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

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. 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 Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; ) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (especially Jewish history), Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, ...

. Spertus Institute's academic and professional offerings are complemented by public programs, in an array of onsite and online formats. 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, its name changed from College of Jewish Studies to Spertus College of Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership. In 1973, this became Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies. In 2013, the name changed to Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership. 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 served on the Spertus faculty. Among them were Dr. Fritz Bamberger, who, following his decades teaching philosophy and comparative literature, left academia to run ''

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'' magazine; and Simon Rawidowicz and

Nahum N. Glatzer Nahum Norbert Glatzer (March 25, 1903 – February 27, 1990) was an Austrian and American scholar of Jewish history and philosophy from antiquity to mid 20th century. Life Glatzer was born in Lemberg, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empir ...

, who went on to establish the Jewish Studies Department at

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

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

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 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 Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...

, 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'' (2016), and for his non-fiction works '' Eat ...

, architect

Moshe Safdie Moshe Safdie (; born July 14, 1938) is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author. He is well known for incorporating principles of socially responsible design throughout his six-decade career. His projects include cultural, ed ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

artist Y-Love, pianist/actor/playwright Hershey Felder,

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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 ...

, 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. He has subsequently written several best ...

, and statistician

Nate Silver Nathaniel Read Silver (born January 13, 1978) is an American statistician, political analyst, author, sports gambler, and poker player who Sabermetrics, analyzes baseball, basketball and Psephology, elections. He is the founder of ''FiveThirty ...

. Honorary degree recipients from 1949 to 2011 have included Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, former

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i Ambassador to the United States

Abba Eban Abba Solomon Meir Eban (; ; born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; 2 February 1915 – 17 November 2002) was a History of the Jews in South Africa, South African-born Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages. D ...

, Rabbi

Abraham Joshua Heschel Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907 – December 23, 1972) was a Polish-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 Theolo ...

, author and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Elie Wiesel Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel (September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates#1980, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel bibliogra ...

, author and Nobel Literature Laureate

Isaac Bashevis Singer Isaac Bashevis Singer (; 1903 – July 24, 1991) was a Poland, Polish-born Jews, Jewish novelist, short-story writer, memoirist, essayist, and translator in the United States. Some of his works were adapted for the theater. He wrote and publish ...

, 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 s ...

, actor

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, and

Hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term al ...

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 depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

. 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 The Historic Michigan Boulevard District is a historic district in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas in Chicago, community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States encompassing Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue be ...

after the area was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2002. The cost of the Spertus project was approximately $50 million . 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. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

's Chicago Chapter and Best Building of the Year from Interior Design Magazine.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Universities and colleges in Chicago Museums in Chicago 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 Universities and colleges established in 1924 Graduate schools in the United States 1924 establishments in Illinois Private universities and colleges in Illinois Cultural centers in Chicago Heritage organizations in Illinois

History

Notable Faculty and Presenters

Architecture of the Spertus Institute building

See also

References

External links