By Rina Shamilov, News Editor
As an extension of YU’s founding of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Center for Values and Leadership initiative that was launched in October 2021, on November 23, 2021, President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman announced the appointment of Dr. Erica Brown, a Stern College alumnus and dedicated student of the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, zt’l [of blessed memory], as the Vice Provost of Values and Leadership and inaugural Director of the program.
Dr. Brown, in her new role, will serve as a mentor for students and educators alike, passing the torch of knowledge that had been imparted on her by her late mentor, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt’l. She hopes to extend her scholarship and leadership to both the undergraduate and graduate students, and hopes to lead a stable and solid cohort of Jewish educators.
In addition to her numerous published works, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman shared that Brown was selected as a Jerusalem Fellow and Avi Chai Fellow, an honor that is considered to encompass bridging the gap between Torah U’Madda [the Jewish outlook of joining the religious and secular together]. Dr. Brown shared her commitment to this ideology and her excitement, saying, “The Torah gives us an outstanding blueprint to become a community bound by a sacred covenant. Being appointed Vice Provost and Director of the new Sacks-Herenstein Center is an opportunity of a lifetime to strengthen that covenant.”
In welcoming Dr. Brown to the new center, Terri Herenstein shared that “Dr. Brown’s work and mentorship has inspired communal, business, and political leaders around the world. She is both a sophisticated scholar and programmatic visionary, and we are very excited to see the impact she will have in conveying Rabbi Sacks’ teachings to future generations of students and leaders.”
Dr. Brown will officially assume her new role on January 1, 2022, and claims,“in this new role, I intend to introduce a number of cohort-based leadership programs on the undergraduate and graduate level, to organize public lectures and conferences with a focus on leadership and values, and to amplify the current work of students and faculty in these arenas. To be able to do this work to honor the legacy of my teacher and mentor, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, is a remarkable and humbling privilege. To return to Yeshiva University is a true homecoming.”