Touro Appoints New President and Chancellor

The Board of Trustees of Touro College and Touro University today announced the appointment of Alan Kadish, M.D. as president and chief executive officer, and Rabbi Doniel Lander, son of Touro founder Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, to the position of chancellor. Plans for formal convocation ceremonies will be announced soon.
In succeeding Dr. Lander, Dr. Kadish becomes only the second president in Touro’s history. Dr. Lander founded Touro 40 years ago and led the institution through tremendous growth until his recent passing.

As chancellor, Rabbi Lander’s role will be to perpetuate and preserve the legacy of his father. Presently, Rabbi Lander is dean of the Institute for Advanced Talmudic Studies at Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim, in Queens, a position he will continue to hold.

“We are proud to name Dr. Alan Kadish to succeed Dr. Lander as president and CEO of Touro College, and Rabbi Lander to the post of chancellor,” said Dr. Mark Hasten, chairman of the Board of Trustees, in making the announcement. “In the spirit of our beloved and respected founder, Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, we wish to ensure the continuity and well-being of future generations at Touro. They will provide strong leadership as Touro College moves forward into this new phase of our development with confidence and vigor.”

Touro is the largest Jewish-sponsored educational institution in the United States. Founded in 1970 as a small men’s college, Touro has expanded broadly since its inception and today educates approximately 17,500 students at 29 schools and colleges in several states and overseas. A pioneer in Jewish education, The Touro system is engaged locally, nationally and worldwide in promoting academic excellence, egalitarian values, tolerance and the well-being of others through quality educational programs and community engagement.

As president and CEO, Dr. Kadish has overall administrative responsibility for the Touro system, which includes numerous colleges in New York, Florida, California and campuses abroad - as well as Touro University California and Touro University Nevada.

“Since he joined Touro last year as senior provost and COO, I have been fortunate to have worked closely with Dr. Kadish, and I have the utmost confidence in his leadership abilities, which are extraordinary,” said Rabbi Lander. “I am deeply grateful that he has embraced the opportunity to apply his energy and enthusiasm to help lead Touro into the next century.”

Said Dr. Kadish: “I am honored to be appointed president and CEO of Touro College by the Board of Trustees, and to have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of a great leader. I look forward to pursuing Touro’s important mission, and to continuing our tradition of providing quality education to secular and Jewish students across the globe.”

Dr. Kadish stressed the importance of working to help ensure that all students enter the workforce prepared to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive economic climate armed with the skills and resources provided by a Touro education. He also noted that Touro has become an important school for the study of health sciences and said he looks forward to moving Touro’s geographically distinct medical programs into leadership roles in American medicine.

Currently, Touro operates two colleges of pharmacy, three colleges of osteopathic medicine, and graduate schools and colleges in health sciences in several states, including California, Nevada and New York. In December, Touro entered into an agreement to affiliate with New York Medical College, a 150-year-old allopathic medical school in upstate New York. In addition to its health sciences programs, Touro operates numerous other graduate schools in a variety of fields including business, education, psychology, social work, Jewish Studies, and the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center.

Dr. Kadish joined Touro from Northwestern University in September 2009, as senior provost and chief operating officer. At Northwestern University, he was a prominent cardiologist on the national stage, and served on the faculty and as an administrator for the previous 19 years. He has worked as a teacher, research scholar and scientist, and clinician. He held numerous senior-level administrative positions at Northwestern, and also at the University of Michigan, where he had various appointments prior to joining Northwestern. A prolific researcher and writer, he has written extensively in his field, authoring over 300 peer-reviewed papers and contributing to several textbooks.

He received his M.D. degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University and his postdoctoral medical training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a fellow in cardiology. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and cardiac electrophysiology.

ADR Society Client Counseling Competition Results

On Tuesday, October 27, the Alternate Dispute Resolution Society held their intra-school Client Counseling Competition. Thirteen student teams competed and the teams of: Brian Shupak and Lisa Catapano; Pallvi Babbar and Bella Borukhova; Brandon Kopcienski and David Adhami; and Dan Wilkens and Tripti Singh advanced to the final rounds which were held on Thursday, October 29. Brian Shupak and Lisa Catapano placed first and Dan Wilkens and Tripti Singh placed second and will go on to represent Touro Law School at the Regional Client Counseling Competition that will be held at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Yeshiva University, New York, N.Y.

Thank you to all of our volunteers, alumni, competitors, Lane Bubka and the entire ADR E-Board who helped to make this competition possible.

