambassador to the United States

Abba Eban Abba Solomon Meir Eban (; he, אבא אבן ; born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; 2 February 1915 – 17 November 2002) was an Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages. During his career, he served as Fo ...

, Rabbi

Abraham Joshua Heschel Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907 – December 23, 1972) was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century. Heschel, a professor of Jewish mysticism at the Jewish ...

, author and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel b ...

, author and Nobel Literature Laureate

Isaac Bashevis Singer Isaac Bashevis Singer ( yi, יצחק באַשעװיס זינגער; November 11, 1903 – July 24, 1991) was a Polish-born American Jewish writer who wrote and published first in Yiddish and later translated himself into English with the help ...

, feminist author

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...

, actor

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...

, and

Hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this pr ...

Alberto Mizrahi.

Architecture of the Spertus Institute building

In November 2007, Spertus Institute opened a noteworthy new facility at 610 S. Michigan Avenue. Designed by Chicago-based Krueck Sexton Partners, the building features interconnected interior spaces and an unusual ten-story faceted window wall that offers views of the Chicago skyline, Grant Park, and

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. This window wall is built from 726 individual pieces of glass in 556 different shapes. The building houses classrooms, offices, a library, a 400-seat theater, and a variety of open event spaces. The Spertus building was the first new construction in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District after the area was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2002. The cost of the Spertus project was approximately $50 million.Blair Kamin, "Blades of Glass," ''Chicago Tribune'', November 21, 2007. The building has been recognized with a number of awards, including the Distinguished Building Award and Divine Detail Award from the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

's Chicago Chapter and Best Building of the Year from

Interior Design Magazine ''Interior Design'' is an American interior design magazine, which has been in circulation since 1932. History and profile ''Interior Design'' was founded by Harry V. Anderson in Manhattan in 1932. He was also the publisher and editor of the ...

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Universities and colleges in Chicago Museums in Chicago Jewish universities and colleges Jewish universities and colleges in the United States Jews and Judaism in Chicago Jewish museums in Illinois Jewish studies research institutes University museums in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1924 Graduate schools in the United States 1924 establishments in Illinois Private universities and colleges in Illinois Cultural centers in Chicago

History

Architecture of the Spertus Institute building

See also

References

External links