Spertus College

The institute was founded in 1924 as Chicago's College of Jewish Studies. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] In 1970, its name changed from College of Jewish Studies to Spertus College [ 8 ] to honor donations made by brothers Maurice and Herman Spertus [ ru ] . [ 9 ] [ 7 ] In 1993, the name was changed to Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies. [ 8 ] In 2013, the name changed to Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership. [ 5 ] Notable Faculty and Presenters During and following World War II, many renowned refugee scholars from Nazi-occupied Europe served on the Spertus faculty. Among them were Dr. Fritz Bamberger , who, following his decades teaching philosophy and comparative literature, left academia to run Esquire magazine; and Simon Rawidowicz and Nahum N. Glatzer , who went on to establish the Jewish Studies Department at Brandeis University . More recently, Rabbi Dr. Byron Sherwin (1946–2015) was director of doctoral programs. Well-known presenters have included Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , [ 10 ] author Jonathan Safran Foer , [ 11 ] architect Moshe Safdie , [ 12 ] hip-hop artist Y-Love , [ 13 ] pianist/actor/playwright Hershey Felder , [ 14 ] New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman , Psychologist Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar , [ 15 ] and statistician Nate Silver . [ 16 ] Honorary degree recipients from 1949 to 2011 have included Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan , former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Abba Eban , Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel , author and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel , author and Nobel Literature Laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer , feminist author Betty Friedan , actor Leonard Nimoy , and Hazzan Alberto Mizrahi.

In November 2007, Spertus Institute opened a noteworthy new facility at 610 S. Michigan Avenue. Designed by Chicago-based Krueck Sexton Partners , the building features interconnected interior spaces and an unusual ten-story faceted window wall that offers views of the Chicago skyline, Grant Park , and Lake Michigan . This window wall is built from 726 individual pieces of glass in 556 different shapes. [ 17 ] The building houses classrooms, offices, a library, a 400-seat theater, and a variety of open event spaces. The Spertus building was the first new construction in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District after the area was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2002. The cost of the Spertus project was approximately $50 million ( $ 75.8 million in 2024 ) . [ 18 ] The building has been recognized with a number of awards, including the Distinguished Building Award and Divine Detail Award from the American Institute of Architects 's Chicago Chapter [ 19 ] and Best Building of the Year from Interior Design Magazine . [ 20 ]