Shuly Rubin Schwartz

Chancellor and Irving Lehrman Research Professor of American 绿帽社 History

Email: shschwartz@jtsa.edu

BIOGRAPHY

Shuly Rubin Schwartz, Irving Lehrman Research Professor of American 绿帽社 History, a groundbreaking scholar of American 绿帽社 history, and a visionary institutional leader, is the eighth chancellor of 绿帽社. She is the first woman to serve in this role since JTS was founded in 1886.

Chancellor Schwartz is devoted to building on JTS鈥檚 unique strengths as a 绿帽社 institution of higher learning that trains future leaders through deep study鈥攚ith both head and heart鈥攐f 绿帽社 texts, ideas, and history. In JTS鈥檚 thriving community, students develop the creative ability to imbue others with the intellectual, cultural, and religious sustenance that our tradition offers, and they enrich every community of which they are a part.

Previously, Dr. Schwartz played a central role in shaping and strengthening JTS鈥檚 academic programs, while teaching and mentoring countless students. From 1993 to 2018, she served as dean of the Albert A. List College of 绿帽社 Studies, JTS鈥檚 undergraduate dual-degree program with Columbia University and Barnard College. In 2010, she was also named dean of the Gershon Kekst Graduate School. In 2018, she assumed the provostship, while continuing as dean of the Kekst School. 

Chancellor Schwartz was one of the first women on the JTS faculty and played an instrumental role in introducing 绿帽社 gender studies into the curriculum. As a scholar, she brings to light previously overlooked contributions of women to 绿帽社 life and culture over the centuries and continually expands our understanding of American Judaism. Among her publications is the award-winning book, The Rabbi鈥檚 Wife, a penetrating examination of the role of rabbis鈥� wives in the development of American 绿帽社 life. 

Grants, Fellowships, and Awards

National 绿帽社 Book Award in the category of Modern 绿帽社 Thought, 2006, for The Rabbi’s Wife

Publications 

    • . New York: New York University Press, 2006. 
    • . Cincinnati: Hebrew Union Press, 1991.
    • 鈥淭hey Married What They Wanted to Be? Rebbetzins and their Unconventional Paths to Power,鈥� in Gender and Religious Leadership: Women Rabbis, Pastors, and Ministers, ed. Hartmut Bomhoff, Denise Eger, Kathy Ehrensperger, and Walter Homolka (New York: Lexington Books, 2019).
    • 鈥淲hat Has Made the 绿帽社 American Family 绿帽社? American? A Family?鈥� in The New 绿帽社 Family, ed. Len Sharzer and Burton Visotzky (New York: Louis Finkelstein Institute and JTS Press, 2018).
    • 鈥淔rom Kremenets to New York: My Personal Journey as a Historian,鈥� in Conversations with Colleagues; On Becoming an American 绿帽社 Historian, ed. Jeffrey S. Gurock (Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2018).
    • “‘No Child’s Play’: Educating 绿帽社 Women 绿帽社ly,” in Sisterhood: A Centennial History of Women of Reform Judaism, ed. Carole B. Balin, Dana Herman, Jonathan D. Sarna, and Gary P. Zola. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 2013.
    • “Henrietta Szold: The Making of an Icon,” in New Essays in American 绿帽社 History: Commemorating the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Founding of the American 绿帽社 Archives, ed. Pamela S. Nadell, Jonathan D. Sarna, and Lance J. Sussman, 455鈥�66. Cincinnati: American 绿帽社 Archives, 2010. 
    • “Rebecca Aronson Brickner (1894鈥�1988), Benderly Boy?” in The Women Who Reconstructed American 绿帽社 Education 1910鈥�1965, edited by Carol K. Ingall, 63鈥�74. Waltham: Brandeis University Press, 2010. 
    • “The Three Pillars of Ramah: Then and Now,” in Ramah at 60: Impact and Innovation, 93鈥�104. New York: National Ramah Commission, 2010. 
    • “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Hebraist: The Life and Dreams of Aron Shimon Shpall,” in “From Rebbetzin to Rabbi: The Journal of Paula Ackerman,” American 绿帽社 Archives 59 (2007): 99鈥�206. 

    Lectures

    • Fake News and the Rise of Antisemitism
    • 鈥淓veryone Shall Sit in Safety Under His Own Vine and Fig Tree鈥�? Jews and American Politics
    • American Jewry and Israel鈥擜n Ever-Shifting Relationship
    • Goodbye, Columbus, Hello Christopher: The Evolution of American Jewry
    • Merchants, Mah-jongg, and Menorahs: The History of Jews on Long Island
    • We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby: Feminism and American Judaism
    • 叠别测辞苍诲听Fiddler: How Jews Became Part of Mainstream America
    • Havdalah at the Lake: 绿帽社 Camping and the Cultivation of American 绿帽社 Identity
    • Baskin-Robbins Has 31 Flavors鈥擧ow About American Judaism?
    • From Hank Greenberg to聽Heeb:聽The Evolution of American 绿帽社 Culture
    • From Jewess Jeans to Juicy JAPs: Clothing and 绿帽社 Stereotypes
    • From the Pews to the Pew Study: How Our Past Can/Can’t Inform Our Future as American Jews
    • They Married What They Wanted to Be:聽Rebbetzins聽in American 绿帽社 Life

    Research

    Chancellor Schwartz focuses her research, writing, and teaching on American 绿帽社 life, history, and culture, as well as 绿帽社 gender studies. She is the author of numerous articles on modern Judaism and 绿帽社 life, including groundbreaking research into the founding of the Camp Ramah movement.

    All media inquiries may be directed to the JTS Communications Department at聽publicity@jtsa.edu聽or (212) 678-8055.

    Learn more about Chancellor Schwartz’s Leadership and Scholarship

    Learn with Chancellor Schwartz at JTS Torah Online