Shana Tova from Dr. Alan Kadish

The arrival of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a time for both reflection and looking forward. At Touro, we enjoyed an extraordinary year, and we have an abundance of accomplishments to be thankful for these last 12 months.

Our students, faculty and staff are excited to return to our busy campuses. This year, we held our ribbon-cutting at our newest campus at 3 Times Square—The Cross River Campus—an impressive, state-of-the-art facility at a prominent location in the heart of Manhattan, which serves as a dynamic monument to Touro’s success and ever-growing reputation. This coming year, the Touro Law Center in Islip, NY, will extend its presence by bringing a new cohort of students to 3 Times Square… and there is ample room to grow.

This past year, we also celebrated a ribbon cutting at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Montana, our newest medical college campus. We will be holding yet another ribbon cutting next month in Middletown, NY, when we unveil our new Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine clinic, which will serve the College’s surrounding rural communities.

The Touro College of Dental Medicine continues to expand in significant ways, too. In March, the College received approval from the Commission on Dental Accreditation to increase enrollment, allowing us to add 100 students per class and nearly double the total number of students in new classes to 210. This expansion will help the school educate more dentists and address current national shortages. After spending their first two years at TCDM’s Valhalla, NY campus, our new dental students will begin their clinical studies—half of these students will continue their studies in New York while the other half will finish their studies in Albuquerque, New Mexico at a newly constructed clinic on the campus of our affiliate, the Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute. In addition, TCDM was approved for a post-graduate program in Orthodontics, which will begin in October.

Our dramatic expansion in health science education saw our first cohort enter Touro’s new PsyD program. In addition, we extended our ever-growing Physician Assistant Program with a new educational program in Chicago.

We have also seen solid growth and progress at our undergraduate programs. There was excellent enrollment at Lander College for Women this year, where we have enhanced the rabbinic staff to provide students with additional support. Simultaneously, at Lander College for Men, the beis medrash is full with the sounds of classic Torah study reverberating throughout the campus. We also extended the College’s effectiveness by adding additional support for our Sephardic students with the appointment of a new Sephardic Rabbinic leader, and we are proudly planning a dedicated Sephardic beis medrash for the school.

Our relationship with the Al-mighty is unique, and we are reminded during Rosh Hashanah that our King is also our Father. As we say in the classic prayer of Avinu Malkanu: אבינוּ מלכּנוּ חדש עלינוּ שנה טובה— “Our Father, our King, renew for us a good year.” All fathers have a special place for their children, so as appreciative as we are for all of the blessings that we have received this year, we are encouraged to reach for more. This has been Touro’s great legacy for more than half a century as we go from strength to strength, and as we recommit to our mission to enhance the Jewish Heritage, impart knowledge and contribute, together, to the benefit of all mankind. As we pause at the beginning of this New Year to thank the Al-mighty, we rededicate ourselves to this important work and our vital mission, collectively and individually, and look forward to even greater opportunities going forward.

Wishing all of you and your families a sweet, successful New Year.

Dr. Alan Kadish
President