History of Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies
A Strong Foundation in Jewish Education
Chicago’s College of Jewish Studies, the predecessor of Spertus Institute, was founded in 1924. In its first year it offered three courses: Jewish history, religion and language. The courses were offered on Tuesday and Thursday nights in rented space on South Michigan Avenue, and students could enroll in all three for the grand sum of $15. The early response was encouraging, and two years later, the College offered four different types of diplomas—Hebrew teacher, Sunday school teacher, club leader, and club supervisor—reflective of its educational and communal mission.
At the time of its founding, the College of Jewish Studies was a division of the Board of Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago (BJE), established with the primary purpose of training teachers and leaders for positions in formal and informal Jewish educational programs. As such, the College was the first American Jewish teacher training school established west of Philadelphia. Its founding president, Dr. Alexander Dushkin, was Superintendent of the BJE and a pioneer in American Jewish education. Dr. Dushkin later established the Department of Education at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
In its first years, the College served primarily first generation immigrants. As this generation was succeeded by their American born children and grandchildren, the College expanded its offerings in response to growing educational, cultural, and professional expectations, all centered around an essential core: the study of Judaism.
In the 1940s, under the leadership of Dr. Leo Honor (president from 1929-1945) and Rabbi Samuel Blumenfield (president from 1945 to 1954), the identity of the College as an institution distinct from the Board of Jewish Education began to emerge. In 1942, the College of Jewish Studies was authorized to grant degrees by the Illinois Department of Education. In 1944, the Board of Jewish Education authorized the College to have its own charter and Board of Governors. In its charter, issued in 1945, the institutional mission was defined as “Maintaining and operating a College in which youths and adults may receive an education on a college and post graduate level in…any subject relating to Jews and Judaism.” This represented an expansion of the College’s original mission of being primarily a teachers’ training institution. In 1946, the College moved to 72 E. 11th Street, a building that had been a World War II U.S.O. site.
From the 1940s until the 1960s, the College served as the central institution in Chicago and in the American Midwest for the training of Jewish educators and as the central institution in Chicago for Hebrew culture, thereby expressing the ideology of Cultural Zionism that characterized its early history, programs, and curricula. By 1948, a Department of Graduate Studies offering bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees had been initiated. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, cantors and choir directors were trained for synagogues through its Institute for Jewish Music. From the 1940s until the mid 1960s, the College operated a summer camp, Camp Sharon, and initiated and substantially expanded Continuing Education programs in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Many renowned refugee scholars from Nazi-occupied Europe served on the Spertus faculty during these years, including Fritz Bamberger, Nahum N. Glatzer, Simon Rawidowicz, and Moses Shulvass. Drs. Rawidowicz and Glatzer went on to establish the Jewish Studies Department at Brandeis University. Distinguished scholar of Hebrew literature Simon Halkin served on the faculty from 1940 to 1943 and noted historian Abraham G. Duker served as president from 1956 to 1962.
A Comprehensive Center of Jewish Learning and Culture
In response to the needs of the community, two new divisions—Spertus Museum and the Asher Library —were added to the College, laying the platform for today’s multifaceted center of Jewish learning and culture.
In 1968, entrepreneur and philanthropist Maurice Spertus donated his world-class collection of Jewish ceremonial objects to the College of Jewish Studies, ensuring the collection’s stewardship and making it available for study and enjoyment. With this gift, Spertus Museum was founded.
Maurice Spertus’ brother and business partner Herman was also an ardent supporter of the College of Jewish Studies. In 1970, the organization was renamed Spertus College to honor the Spertus family’s generosity.
In 1974, Spertus moved from its longtime location at 72 E. 11th Street to the former IBM headquarters at 618 S. Michigan Avenue. In conjunction with the move, the Asher Library, established in the mid-1930s, was renamed in 1974 in honor of the generosity of Norman and Helen Asher. Norman Asher, a leading Chicago attorney who studied Bible and Talmud, recognized the need for a first class Jewish library to serve the Chicago community and he and his wife created an endowment to support this. Today the Asher Library is one of North America’s largest Jewish libraries.
