Yeshiva University (YU) announced Thursday that it is unifying the undergraduate faculties of Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women, in a large step made to improve the education provided by the school.
YU notes that the campuses and classes will remain separate, although the faculty will combine its resources, and Dr. Karen Bacon will serve as the Dean of the Undergraduate Faculty of Arts and Science.
"The faculty, individually and collectively, are the lifeblood of this critical institution and we will now advance to right-size the administrative parts of the university,” said YU President Richard M. Joel. “For several years, we have been discussing the need for a more unified undergraduate faculty of arts and science."
Discussing the selection of Bacon, he added "Dean Bacon is a valued educator of integrity and has served with distinction in the highest levels of academic leadership - I look to her and all our faculty to continue to exercise their prerogative in shaping what is a fine curriculum still further.”
The faculty at the two colleges are to work jointly over the next three years to create unified departments and curricula, and increase collaborations between the campuses.
"This new model represents an important change in the way we function and the way our students can derive even more value from their YU experience,” said President Joel.
Bacon remarked on the new endeavor and explained "my entire career as an administrator has been shaped by my respect for faculty and the academic enterprise and by an appreciation for the difference a first-rate education can make in a student’s life."
"A unified undergraduate liberal arts faculty, collaborating and innovating, has the potential to fashion a Yeshiva University education that is even stronger than it is today. I feel honored to have a role in actualizing this next stage in the development of Yeshiva University," added Bacon, who will serve as dean for three years, with the aid of associate deans at each college.
Another shift occurring is that Yeshiva College Dean Barry Eichler is to retire in June, when he intends to take a sabbatical before returning to teaching and research.
"Dean Eichler has invested his heart and soul into Yeshiva College after assuming the deanship at my request,” said President Joel. “We are honored to have him return to teaching, which is his first love.”