Yeshiva University, in addition to its three undergraduate schools — Stern College, Yeshiva College, and Sy Syms School of business — is also well known for its secular, highly selective graduate schools, including, among others, the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. On March 21, Yeshiva University announced that it was launching a new graduate school, The Mordecai D. and Monique C. Katz School of Graduate and Professional Studies.
Drs. Mordecai and Monique Katz made a $25 million commitment for the establishment of this graduate school. “If we have a core principle about philanthropy, it is this: invest in people. And the best investment you can make in people is through education,” Dr. Mordecai Katz, a current vice chairman of the Yeshiva University Board of Trustees, said.
The Katz School will offer degrees in a range of fields, from marketing to community education to cyber security, to name a few. The new school will offer on-campus learning opportunities, as well as online options. Dr. Selma Botman, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said that students at the Katz School “will gain hands-on, experiential expertise in their area of study and important professional connections.”
The school has named Dr. Paul Russo as its new dean. Russo holds a PhD in technology management from New York University, an MBA from the University of Dallas, an MS in electrical engineering from Vanderbilt University and a BS in physics from Loyola University. His previous positions include assistant vice president for curriculum and instruction at Long Island University (LIU) and director of online programs at The City University of New York (CUNY). His many accomplishments at CUNY include helping to create the School of Professional Studies and Guttman Community College. Sofia Binioris will serve as Program Director for the Katz School. Binioris has a BA from the University of Massachusetts, and is currently pursuing an MA at The City College of New York. Her previous positions include program specialist and curriculum coordinator at The City University of New York’s School of Professional Studies.
The first initiative of the Katz School is to support a new online master’s degree program in Marketing through Sy Syms School of Business. This new degree is a 30-credit, one-year program, that will emphasize digital and social media marketing. Dr. Moses Pava, dean of Sy Syms and the Alvin Einbender Professor of Business Ethics, said of the new program, “Our energetic marketing faculty have put together a course of study which is relevant, practical, and grounded in state-of-the-art thinking. The Katz School team brings excitement and years of experience in online education to Yeshiva University.”