In 1971, Spertus College was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools as a bachelor’s degree-granting institution. Accreditation at the master’s and doctoral levels followed in 1976 and 1992, respectively. Also in 1971, Spertus College started the first college level course in the Midwest in Holocaust Studies, followed in 1975 by Spertus Museum’s development of the Bernard and Rochelle Zell Holocaust Memorial, the first in North America and an important resource for Chicago-area teachers and students. Out of these initiatives grew the Bernard and Rochelle Zell Center for Holocaust Studies at Spertus, which today supports Holocaust education and programming across an array of disciplines.
During these years, David Weinstein (1964 to 1980 and 1982 to 1984) and David W. Silverman (1980 to 1982) served as president.
Dr. Howard A. Sulkin became the organization’s seventh president in 1984. Under his 25 years of leadership, Spertus expanded in both the diversity and number of people it serves through its educational and cultural offerings. A range of programming was adding to foster learning through both traditional means and through the arts.
During this period, Spertus forged partnerships and collaborative relationships with other important organizations—in the Jewish world, the art and academic communities, and with those pursuing interfaith understanding. For example, in 1987, The Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Center for the Study of Eastern European Jewry was developed by Spertus and the Archdiocese of Chicago to promote interfaith theological and academic dialogue. Other ongoing programmatic partners include.
In 1993, Spertus College officially became Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, its new name reflecting its multidisciplinary identity and its multifaceted approach to the study of the Jewish experience.
Spertus for the 21st Century
In 2007, after years of planning and fundraising, an innovative new Spertus building—designed by Chicago’s Krueck & Sexton Architects to serve the growing needs of Spertus students and visitors—was opened at 610 S. Michigan Avenue. The new building, which has been awarded an array of prestigious architectural and civic awards, houses Spertus College, the Asher Library, and Spertus Museum, as well as the state-of-the-art Feinberg Theater for live performance and film, the innovative Gray Children’s Center, space for community events and celebrations, kosher catering facilities, and a comprehensive book and gift shop.
Spertus College today offers accredited Master’s degree programs in Jewish Studies, Jewish Education, Jewish Professional Studies, and Nonprofit Management, and Doctoral degree programs in Jewish Studies. Distance learning options serve students in 38 U.S. states and nine foreign countries. In addition to the degree programs, a wide range of innovative continuing education and public programming is offered, including lectures, workshops, author events, discussions, films, and live performance.
Spertus Museum has developed into a world class Jewish museum, which in addition to housing a 15,000-piece collection of Jewish art and artifacts, initiates and presents thought-provoking exhibits, art commissions, and programs that engage visitors in the richness and complexity of Jewish history, culture, and identity.
The Asher Library today houses more than 110,000 fiction and non-fiction books plus extensive collections of music, films on video and DVD, rare books, maps, periodicals, and electronic resources, all focusing on Jewish subject matter for the broadest range of interests. The library staff responds to more than 7,000 information queries annually from around the globe. The Asher Library also collects and protects the historical material of Chicago Jewish families, individuals, and organizations under the auspices of the Chicago Jewish Archives.
In July 2009, Spertus named Dr. Hal M. Lewis, an expert on Jewish organizational leadership, its eighth president. About his appointment, Chair of the Spertus Board of Trustees Donna Barrows said: “We are honored to have Hal Lewis accept this position. Like Spertus, his areas of expertise encompass the breadth and depth of the contemporary Jewish experience. He brings an expert’s perspective on leadership and organizational planning, something that is critical to all educational and cultural organizations at this time of change in the economic and business environments. Because he has the rare distinction of having been a Spertus student, faculty member, program officer, and administrator, he has a unique understanding of our organization’s specific strengths and challenges, as well as what Spertus means to those we serve.”
Appealing to a variety of audiences and enabled through the dedicated efforts of its many friends and supporters, Spertus today serves both scholarly learners and those pursuing knowledge for its own sake. Spertus serves people of all backgrounds, locally and around the world, through a tremendous wealth of programs, educational opportunities, and cultural offerings. Through its offerings, Spertus provides opportunities for lifelong learning, builds leadership and community responsibility, and enhances understanding of the Jewish experience
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