Touro University (New York)

Coordinates: 40°45′02″N 73°59′45″W / 40.750528°N 73.995833°W / 40.750528; -73.995833
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Touro University
TypePrivate university
Established1971; 53 years ago (1971)
Religious affiliation
Jewish
Endowment$14.0 million (2013)[1]
ChairmanMark Hasten
ChancellorDoniel Lander
PresidentAlan Kadish
Undergraduates6,900[2]
Postgraduates4,000[3]
Location
New York City
,
New York
,
United States

40°45′02″N 73°59′45″W / 40.750528°N 73.995833°W / 40.750528; -73.995833
Colors    Blue and white
Websitetouro.edu
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Harlem
3 Times Square building

Touro University is a private Jewish university based in New York City, New York. It was founded by Bernard Lander in 1971, and named for Isaac and Judah Touro.[4][5] It is a part of the Touro University System.[6] Its mission includes a strong focus on "transmit[ting] and perpetuat[ing] the Jewish heritage".[7]

The college has about 5500 undergraduates, with a teaching staff of 1242, of which over a third are full-time.[2] It has about 4000 graduate students.[3] About 70% of undergraduates and nearly 80% of graduate students are female.[2][3] Among undergraduates, some 4% are Asian, 15% are black, 8% are Hispanic and 64% are white.[2] The four-year graduation rate is 46%.[1]

History[edit]

Touro College was founded by Orthodox rabbi and academic sociologist Bernard Lander, who named it for Isaac Touro, a colonial American Orthodox rabbi, and his son Judah Touro, a businessman and philanthropist.[4][8]

Lander's aim was to provide education for Jewish people, combining professional courses with Torah studies.[8] The college received its charter as a private, four-year liberal arts college from the Board of Regents of the State of New York in 1970, and opened its doors in 1971. In its first year it had thirty-five students, all men.[4] A section for women was opened in 1974.[8] The college was accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in 1976; accreditation was reaffirmed in 2015.[9]

In the 1970s, the school enrolled into its adult-education program large numbers of old people, among them many of whom could neither read nor write English. Federal and state authorities subsequently investigated the school, since they believed that this was being done mainly to obtain grants for tuition.[4]

The college expanded to include schools of law, education, social work, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry.[10][unreliable source?]

In 2007, at least two school employees were found in an internal college audit to have accepted bribes to change grades and provide fake degrees. They were handed over for prosecution by the college, and were subsequently convicted and imprisoned.[11][12][13]

Lander remained president until his death in 2010,[14] and was succeeded by Alan Kadish.[15]

At the end of 2021, the college signed a lease for 243,305 square feet (22,603.8 m2; 2.26038 ha) at the 3 Times Square building in New York City. The goal was to consolidate many of the college's schools, currently divided among at least 35 separate locations servicing 19,000 enrolled students, into a central Manhattan campus.[16]

On February 20, 2022, Touro College announced that the NYS Board of Regents had granted a request to rename the college to Touro University. [17]

Notable alumni[edit]

Affiliates[edit]

Main article: Touro College and University System

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Touro College". U.S. News College Campus Best Colleges. U.S. News & World Report. 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d Colleges: Touro College. Peterson's. Accessed April 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Grad Schools: Touro College. Peterson's. Accessed April 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Margalit Fox (2010). "Rabbi Bernard Lander, the Founder of Touro College, Is Dead at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  5. ^ "Our History". Touro College and University System. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  6. ^ "Touro College". Forbe's America's Top Colleges. Forbes. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  7. ^ "Mission Statement". Touro College. 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Snyder, Tamar (February 11, 2010). "Touro College Founder Succumbs at 94". New York Jewish Week. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  9. ^ "Touro College". Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
  10. ^ "Touro College profile". Guidestar.org.
  11. ^ Greene, Leonard (November 15, 2010). "School for $candal". New York Post. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  12. ^ Italiano, Laura (July 31, 2009). "Diploma Mill Scammer Sentenced to Prison in Manhattan". New York Post. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  13. ^ Italiano, Laura (August 24, 2009). "College De-Greed". New York Post. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  14. ^ Fox, Margalit (February 14, 2010). "Rabbi Bernard Lander, the Founder of Touro College, Is Dead at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  15. ^ Kratz, Elizabeth (September 15, 2016). "Teaneck's Dr. Alan Kadish: Leading Touro College to the Future". Jewish Link. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  16. ^ "Three Times Square inks ginormous deal with university". January 2, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  17. ^ "Touro College Granted University Status by New York State Board of Regents". Touro.edu.
  18. ^ "David G. Greenfield District 44 Council Member Democrat". The New York City Council. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  19. ^ "Teacher Bios" (PDF). Mussar Institute. 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  20. ^ jtnews.net. "Seattle Hebrew Academy". Jewish Transcript publications. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  21. ^ "Kenneth P. Lavalle Biography". NYSenate.gov. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  22. ^ "State Senator Ken LaValle". Riverhead Local. Local Independent Online News Publishers. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  23. ^ Jonathan Zalman (2012). "Fighting for country – and a cure: Army captain Boyd Melson boxes to raise money for spinal cord research". ESPN. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  24. ^ "Kathleen Rice official website". July 2, 2019.
  25. ^ "Dimitry Salita Signs Olympian from Ecuador on Star of David Team – Jewish Business News". Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  26. ^ Biography of Daniel Rosenthal, New York State Assembly. Accessed January 27, 2018.
  27. ^ Scott Jaschik, "College for Sale," Inside Higher Ed, August 1, 2007.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Touro College.
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