This fall, thirty new professors joined the ranks of Yeshiva University’s faculty, bringing with them years of teaching experience and diverse professional and educational backgrounds. Around a dozen of the thirty will or have begun teaching at Stern College for Women and Sy Syms School of Business.
Joining the faculty of Sy Syms is Dr. Henry Huang, a prolific researcher in the interdisciplinary field of accounting, finance, and law. “I was motivated [to join the YU faculty] mainly by the people and the location,” said Huang. “We have strong and fair-minded leaders, outstanding faculty members, and dedicated students in YU. With New York City being the heart of the global capital markets, it is an ideal place for researchers like me.”
Dr. Huang’s choice of career path combines several of his interests. “The importance of accounting was highlighted back in 2001 when a series of accounting scandals broke out, which led to the Sarbanes Oxley Act,” he explained. “With my legal background, I was intrigued by how the U.S. legal system (including both public enforcement and private litigation) can punish the perpetrators and prevent such costly scandals.”
Having held positions at the University of Houston, Butler University, and Prairie View A&M University, Huang brings years of experience to the business classroom. “My goals are to help students reach their professional goals,” said Huang. “I hope my class will lead to improvements in students’ analytic skills, breadth and depth of knowledge, and entrepreneurial skills.”
To some students at the business school, Dr. Galit Ben-Joseph’s name is perhaps a familiar one. Previously of the University of Berkeley, she had been an adjunct at YU for three years while working on her doctorate. She has now been hired full time, which is, as she put it, “a dream come true.”
“[When I first came to YU] I was introduced to the Dean, and he referred me to the Management Chair,” said Ben-Joseph. “I begged him [The Management Chair] to hire me as I fell in love with YU in about ten seconds flat. It felt like home, like I belonged here.”
Ben-Joseph’s area of expertise is investment management, a career choice she has found very fulfilling. “I love the markets and trading. I love helping people and creating a path for them to be wealthy.”
A particularly significant new hire is the new occupant of the Mel Harris Chair of Risk and Insurance at Sy Syms, Dr. Archishman Chakraborty. A graduate of Princeton University, Chakraborty gives credit to his past for influencing his career in economics and finance. “I come from a family of academics and consequently teaching and research were both highly valued within my family. I am sure my career choice had something to do with this. On top of it, during my education in India and later in the U.S., I was fortunate enough to be taught by some great minds who were also great teachers.”
Chakraborty has become a successful teacher himself, having held positions at Baruch College CUNY in New York City and at York University in Toronto. “This year I will be teaching an advanced course in corporate finance and another course for the honors students. I have talked to some very bright students since I joined this summer and I look forward to meeting many more. In addition to teaching and departmental activities at Syms, I will be engaged in my usual pursuit, research. I am currently thinking about media bias and its role in shaping the outcome of democracies.”
“It’s an intellectually exciting time to be here [at YU],” he concluded.
Also in the field of economics, though teaching at Stern College and Yeshiva College, is Dr. Jasmina Spasojevic, previously of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. “I like economics because it is a discipline that offers many different career choices and career paths from academia to starting your own business,” said Spasojevic. “After college, I wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in the U.S.; once I received my degree, I continued to teach in a college environment.”
Spasojevic is teaching courses in macroeconomics and health economics, the latter being a topic of particular interest to her in her own research. “My students are curious [about the subject],” she continued. “I can see that I will have many interesting discussions with them. With the great resources, faculty, and students at Yeshiva University, I am looking forward to a wonderful environment to study, learn, and work in.”
After bidding farewell to several English department faculty members last spring, the department’s national search roped Dr. Seamus O’Malley, a Jersey City native with a PhD in Modern British Literature from CUNY. “Growing up in the New York area, I had always heard of Yeshiva,” said O’Malley, “so when I saw the opportunity to join a highly competitive school I did not hesitate.”
O’Malley has previously held positions at Hunter College and NYU. In both teaching posts, as well as here at Stern College, he brings to his students a sincere passion for English literature. “I love English literature because of the way it provides so many different experiences from my own,” said O’Malley. “My mind can read across time and space just through language, and that’s very exciting.”
“My classroom goal,” he continued, “is to understand the strengths and needs of my students. I always run my classes via discussion so I can get to know everybody.”
In addition to teaching Survey of British literature, English composition, and the freshman honors seminar, O’Malley continues to further his academic pursuits. “I’m finishing a book and have a June deadline. Students should take solace that professors deal with looming deadlines as well!” he quipped.
The Mathematic Sciences department welcomes Dr. Marian Gidea, who will be teaching multi-variable calculus and probability theory at Stern College as well as courses uptown. “[Mathematics is] my calling,” said Gidea. “I found in the world of mathematics a marvelous combination of precision and creativity, of abstract thinking and concrete applications.”
Dr. Gidea’s educational philosophy combines the classroom and outside academic pursuits. “I have recently started to study the mathematics of climate change, and I would like to introduce students to this field,” he said. “I am also pursuing research in some other exciting areas, including mathematical physics, celestial mechanics, mathematical biology, and I would also like to involve students in related projects. I am interested, of course, in pursuing collaborations with other faculty members,” he added.
Gidea has held positions at Loyola University of Chicago, Northwestern University in Evanston, and Northeastern Illinois University; he now adds Yeshiva University to his extensive teaching career.
“Yeshiva University has an outstanding tradition in mathematics and sciences, with numerous personalities that graduated from its programs or served as their faculty,” said Gidea. “In particular, the PhD program in Mathematics was one of the strongest in the U.S. some decades ago. I feel very honored and humbled to [join the faculty of] a university with such an impressive academic profile. I also feel very excited to give my best contribution to the development and growth of the recently re-opened PhD program in mathematics.”
Students in both the business school and in SCW have been extremely welcoming towards the new faculty members and look forward to the new opportunities they provide both inside and outside the classroom.