By Shira Kramer, Managing Editor
Last year, Yeshiva University announced that after years of esteemed service, Dean Karen Bacon was saying goodbye to YU. This vacancy left huge shoes to fill. The search process to find a new dean wasn’t easy, including long applications and multiple interviews (some of which took place in Beren’s own 215 conference room). After the necessary steps were completed, YU was lucky to land Dr. Rebecca Cypess as the new dean of Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women.
Dean Cypess is a lifetime lover of academics. She attended Cornell University where she received her bachelor’s degree in music, then furthered her education at both The Royal College of London and YU’s own Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies where she received her master’s degrees. Afterwards, Dean Cypess attended Yale University where she received her PhD in music history.
As a musical scholar, Dean Cypess has a different perspective compared to other academics. Music classes focus on teaching students to strengthen their listening skills and teamwork, and her background in this field makes Dean Cypess unique compared to other administrators.
“I am both an academic music scholar and a performer of early music,” Dean Cypess told the YU Observer. “I hope never to give up this part of who I am and what I do.”
While students welcomed Dean Cypess with open arms, many of them had no idea what a dean actually does. “She seems really nice, but I don’t actually know what her role is,” Talia Isaacs (SCW ‘27) told the YU Observer. This divide between the deans and the students at YU is very prominent, and one that many believe should be bridged over the coming years. In order to begin doing so, the YU Observer asked Dean Cypess questions from YU students about her role in YU.
As the dean of two of YU’s main undergraduate programs, Dean Cypess told the YU Observer that her job is to “help the schools renew and rearticulate their academic mission, then outline and implement goals that help them achieve that mission.”
Dean Cypess prioritizes student relationships. The Cypess family attended both the Orientation Shabbos on the Beren campus and the Beren Camp Shabbaton at Camp Romimu. Students have already noticed Dean Cypess’s efforts to connect and engage with the student body and are thankful for the changes she is bringing to YU.
Dean Cypess arranged her schedule so she could meet with members of the student government on a monthly basis to discuss issues important to the student body. “Dean Cypess has clearly made communication with students her priority,” Beren Campus Student Government President Shalhevet Cohen (SSSB ‘25) told the YU Observer. “Whether during her regular visits to the Beit Midrash or at meetings, I have had the privilege of regularly interacting with Dean Cypess and am looking forward to a successful year ahead!”
“The students are why we’re here,” Dean Cypess told the YU Observer. “It’s always important for deans to remain in touch with students so we can understand their experiences and support their success and growth.”
However, in addition to working with students, Dean Cypess is committed to partnering with faculty members to ensure success for both students and teachers. She has also been working with the offices of integrity on both campuses to help maintain YU’s academic reputation. As most students are aware, academic integrity is a problem on campus. The administration has worked hard to incorporate academic integrity into the syllabi for this year, hopeful that this will create positive change in and out of the classroom.
Building real relationships with individuals on campus is very important to Dean Cypess.
“One of my first tasks since starting my job in July has been to meet every member of the full-time faculty and staff, one by one,” Dean Cypess said. “So far, I have had about 65 or 70 of those meetings, and they have been wonderful.”
While Dean Cypess has been a dean at other institutions before, this is her first time working at a Jewish college. As the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, Dean Cypess was the founding co-chair of J-FAS or Rutgers Jewish Faculty, Administrators, and Staff. Through this work, she built relationships with other Jews on campus, no matter their titles.
Now, Dean Cypess works full time with Jewish students. “I hope to restart conversations around the value of a liberal arts and sciences education in the orthodox Jewish world,” Dean Cypess said. “Especially at a time when higher education is in crisis, Yeshiva University is a beacon for other institutions that have, frankly, lost their way.”
Currently, Dean Cypess is not aware of a day-to-day schedule for her role as dean. However, she is trying to learn as much as possible about both undergraduate colleges. “My job encompasses all aspects of the colleges’ academic and operational systems, so there’s a lot going on,” Dean Cypess said. “There is an outstanding team of professional staff and academic leaders who keep everything running smoothly.”
For students who are interested in discussing any of these topics, Dean Cypess always leaves her office door open when she is available. So go say hi to the dean today!
Photo Caption: Dean Cypess addresses students at SCW honors orientation
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University