Baltimore Hebrew University

Baltimore Hebrew University announced yesterday its president will step down after a major donor decided to cut nearly in half its financial support over the next five years. Rela Mintz Geffen, a sociologist, had led the predominantly graduate institution for seven years. Geffen's planned departure comes just weeks after The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore stated it will cut its annual contribution to the university from $1.1 million to $600,000 over the next five years.

Mazel tov. Congratulations. Yiddish 101 in Room 105 lives.Only three students had shown up Monday for the first session of Miriam Isaacs' new credit course, Elementary Yiddish 101, at Baltimore Hebrew University.Vey is mir, said the university's president, Robert O. Freedman. Woe is me. If enrollment doesn't pick up quickly, he said he would cancel the course on the 1,000-year-old language that he and Isaacs say is dying but they want to help save.Suddenly things happened. More than a dozen prospective students called to inquire about attending.

Mazel tov. Congratulations. Yiddish 101 in Room 105 lives.Only three students had shown up Monday for the first session of Miriam Isaacs' new credit course, Elementary Yiddish 101, at Baltimore Hebrew University.Vey is mir, said the university's president, Robert O. Freedman. Woe is me. If enrollment doesn't pick up quickly, he said he would cancel the course on the 1,000-year-old language that he and Isaacs say is dying but they want to help save.Suddenly things happened. More than a dozen prospective students called to inquire about attending.

Following are commencement exercises scheduled in the Baltimore area this week:TodayUniversity of Maryland Baltimore County: Undergraduate exercises, 1 p.m. at Baltimore Arena. Speakers: Donna E. Shalala, U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services; Carl Djerassi, chemist, novelist and inventor of the birth-control pill; and valedictorian Juliana K. Sander.TomorrowThe Johns Hopkins University: Campus- wide ceremony at 9 a.m. in Gilman Quadrangle; speaker, Hopkins President William R. Brody.

DON'T EVEN THINK about dining at a fine restaurant tonight.By the coincidence of scheduling, about 9,000 degrees and certificates will be awarded today by Baltimore colleges and universities. By Education Beat's calculations, this is a record for a single day in the groves of Baltimore academia.Three of the public university giants, Towson State, the University of Maryland Baltimore County and the University of Baltimore, have graduations today, joining Peabody, Baltimore Hebrew University and that 500-pound gorilla, the Johns Hopkins University.

The melting pot boils in America.Where else could you find Jewish schoolchildren playing New York Puerto Ricans who sing their hearts out in Latino-tinged Hebrew?Tonight, eighth-graders at the Krieger Schechter School on Stevenson Road in Pikesville will mount a production of "West Side Story" sung and acted almost entirely in Hebrew.Only such universal phrases as "Hey, Daddy-O" remain in the original English. There is also the occasional "vamanos" ("let's go") retained from the play, which hit Broadway in 1957.

Sidney I. EstersonSchool directorSidney I. Esterson, who headed Hebrew schools in Baltimore, died Wednesday of heart failure at his home in Hallandale, Fla. He was 93.Dr. Esterson was educational director of the Beth Jacob Hebrew school and center from 1948 until his retirement in 1970. From 1925 until 1946, he was principal of the independent Isaac Davidson Hebrew School.For many years, he also taught and was director of the Department of Information and Research at what is now the Baltimore Hebrew University.

An incorrect photo caption appeared Sunday in the Way Back When feature of the Sun Magazine. The woman identified as Jeanette Meyers is actually Mollie Myers.The Sun regrets the errors.Tonight at 7:30 a diamond celebration will take place at thBeth El Congregation in Baltimore County. The honoree? The Baltimore Hebrew University. The school was founded in 1919 by Dr. Israel Efros, a poet-philosopher. It was originally called the Baltimore Hebrew College and Teachers Training School, and its curriculum was, and still is, devoted entirely to Jewish studies.

Rodger Kamenetz, author of last year's acclaimed book about Jewish meditation and mystical teachings, "The Jew in the Lotus," will speak at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Baltimore Hebrew University, 5800 Park Heights Ave.The subject of the Baltimore native's talk is "Facing East: Renewing Jewish Spirituality."As in his book, published by Harper San Francisco, Mr. Kamenetz will describe a meeting that occurred in India between Buddhist leaders and Jewish scholars, including himself, for discussions of spiritual survival in exile.

Norma Fields Furst, president since 1992 of the Baltimore Hebrew University, died yesterday of lung cancer at her home in Wynnewood, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb. She was 64.Dr. Furst commuted from her home to the Northwest Baltimore school, which offers bachelor's and master's degrees and doctorates in Jewish studies.From 1983 to 1992, she was president of Harcum Junior College, a two-year independent institution in Bryn Mawr, Pa., where she began her college teaching career in 1962.She joined the faculty of the College of Education of Temple University in Philadelphia in 1963 and became a full professor before becoming the university's dean of student affairs from 1974 to 1983.

