MS 31 Baltimore Hebrew College Collection

Baltimore Hebrew College 1927-1958, 1996.63.21

A little over a year ago we received the archives of Baltimore Hebrew University when the university became the Baltimore Hebrew Institute at Towson University. The collection was the largest single archival collection to come into the Jewish Museum of Maryland. But this most recent acquisition was not our first of materials from BHU. One of our early manuscript collections is MS 31 – the Baltimore Hebrew College Collection. (Baltimore Hebrew College became Baltimore Hebrew University in 1987.)

Baltimore Hebrew College graduating class of 1927, 2007.1.2

Baltimore Hebrew College Collection
1921-1983

MS 31

The Jewish Museum of Maryland

ACCESS AND PROVENANCE

The Baltimore Hebrew College Collection was found in the collection of the Jewish Museum of Maryland in 2004 and given the accession number 2004.072. Alison Reppert processed the collection in July 2009.

Access to the collection is unrestricted and is available to researchers at the Jewish Museum of Maryland. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the Jewish Museum of Maryland before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Baltimore Hebrew College and Teachers Training School was founded in 1919 to promote Jewish scholarship and academic excellence. During the early years, with Dr. Israel Efros as president, the institution trained teachers for Jewish schools. In 1930, Baltimore Hebrew College became a constituent of the Associated Jewish Charities and Welfare Fund, now THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, with Dr. Louis L. Kaplan as president. In 1959, the school moved from Eutaw Place to Park Heights Avenue. In 1963 it received Maryland State accreditation, then accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in 1974. Baltimore Hebrew College was renamed Baltimore Hebrew University (BHU) when Middle States conferred university level status in 1987.

Dr. Leivy Smolar succeeded Dr. Kaplan as president in 1971, and under Dr. Norma Fields Furst, who became president in 1992, the University expanded educational opportunities for New Americans and received approval for the Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Arts in Jewish Studies. Dr. Robert O. Freedman, who succeeded Dr. Furst in 1995, extended BHU's cooperation with area colleges and universities including Goucher and Johns Hopkins. Dr. Rela Mintz Geffen was inaugurated as president in 2001 and, during her time in office, the University became eligible for Joseph Sellinger funding, an intensive summer school program was introduced and joint education programs were initiated with Goucher College and Villa Julie College. BHU also had the MA in Jewish Communal Service approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. The Me'ah program, a 100-hour Lifelong Learning program was also introduced for adult learners. Erika Schon acted as Interim President during the BHU's transition to Towson University.

Information provided by:

http://www.bhu.edu

RELATED COLLECTIONS

Baltimore Hebrew University Archives (2009.040)
MS 77 Lester Levy (1896-1989) Family Papers
MS 116 Deborah Shochet Hartman Collection
MS 143 Mollie Levin Hebrew Education Collection
MS 170 The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore Records and Publications
MS 171 Louis L. Kaplan Papers

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The Baltimore Hebrew College Collection consists of registers, course catalogs, bulletins, programs, reports and newsletters. The collection is divided into two series. Series I. Academics, contains bulletins, commencement programs, “Hakaryan” newspapers, registers and course information, faculty and staff information and exams. Series I. consists of materials concerning the activities of classes, faculty and students. Series II. Facilities, contains programs about the dedication of buildings, reports, projections and budgets. It consists of materials concerning the development of the facilities of Baltimore Hebrew University. Both series are arranged in chronological order.