IBC to Offer Honors Course: Morning Program will Offer IBC Honors Program

For the first time in its history, the Isaac Breuer College of Hebraic Studies (IBC) will be offering an Honors Classical Jewish History course next spring. This course will be taught by Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Education Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, and will involve a more engaging and demanding workload. The class hopes to attract a cohort of students who desire a more rigorous class as part of their morning program.

The introduction of an Honors course into the IBC program is the result of months of work by Noah Small (YC ‘15), an IBC student who wanted a diverse Jewish Studies curriculum and was not pleased with the current level of IBC courses. Small met at length with Rabbi Yona Reiss, who serves as the Max and Marion Grill Dean of RIETS, and Vice-Provost Schiffman, to discuss his difficulties with IBC and the vision he had to improve it. After showing these administrators that there were over 20 IBC students who wanted challenging courses, Small’s idea was taken into serious consideration. Although Schiffman’s Honors course is listed for Spring 2013 and the administration agreed in principle to create an Honors Program, the fully-fledged program will not be launched this coming spring. Students who are interested in Schiffman’s IBC Honors course should not hesitate to speak to Small, Reiss, or any other IBC administrator.