New Year Message from Dean Raful

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi met Elijah the Prophet and asked him, "When will the Messiah come?" The Prophet answered, "Go and ask him. He sits at the entrance to the city, among the poor and the lepers." The Rabbi asked, "How will I recognize him?" Elijah replied, "The lepers untie all bandages at once, and rebandage each separately, while he unties and rebandages each separately, thinking ‘Should it be the appointed time for my appearance, I must not be delayed.’” So Rabbi Joshua went to the place and greeted him, "Peace upon thee, Master and Teacher." The Messiah replied, "Peace upon you, son of Levi." "When will you come?" asked Rabbi Joshua. He replied, "Today." Rabbi Joshua returned to meet Elijah, and the Prophet asked, "What did he say to you?" The rabbi said, "Surely he was joking with me, for he said he would come today, and yet he has not." Elijah answered him, "This is what he said to you: I will come today, if you hear my voice. The Messiah is waiting to be called." (Mishnah Sanhedrin 98a.)

Much of the liturgy of the coming High Holiday prayers discusses the coming of Messiah. Perhaps it will be in this new year, 5770 in the Jewish calendar that the Messiah will come and peace will reign across the earth. But the story reflects that famous saying: the Messiah will come the day after he arrives. In other words, the Messiah will come only when we-each of us prepares the world for the coming of peace. The Messiah will come and peace will reign only if we listen to that voice telling us that we must work for peace in our lifetime, that we cannot put it off even for a day.

I wish for each of you a holiday season of happiness and inspiration, of a coming year of health and fulfillment, and a year that we can work together and achieve together the days of peace.

Shana tova!

Dean Lawrence Raful

Touro Law Welcomes Two New Full-Time Faculty Members

Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center has announced the hiring of two new full-time faculty members this year: Tamara Relis, Assistant Professor of Law and Joan Foley, Assistant Professor of Legal Process.

Tamara Relis joins Touro Law from the Department of Law of the London School of Economics (LSE). She holds a Ph.D. in law from the LSE, where she will continue as a post doctoral research fellow. Dr. Relis also earned an LL.M. degree with Merit from the LSE, specializing in procedural law, and an LL.B. degree from the University of London.

Dr. Relis is currently conducting a large-scale three-year empirical study on formal court and informal justice processing of international human rights violation cases of violence against women in India. She is a barrister, with experience in trial court practice, as well as having qualified as a solicitor, working primarily in litigation. She will be teaching Evidence in the Fall 2009 semester.

Prior to joining the Touro Law faculty in 2009, Joan Foley taught at the University of Washington School of Law from 2007 to 2009. From 2000 through 2006, she was a partner at the law firm of Gordon Thomas Honeywell in Seattle, Washington. Her practice focused on complex litigation, appellate litigation, and environmental litigation. Professor Foley graduated from the New York University School of Law. She interned at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, New York County District Attorney's Office, and Evergreen Legal Services.

Professor Foley was named a "Rising Star of Washington Law 2007" in Law & Politics Magazine. She was named a Chapter Member of the Year by Washington Women Lawyers in 1997. She will be teaching Legal Process courses to first-year and upper-level students.

We welcome Tamara Relis and Joan Foley to the Touro Law Community! To read the full press release, click here.

Touro Law Center Welcomes New Members to the Board of Governors

Touro Law Center is pleased to announce that Frank MacKay, National Chairman and New York State Chairman of the Independence Party, and Jeffrey Starr, Executive Vice President and Chief Counsel for Capital One, N.A., have joined the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors, chaired by Howard M. Stein, a partner at Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP, includes approximately 45 members and has had a significant role in the development of the law center.

In 1995, Frank MacKay became an organizer in Ross Perot’s run for the Presidency and became active in local third party politics. By the year 2000, at the age of 31, MacKay became the youngest State Chairman of a political party in New York State history, and has been re-elected as State Chair of the Independence Party of New York five times. The Independence Party has grown significantly under his leadership – it is the largest third party political organization in the nation with more than 350,000 members.

Jeffrey Starr is currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Counsel for Capital One, N.A. He joined Capital One in 2006 with its acquisition of North Fork Bank. Starr served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at North Fork Bank from 1997 until the 2006 acquisition. Prior to that, he was employed by Wickham, Wickham & Bressler for five years acting as legal advisor to North Fork. Jeff began his legal career in the Los Angeles office at Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey with a focus on labor and employment law matters. He then spent four years at the New York firm of Lord Day & Lord, Barrett Smith as an associate specializing in corporate and real estate transactions.

To read the full press release, please click here.

Senator Foley Announces $50,000 Grant to Create Foreclosure & Bankruptcy Clinic at Touro Law Center

Senator Brian X. Foley (D – Blue Point) was joined by administrators from Touro Law Center and community leaders as he helped launch a major initiative to take on the foreclosure crisis in Suffolk County. Foley announced that he has successfully secured a $50,000 grant to create the Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Law Clinic at Touro Law Center.

The Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Law Clinic at Touro Law Center will serve residents from Central Islip – one of the areas hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis – and the surrounding communities of Suffolk County. The clinic will pair exceptional law students specializing in foreclosure and bankruptcy law with faculty supervisors who will offer free-of-charge legal services to local residents. Clients for the law clinic will include home owners in danger of losing their homes, individuals filing for bankruptcy, and people who have received notices from their bank.

