(Courtesy of YU) Inspired by the living legacy of Sen. Joseph Lieberman as a model of faith and civility across the political aisle, Yeshiva University has established the Senator Joseph Lieberman-Mitzner Center for Public Service and Advocacy. Founded with a $10 million gift from YU’s chairman of the board of trustees Ira Mitzner and his family, the program will educate the next generation of public servants and advocates, preparing and empowering students to improve the world through leadership on a local, national and international scale.
“With his faith and unwavering dedication to public service,” said Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, president and rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva University. “Sen. Lieberman epitomizes the core Torah values of Yeshiva University and is the primary exemplar of a Jewish leader of enormous accomplishment who proudly brings his faith into the public square. The Lieberman-Mitzner Center aspires to nurture the next generation of leaders and instill within them the passion, competencies and vision needed to be leaders of tomorrow. For our students to have Senator Lieberman as a mentor during their formative years is a singular educational opportunity.”
Deeply rooted in Jewish values and tradition, the Lieberman-Mitzner Center is currently recruiting serious, civically minded high school honors students who have demonstrated a commitment to Jewish advocacy and public service for the intense, values-based leadership cohort experience.
The students selected into this elite program will receive honors scholarships, mentorships, internships, networking opportunities, access to high level public officials and special programming for Israel advocacy.
“In many ways, I would say Judaism called me into public service,” said Lieberman. “We are God’s partners in improving — and hopefully, one day, perfecting — all that God created.”
Dr. Sharon Poczter, YU’s chair of the strategy and entrepreneurship department at the Sy Syms School of Business, will serve as the center’s founding director. With a long-held passion for public advocacy, “I am very pleased that Dr. Sharon Poczter has agreed to serve as the center’s founding director,” said Ira Mitzner, chairman of YU and founder of the Lieberman-Mitzner Center. “In partnership with Sen. Lieberman, Dr. Poczter will have the guidance and inspiration needed to help make the center’s vision a reality.”
“From the halls of Congress to the YU classroom, Sen. Lieberman has long demonstrated a commitment to the values we hold dear at Yeshiva University,” said Dr. Selma Botman, YU provost and vice president for academic affairs. “His personal warmth, passionate patriotism, and depth of devotion to embodying the very best of the Jewish tradition of statesmanship ensure that all those educated by the Lieberman-Mitzner Center, shaped in his image, will be deeply enriched by the experience.”
The Lieberman-Mitzner Scholars is just one of many substantial and life-changing leadership cohort experiences offered by YU. From aspiring politicians, doctors and scientific researchers to promising Torah scholars and community activists, Yeshiva University is educating tomorrow’s leaders.
