Gratz Welcomes Two New Members of Our Board of Governors

MELROSE PARK, Pa.—Gratz College has welcomed two prestigious educators as members of its Board of Governors.

In separate meetings earlier this year, Zipora Schorr, Ed.D., and R. Owen Williams, Ph.D., were appointed to the board, which has primary responsibility for oversight of the college. The appointments bring board membership to 25 and expand the board’s professional and geographic diversity.

“It’s exciting to have such accomplished educators join the Gratz Board,” said Dr. Paul Finkelman, president of Gratz College. “Both of our new board members bring years of educational experience and scholarly accomplishment to the board.”

Schorr, director of education for Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School in Baltimore, Md., earned her Ed.D. in educational leadership from Gratz College. In 2003, Schorr received the prestigious Covenant Foundation Award for Exceptional Jewish Educators, and in 2013 she received the Award for Educational Excellence in the Diaspora from the World Council for Torah Education.

“I first came to Gratz as a student looking for a school that combined my passions: educational leadership and Jewish studies,” Schorr said. “When I was asked to be on the board, I was impressed by the depth of the people I would be working with. I felt like I could help Gratz grow its footprint.”

Williams, who holds a Ph.D. in history from Yale University, is president of the Associated Colleges of the South and makes his home in Atlanta, Ga. He brings substantial experience in both finance and college administration.

Williams has the distinction of being the first non-Jewish member of the Gratz Board of Governors.

“I am not Jewish, but I’m deeply interested in Jewish history and current affairs,” he said. “To be invited to be a member of the Board of Governors is an enormous honor.

The Board of Governors supports as many as 30 members. Individuals are nominated by the college president or existing board members. After a vetting process, members are asked to join the board for three-year terms.

The board, which meets six times per year, selects the president of the college and establishes policies related to governance, course of studies and management of the college's resources and assets. 

The appointments of the new members come as Gratz expands its Jewish learning opportunities and grows its academic repertoire. In 2017, it launched the country’s first online Ph.D. program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, which attracts students and faculty from around the globe. In early 2018, Gratz launched on online M.A. in Interfaith Leadership.

Williams said Gratz’s focus on both Jewish history and interfaith dialogue sets it up as an academic leader in areas that are important on a global scale.

“The Jewish story is a central element of the human story, and as a historian, that interests me a great deal. As a human, it interests me even more,” he said. “From my perspective, the idea of a Jewish college for Jewish students is less important than a Jewish college for the purpose of understanding Jewish history. I’m extremely enthusiastic about an integrated understanding of the human story and condition. I think it’s imperative that the Jewish story in all its glory and trial be properly recounted and understood.”

Gratz also continues to operate a Jewish community high school and offer adult Jewish learning courses. Schorr, who has decades of experience in the Jewish day school and leadership communities, called Gratz a “beautiful little secret” with a mission to expand its reach.

“Gratz has some work to do in making itself a more visible presence in the Jewish education world,” she said. “It is a gem that can absolutely grow its footprint. It is a truly unique and valuable place of higher learning that should appeal to a much broader range of interested students, and at the same time attract

“Gratz has some work to do in making itself a more visible presence in the Jewish education world,” she said. “It is a gem that can absolutely grow its footprint. It is a truly unique and valuable place of higher learning that should appeal to a much broader range of interested students.”