“I am proud to announce that I’ve been able to secure $50,000 in funding for this extremely important initiative in combating home foreclosures,” said Foley, who is Chairman of the powerful Senate Banking Committee. “We need to stand up for Long Islanders who are facing the brunt of this economic crisis. The Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Law Clinic at Touro Law Center will assist families right here in Suffolk County and help alleviate the foreclosure crisis on a local level.”

“We are immensely grateful to Senator Foley for recognizing the importance of this new initiative and securing the funding to make it possible,” said Dean Lawrence Raful of the Touro Law Center. “This clinic will enable Touro Law students to help some of the most vulnerable citizens in our local community while providing valuable skills training in a vital area of the law.”

PHOTO CAPTION: From left to right: Touro Law Center Dean Lawrence Raful, Central Islip Civic Council Executive Director Nancy Manfredonia and Senator Brian X. Foley.

Touro Takes Top Honors at NCBA Moot Court Competition

For the third year in a row the student Moot Court team from Touro Law Center defeated teams from CUNY School of Law at Queens College, Hofstra Law School and St. John’s Law School to win the Nassau County Bar Association (NCBA) Moot Court Competition. In the final round, Touro, competing against a very polished team from CUNY, argued in front of a distinguished panel of jurists including Justice Leonard Austen of the Appellate Division Second Department.

Second year students Scott MacLagan and Jessica Mannix demonstrated impressive command of the law and the facts and, in a very close round, went on to win the competition. Second place went to the CUNY School of Law at Queens College Team of Yvette Rosario, Kyung S. Auh and Reka Bala, who also won the Honorable Edward J. Hart Award for best oral argument. The Eugene S.R. Pagano Esq. Award for best written brief went to the St. John’s Law School team of James Walsh and Andrew Schiavone.

The entire Touro Law Center community is very proud of the Moot Court team’s accomplishments – congratulations to the winners!

Touro Named One of the 10 Most Innovative Law Schools

The National Jurist and preLaw magazines have named Touro Law Center as one of the 10 most innovative law schools in the United States. The story is featured in the Winter 2009 edition of preLaw and the January 2009 edition of the National Jurist. Touro was chosen as part of this list for its innovative Court Observation Program, as well as the William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center.

“It is quite an honor to be chosen as one of the most innovative law schools in the country,” said Dean Lawrence Raful. “At Touro, we work hard to ensure our students are receiving the best possible legal education and that our graduates are proud of their law school.”

To read the article, please click here.

Touro Law PAC Featured in NYLJ

The New York Law Journal's Tom Adcock wrote a Back Page feature article on Touro Law Center’s Public Advocacy Center. The article covers how the Center came to be at Touro Law, some of the work our students are doing within the Center and how Touro Law obtained funding for the Center through the generosity of the Hearst Foundation. Below is a portion of the article. To read the full article, log on the New York Law Journal’s web site.


Touro's Public Advocacy Center Benefits Students, Community
By Thomas Adcock

October 24, 2008

The William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center of Long Island, a warren of tiny offices on the Central Islip campus of Touro Law Center, was created for the likes of Maria T. DeGennaro.

Never mind that five years ago neither Touro Law Dean Lawrence Raful nor the Hearst Foundations had ever heard of Ms. DeGennaro, who at the time found it ethically challenging to work as she was in the mortgage loan industry with the deals and debentures she saw as portents to the current economic crisis.

"I'm not a whistleblower," said Ms. DeGennaro, today a 44-year-old 2-L evening student at Touro Law. "I found another way."

As a law student with familiarity with the questionable practices of her former line of work, Ms. DeGennaro was a natural fit for Long Island Housing Services, one of 16 public interest agencies housed on campus at the public advocacy center.

The nonprofit agencies each pay $100 monthly for office, phone and Internet service - along with access to the Touro Law library and faculty, as well as proximity to state and federal courts adjacent to the campus. In return, the agencies pledge to use the passions of Touro Law students as legal support.

Touro Students Making A Difference

Thirty-seven Touro Law students are preparing to head down to New Orleans again on October 12 for another week of pro-bono legal advocacy work in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Click here to check out great coverage of our students and the work they have been doing, and continue to do, on Newsday.com.

Kathleen Rice '91 on ABC's Primetime

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, a member of Touro Law Center’s Class of 1991, was highlighted on ABC's Primetime for her efforts in launching an innovative program to clean up Hempstead and reform drug dealers. The intervention program is clearly a success – with the targeted section of Hempstead safer than it ever has been before.

Congratulations to Kathleen Rice!

Click Here to view an excerpt of the segment, or Here to read the accompanying article, "New Program Reforms Drug-Torn Neighborhood."

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