By Danielle Lane, Managing Editor
In a press release on December 6, 2021, Yeshiva University announced the launch of a new fundraising campaign. The $613 million campaign, which has been termed as Rise Up: The Campaign for Yeshiva University, is an “ambitious comprehensive campaign that will fund scholarships, publicly launched at Yeshiva University’s annual Chanukah dinner for donors, students, faculty, and staff.”
According to the press release, “[t]he campaign… plans to raise $613 million over the next five years to ensure student success in a changing world. This will come through investments in YU’s four areas of strategic focus: values and leadership, science and tech, entrepreneurship and innovation, and great jobs and impactful careers.” Rise Up has already raised over $250 million since its start during the 2019 Fiscal Year.
The initiatives that will be funded under the plan include scholarships in Jewish and secular education, science and tech advancements, as well as better career training for students. The funds that have already been raised have been done so thanks to the planning committee which is co-chaired by Senator Joseph Lieberman and Anita Zucker. The committee is also made up of Elliot Gibber, Billy Greenblatt, Andrew Herenstein, Lance Hirt, Ira Mitzner, Ann Pava and Mark Wilf.
The committee is optimistic about this fundraiser. According to Senator Lieberman, “Yeshiva University provides a unique education that does just that. This campaign will improve our capacity to fulfill that special mission and broaden our reach as well.”
While many students are excited about the opportunities this campaign will catalyze, one student (YC’ 23) who wishes to remain anonymous, told The YU Observer, “Coming off the heels of the massive financial downturn caused by Covid in both the reduction of student capacity last semester and the novel expenses associated with testing and safety due to it, this round of fundraising truly appears to be one of YU’s most important ones in recent memory. Based upon what we’ve seen from the campaign so far, I don’t know if YU will raise what Covid caused them to lose.”
Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University, reflected on this new initiative saying, “Raising $613 million for scholarships, faculty and facilities reflects our core Torah values and meets our needs for the future. Committed to academic excellence and geared to empower our students to be the leaders of tomorrow, the flagship Jewish university is on the rise.”
Photo Caption (from left to right): Senator Joseph Lieberman, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, and Anita Zucker
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University