Cleveland College of Jewish Studies

The Cleveland College of Jewish Studies is a non-denominational institution of higher Jewish learning supported by the Jewish community of Cleveland, Ohio. Accredited by the state of Ohio, degree programs in Judaic studies are offered, as are lifelong learning programs on Jewish topics for adults. In 1947, two Cleveland institutions founded in the 1920s, the Jewish Teachers Institute and the Beth Midrash L'Morim (Hebrew Teacher Training School), merged to form the Cleveland Institute of Jewish Studies, under the auspices of the Bureau of Jewish Education. In 1952, the Cleveland Institute of Jewish Studies became an independent agency. Through the initiative of Rebecca Aronson Brickner, the institute became known as the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies in 1963. It shared space with the Bureau of Jewish Education in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, before occupying its own building in Beachwood, Ohio.

From the description of Cleveland College of Jewish Studies records, 1927-2000. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 45954999

The Cleveland College of Jewish Studies (f. 1952) is a non-denominational institution of higher Jewish learning supported by the Jewish community of Cleveland, Ohio. Accredited by the state of Ohio, degree programs in Judaic studies are offered at the undergraduate and graduate level, and there are lifelong learning programs on Jewish topics for adults.

During the 1920s, rabbis Abba Hillel Silver, Louis Wolsey, and Solomon Goldman founded the Jewish Teachers Institute to train Sunday school teachers. Abraham H. Friedland founded the Beth Midrash L'Morim (Hebrew Teacher Training School) in 1925. In 1947 these two schools were merged into the Cleveland Institute of Jewish Studies, under the auspices of the Bureau of Jewish Education.

In 1952 the Cleveland Institute of Jewish Studies became an independent agency. Through the initiative of Rebecca Aronson Brickner, the institute became known as the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies in 1963. It shared space with the Bureau of Jewish Education at 2030 South Taylor Road in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, before occupying its own building at 26500 Shaker Boulevard, Beachwood, Ohio.

The Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1952 as the Cleveland Institute of Jewish Studies which later became the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies. It is a non-denominational institution of higher Jewish learning supported by the Jewish community of Cleveland, Ohio. Accredited by the state of Ohio, the college offered degree programs in Judaic studies at the undergraduate and graduate level and lifelong learning programs for adults on Jewish topics. In 2012 Siegal College and Case Western Reserve University announced that they had combined their adult education programs into a new initiative, the Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at Case Western Reserve University.

One of several transdenominational schools founded by Jewish communities in the United States to train educators in Jewish schools in the early twentieth century, Siegal College combines academic rigor and community outreach. The college grew out of several earlier initiatives to provide advanced Judaic studies in Cleveland. In the 1920s, Rabbis Abba Hillel Silver, Louis Wolsey, and Solomon Goldman founded the Jewish Teachers Institute to train Sunday school teachers. Abraham H. Friedland founded the Beth Midrash L'Morim (Hebrew Teacher Training School) in 1925. In 1947 these two schools were merged into the Cleveland Institute of Jewish Studies, under the patronage of the Bureau of Jewish Education.

In 1952 the Cleveland Institute of Jewish Studies became an independent agency, and in 1963 it became known as the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies. The school shared space with the Bureau of Jewish Education at 2030 South Taylor Road in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, before occupying its own building at 26500 Shaker Boulevard in Beachwood, Ohio. In 2002, the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies underwent another name change. To honor benefactors Laura and Alvin Siegal, the college was renamed the Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies.

The college advanced several other initiatives in addition to their degree programs. The Cleveland Fellows Program (1990-1996) was a prestigious two-year advanced degree program for Jewish educators, which included guaranteed placement in a local temple or school upon graduation. Akiva High School (f. 1967), an after-school program in Judaic studies and Hebrew language for high school students, was offered at the college with the participation of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland the local Jewish Federation. Hebrew students could often receive foreign language credit in public high schools through Akiva. In the mid-1990s, the college began a distance learning program, with classes taught to students in Milwaukee through video conference. The program later expanded to include branches in Atlanta, Kansas City, Houston, and Dallas. In order to keep up with changing trends in educations, in the mid-2000s this program developed into a much larger distance learning program, which utilized live, interactive desktop and video learning to bring together educators from around the globe with Jewish educators and students in Cleveland.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies

From the guide to the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies Records, 1927-2000, (Western Reserve Historical Society)