Cozen O’Connor has affirmed that this document accurately summarizes the high-level themes, observations, and recommendations contained in the full report, which is being maintained as privileged to protect the privacy rights of involved students and alumnae.
American Jewish University (AJU) is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all students, faculty, and visitors consistent with Jewish traditions and best learning practices. As such, we were concerned when, in April 2023, The Forward published an article describing a letter from thirteen individuals, mostly former rabbinical students from AJU’s Ziegler School of Rabbinic Students (Ziegler), to the Va’ad HaKavod (literally, Honorable Council), the Rabbinical Assembly’s ethics committee. According to the article, the letter included reports alleging that Ziegler “enforce[ed] a double-standard against women, tolerat[ed] or contribut[ed] to homophobia and transphobia in the program and dismiss[ed] student concerns that the environment had become toxic.”
We took these charges seriously. We also recognized that this should be a moment when AJU examined not only the issues raised regarding Ziegler but also our climate and policies across the institution. In June 2023, we engaged Cozen O’Connor’s Institutional Response Group, a legal practice dedicated to improving institutional responses to discrimination and harassment, to conduct an external review of the concerns raised publicly about Ziegler’s culture and climate, including institutional responses under Title IX, and to review the institutional policies and climate of AJU more broadly. We received Cozen O’Connor’s final report in May 2024.
As part of the Ziegler review, Cozen O’Connor conducted extensive community engagement. They reached out to approximately four hundred current and former Ziegler community members. Nearly 50% responded by sharing information through an online survey, which permitted anonymous responses. Cozen O’Connor also interviewed more than sixty individuals, including fifty current and former students, as well as current Ziegler administrators, faculty members, and other AJU employees. Importantly, twelve of the thirteen individuals who signed the letter to the Va’ad HaKavod spoke with Cozen O’Connor. In addition, AJU provided Cozen O’Connor with all documents requested, including documents regarding Ziegler and AJU policies.
A clear majority of individuals who provided feedback to Cozen O’Connor, either through interviews or the survey, reported having positive experiences at Ziegler. Nearly 90 percent of the roughly 150 Ziegler graduates who responded to the survey reported that Ziegler does/did not have a “culture or climate of discrimination or harassment.” These individuals, including women and members of the LGBTQ community, described the transformational education they received, as well as the strong personal relationships they built with their fellow students and Ziegler administrators and faculty members, many of whom they said they continue to keep in touch with to this day. Interviewees also uniformly acknowledged the foundational role that Ziegler played in advocating for LGBTQ rights within the Conservative movement from its inception twenty-five years ago. They specifically cited that Ziegler faculty members authored the seminal teshuvah (response) advocating for the ordination of gay and lesbian rabbis under Jewish law that was ultimately accepted by the Conservative movement in December 2006.
Nonetheless, others identified areas needing improvement. Nearly 80% of the more than one dozen former students who did not graduate reported in their survey responses that Ziegler does/did have a “culture or climate of discrimination or harassment.” A number of former students, some of whom attended the school many years ago and some of whom attended the school more recently, reported experiencing deep and lasting pain during and after their time at Ziegler. These students stated that when they struggled academically, the school failed to support them.
Some of the signatories to the letter described their personal experiences and observations in gendered terms, while others did not. Those signatories who did not frame their experiences and observations in gendered terms still shared negative experiences of their own and/or stated that they chose to sign the letter to support their former classmates. Based on its review, Cozen O’Connor determined that some of the events cited in the complaint letter occurred as stated, while others either did not or lacked necessary context.
However, Cozen O’Connor stated that it found sufficient information to support that some students experienced sexism or homophobia while at Ziegler. These experiences were influenced by what many students observed as an environment, especially historically, where perceptions of favoritism towards men and those who conformed to traditional gender roles were widespread. Although the letter to the Forward asserted that the administration “tolerated” or “contributed to” sexism or homophobia, the report does not conclude that these issues were wide-spread or systematic. Nevertheless, we are deeply saddened and upset to learn of the hurt expressed by these individuals. Our message to them: “we hear you deeply and pledge to do better.“ It also was reported to Cozen O’Connor that Ziegler lacked the infrastructure to support struggling students, and that to the extent such support systems existed, some students, particularly those who felt they were not among the favorites of the administration, did not feel comfortable accessing what was available.
Based on their observations and findings, as well as other broader themes that emerged during their review, Cozen O’Connor made recommendations designed to improve AJU’s response to the issues raised in the report. The report recommended that AJU revamp its Title IX program through the adoption of revised policies and procedures, the hiring of an experienced Title IX coordinator, routine training, prevention and education programming, and centralized record keeping. Cozen O’Connor also recommended that AJU fortify its existing infrastructure of care by ensuring that struggling students can seek care and support outside of the existing formal administrative hierarchy of Ziegler. Finally, Cozen O’Connor recommended the continued development of written policies and consistent documentation and articulation of decision-making, especially regarding “exemptions” or deviations from typical Ziegler policies.
American Jewish University has accepted all of Cozen O’Connor’s recommendations and will move to implement them as quickly as possible. We are, in this context, guided by the Jewish tradition’s teaching that when we cause harm, we must acknowledge the harm, apologize for it, and take effective steps to make sure that it does not happen again.
We deeply appreciate the participation of the many students, alumni, and Ziegler employees who shared their experiences with Cozen O’Connor. We acknowledge the personal investment in detailing what were often painful accounts and in making AJU better for those who follow.
We acknowledge these experiences and sincerely apologize to those individuals who have been harmed, particularly in a rabbinical school that prioritizes care and pastoral support. Through this period of introspection and self-reflection, we have learned many valuable lessons about how to best care for our students, and we will take the necessary steps to ensure that the process of repair described above will be effectively instituted.