The movers are taking Baltimore Hebrew University apart, clearing faculty offices, piling high the boxes and unplugged computers, rolling up the lobby's Oriental carpet and marking leather chairs with stickers identifying their next stop: "TU." That's Towson University, now officially the new home of BHU's graduate courses and community programs. The Maryland Board of Regents voted unanimously Friday to approve the new partnership, closing one chapter in the life of the 90-year-old institution of Jewish learning and opening another.

The provost of Towson University, James P. Clements, was named the president of West Virginia University yesterday. Clements, 44, has been the chief academic officer at Towson since 2007 and a faculty member since 1989. The grandson of a coal-miner, he was selected unanimously by West Virginia's board of governors yesterday afternoon. He was introduced as the new president at a news conference at the university's Morgantown campus. "He is an accomplished and bright educational leader, and besides that, he's just a good guy," said Carolyn Long, chairwoman of the university's board of governors.

Over its 90-year history, the Baltimore Hebrew University has educated thousands of professionals to serve in Jewish schools, service groups and charitable organizations. And its distinguished scholars, such as Harry Orlinsky, a leading biblical translator and authenticator of the Dead Sea Scrolls, have made important contributions to the world's store of knowledge. But in recent years, BHU has struggled with declining enrollments and an uncertain future. Last year, it registered only 118 students, most of whom were enrolled in its graduate program.

Baltimore Hebrew University, grappling with a long-term decline in enrollment, is in negotiations to become a part of Towson University, officials said. The state Board of Regents has informally indicated its approval of the talks. The plans are not complete, but the heads of both institutions said they believe negotiations will succeed. As part of Towson, Baltimore Hebrew would maintain its identity, said Jonathan Lowenberg, chairman of the board of the 90-year-old college. "Baltimore Hebrew University, as with any number of small universities around the country, faces financial issues and the ability to grow our programs as we think is appropriate," he said.

Herbert I. Scher, an innovator in the plastic laminate industry who was active in Baltimore's arts community, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease May 20 in Boca Raton, Fla. The Pikesville resident was 79. Mr. Scher was born in Cincinnati and attended schools in Rochester, N.Y. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1951 with a degree in chemical engineering and began working as an engineer at National Plastics Products Co....

Rabbi Leivy Smolar, former president of Baltimore Hebrew University and founder of the school's Master of Arts and doctoral degree programs, died Monday of cancer at his home in Richmond, Va. He was 69. "He was really the critical player in professionalizing the staff of the Jewish communal agencies in Baltimore. If one looks around, they are staffed with graduates of Baltimore Hebrew University," said Robert O. Freedman, a past president of the school. Dr. Smolar was born in Ra'anana, Israel.

Baltimore Hebrew University announced yesterday its president will step down after a major donor decided to cut nearly in half its financial support over the next five years. Rela Mintz Geffen, a sociologist, had led the predominantly graduate institution for seven years. Geffen's planned departure comes just weeks after The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore stated it will cut its annual contribution to the university from $1.1 million to $600,000 over the next five years.

With escalating conflicts in the Middle East and a recent attack at a Jewish organization in Seattle, Jewish congregations in the Baltimore area are increasing security measures at synagogues and other buildings. The precautions are being taken as Baltimore police and federal authorities investigate a homemade firebomb made from a beer bottle that ignited after being thrown at a door of a library building at Baltimore Hebrew University on Wednesday. That occurred less than a week after a Muslim gunman burst into the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and opened fire, killing one person and wounding five others.

On February 27, 2005, RUTH L. GITTLEN, 85, beloved wife of the late J. Leon Gittlen, dear mother of Barry (Elaine) Gittlen of Baltimore, MD and the late Joshua Gittlen. Grandmother of Lisa Gittlen, sister of Pearl Kristol. Contributions may be directed to the Gittlen Library Fund, C/O Baltimore Hebrew University, 5800 Park Hgts Ave., Baltimore, MD 21215. Services and Interment were held Sunday. Arrangements with the Ira Kaufman Chapel, 248-569-0020. www.irakaufman.com

Baltimore's federation of Jewish charities will launch a campaign today seeking to raise $100 million over the next two years for a package of new building construction and renovations. The campaign is the most ambitious in the history of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore and marks its first attempt to raise money for only capital construction projects at such places as Baltimore Hebrew University and a social services complex along Park Heights Avenue. "This is a community that has always responded to our needs, and we anticipate a positive result," said Benjamin Greenwald, co-chairman of the campaign and chairman of The Associated's board.