Gratz College

In 1856, Hyman Gratz signed a Deed of Trust to create a college after his death if various heirs died without children. The trust provided for "the establishment and support of a college for the education of Jews residing in the city and county of Philadelphia”.[3] Hyman Gratz died on January 27, 1857, at age 81, and on October 15, 1893 the last heir named in the will died without any children. Thus the Gratz estate became available to create the college. On March 20, 1895, the trustees responsible for creating the college received slightly over $105,000[4] from the trust to create the college. The college was officially founded in February, 1895.[5] Starting in October 1895, the college sponsored various lectures and other educational programs.[6]

In 1897, under the leadership of Board President, Moses A. Dropsie,[7] Gratz College hired the first three faculty members: Henry M. Speaker (Principal, Jewish Literature), Arthur A. Dembitz (Jewish History), Isaac Husik (Hebrew Language).[8] Classes officially began in January, 1898. Henry M. Speaker was an 1894 graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America where he studied Jewish Education.[9] Isaac Husik, while teaching at Gratz, received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from University of Pennsylvania in 1902. He remained on the Gratz faculty until 1916 when he became a professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.[10] Arthur Dembitz was the first cousin of Louis Dembitz Brandeis who at the time was one of the leading Jewish attorneys in the United States and in 1916 became the first Jew to serve on the US Supreme Court.[11][10]

Following the model of the early Jewish educator, Rebecca Gratz (Hyman's sister), the first classes at Gratz College were focused on the training of teachers. Women were accepted and educated on the same basis as men. There were eight women and five men in the first 'afternoon' class and the first evening class had twelve women and nine men.[12] Women were inspired to gain training and enrolled in Gratz to become teachers of various aspects of Jewish culture, literature, history and language.[12]

Gratz College is a not-for-profit educational institution governed by a 31-member Board of Governors. The current chair is Rabbi Lance J. Sussman, Ph.D., the immediate past chair is Michelle Portnoff, J.D.. Historically, most members of the Board of Governors lived in greater Philadelphia, however the current board also has members in Georgia, Florida, Maryland and British Columbia. The current president of Gratz College is Paul Finkelman, Ph.D who took office in November, 2017.

Gratz is regionally accredited through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.[1] Gratz was first accredited in 1967 and in 2019 was reaccredited. . The 2015 Carnegie Classification is Special Focus Four-Year - Other Special Focus Institutions.

• Berenice Victoria Abrams (1936) - social worker, Jewish activist, philanthropist
• Gershon Agron - Mayor of Jerusalem 1955 - 1959
• Lori Alhadeff - activist and member of the Broward County School Board
• Noam Chomsky, Ph.D. (1945) - linguist, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist
• Mark B. Cohen, (1972) - Common Pleas Court Judge, Philadelphia, House of Representatives (1974 - 2016)
• Arnold Dashefsky, Ph.D. (1963) - Professor of Sociology at University of Connecticut , Director of the North American Jewish databank
• Isidore Dyen, Ph.D. (cir 1928) - linguist, Professor Emeritus of Malayo-Polynesian and Comparative Linguistics at Yale University
• Eric Goldman, Ph.D. (1970) - film historian, educator
• Rabbi Israel Goldstein (1911) - scholar, author, Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun on New York’s Upper West Side (1918-1960), Founder of Brandeis University (1946), President of The Jewish National Fund of America (1934-1943),
• Cyrus H. Gordon, Ph.D. - scholar of Near Eastern cultures and ancient languages
• Rabbi Samuel K Joseph, Ph.D. - Eleanor Sinsheimer Distinguished Service Professorship of Jewish Education and Leadership Development, Hebrew Union College
• Rabbi William E. Kaufman, Ph.D. - author of books on Jewish Philosophy
• Diane King, Ph.D. (1943) - professor, scholar, Lifetime Achievement Award of the Jewish Educators Assembly
• Sora Eisenberg Landes (1950) - Jewish Educator, founding principal of the Forman Center of the Perelman Jewish Day School in Greater Philadelphia
• Michael Levin (soldier) (cir 2000) - American born soldier in the Paratroopers Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), KIA 2006 in Lebanon
• Sandra Ostrowicz Lilenthal, MA (Gratz, 2007), Ed.D. (Gratz, 2014) - educator, curriculum developer, scholar, 2015 Covenant Award Recipient
• Noam Pitlik - actor, director, 1979 Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series31st Primetime Emmy Awards#Directing
• Claire Polin - American composer of contemporary classical music, musicologist, and flutist
• Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso - author, first woman rabbi in Reconstructionaist Judaism, with her husband formed the first rabbinical couple in Jewish History
• Rose (Schwartz) Schmukler (1931) - artist, poet
• Saul Wachs, Ph.D. (1951) - educator, Jewish scholar, author

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