A Message from
President Dr. Robert Wexler

Each year, I am invited to meet with a group of undergraduate leaders who represent the most active segment of our undergraduate population.

I must confess that it is not always easy finding an appropriate topic. But as the day of our encounter approached, inspiration did strike. I decided to engage the students in a discussion of ethical values by presenting to them a series of moral dilemmas. This emphasis on ethics already pervades many of AJU’s business and management programs thanks to an endowment established by Arnold and Pat Gittelson.

I already had a pretty good idea of what kind of moral dilemmas would resonate with these students, so I started with the hypothetical case of an AJU student club president who took $1500 of AJU funds to pay her rent after she lost her part-time job as a tutor. She soon found another job and was now confessing her wrongdoing to the student body treasurer with a promise to pay all the funds back.

A very lively discussion of the case ensued among our students. Most interesting was the fact that opinions appeared to divide by gender. Our female students tended to urge that the young woman be forgiven, since she was an exemplary student and was prepared to pay the money back. Most of the male students, however, argued that the young woman could no longer be trusted and must be at least reprimanded for her transgression.

I found it fascinating to see how our students grappled with the various issues implied in the scenarios I presented. At the end of the session, I was feeling both frustrated and exhilarated: frustrated, because, as AJU president, I would not have many chances to interact in this way with these remarkable students; and exhilarated, because I was proud of the caliber of our students, proud of their ethical insights, and proud of their dual commitments to compassion and justice.

AJU Joins Forces with
Multi-Ethnic Nonprofit Organizations

From left to right: Noelle Ito, Little Tokyo Service Center; Enrique Aranda, Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF); Angela Winston, Los Angeles Urban League; Yuhadhi Sundaramoothy, Our Savior Center; Andres Gonzales, Watts/Century Latino Organizing Committee

The days of the “mom and pop” nonprofit are over. The commitment to making the world a better place is no longer enough because today’s growing nonprofit sector demands a solid grounding in business and managerial skills. The Master’s of Business Administration in Nonprofit Management program at AJU is taking the lead in supplementing heart with substance, and is graduating its students into leadership positions across the nonprofit arena.

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The Jewish Perspective
on Stem Cell Research

Dr. Elliot N. Dorff, Rector and
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy

In contrast to the Roman Catholic Church and the Bush Administration, all denominations of Judaism are deeply committed to embryonic stem cell research for the substantial cures it may well produce for some of our most devastating diseases. What are stem cells? Most cells in our bodies reproduce themselves very rapidly (e.g., skin cells) and some much more slowly (e.g., bone cells). Some cells do not reproduce at all (e.g., brain cells and the eggs in a woman’s ovaries).

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Camp Ramah Hosts Israeli Children
Who have Suffered Loss

This past summer, Camp Ramah of California welcomed to their site in Ojai, 39 Israeli children who have suffered the loss of a parent or sibling in military service. This wonderful program, entitled Moreshet, which means Legacy in Hebrew, is sponsored by Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces (FIDF), and gives Bar and Bat Mitzvah aged kids who have endured this heartbreak a summer to remember.

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AJU Partners with JTN

American Jewish University (AJU) and Jewish Television Network Productions (JTN) have becomepartners in an effort to provide the Jewish community with access to a greater array of academic, cultural and spiritual elements of Jewish civilization.

The joint venture was launched with the taping of the ever popular trial of a biblical character, where the public gets to be the jury, presented annually by AJU’s Whizin Center.

This year, the case of The People vs. Pinchas, had all of the elements of extraordinary courtroom drama as outstanding litigating attorneys, Laurie Levenson and Erwin Chemerinsky, argued their case before Judge Joseph Wapner.

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Summer Visitors Welcomed to AJU

Israeli Dancing in
Colen Conference Hall

This past summer, like every summer when our students return home for vacation, the dorms and meeting rooms were constantly abuzz with activities from various groups. Some days it was teenagers like B’nai B’rith Youth and Young Judaea Scholars. Other days it was teachers from Tal Am or the Bureau of Jewish Education who were enjoying our panoramic views of the Santa Monica Mountains and the San Fernando Valley. Teens and adults equally enjoy the tranquil setting of Auerbach Student Union and Colen Conference Hall which is conducive to working as well as socializing.

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University Events

December

12/02: Abraham Foxman, ADL National Director, 2:00pm

12/11: An Evening with Chava Alberstein, 8:00pm

12/16: The Comedy of Mark Russell at Brandeis-Bardin Campus, 4:00pm

12/16: Platt Gallery Public Reception, 3-5:00pm

January

01/13: Women’s League Concert of Women Cantors "A Day of Study and Song"

01/14: Prime Minister Tony Blair at Universal Studios, 7:30pm

01/15: University Women’s Young Artists Concert and Lunch, 11:00am

01/22: University Women’s Lecture on Jewelry Houses of the World, 10:30am-Noon

01/25: Dinner and Lecture by Alan Dershowitz at Brandeis-Bardin Campus, 7:30pm

01/27: The Music of Irving Berlin, 7:30pm

More Continuing Education events

Support AJU

Charitable Gift Annuities

Platt Gallery Opening
Frederick R. Weisman Collection
December 2 through February 10, 2008

Introduction to Judaism
An educational journey for those interested in learning more about Jewish history, life and culture