3 things to know about Hebrew Union College and its new president, Andrew Rehfeld

The 10th president of Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion will be inaugurated Sunday.

The institution, which has a Cincinnati campus, was founded in 1875. Andrew Rehfeld began his tenure in April, succeeding former president Rabbi Aaron Panken.

The inauguration will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Isaac M. Wise Temple, a historic synagogue at 720 Plum St.

Here are three things to know about the college and Rehfeld:

3 things to know about Hebrew Union's new president 

• Rehfeld bridged both the academic and Jewish worlds as a professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis and as president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. Rehfeld is a tenured professor of political thought at Hebrew Union, contributing a combination of teaching and scholarship, experience in Jewish nonprofit administration and volunteer community leadership.
   
• Rehfeld earned a Ph.D. in political science and a master's degree in public policy from the University of Chicago. He is the author of "The Concept of Constituency," which was published in 2005. Rehfeld’s research focuses on contemporary democratic theory with related interests in the history of political thought and the philosophy of the social sciences. He has also published works on the political uses of the Hebrew Bible and has taught courses on Zionism.
   
• Rehfeld, in a statement, said he is thrilled to "work collaboratively with a dynamic professional team of deans, program directors, academic administrators, and faculty across all of our four campuses. Together, we will shape the future of professional Jewish leadership by inspiring, educating, and learning from a new generation of students. These are challenging times that (Hebrew Union College), as a multi-faceted institution of higher education, is well suited to address." 

3 things to know about Hebrew Union College

• Hebrew Union College is a four-campus international institution of Jewish higher education and the seminary for Reform Judaism, the largest denomination of Judaism in North America. It has campuses in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles and New York, providing academic and professional training programs for the Reform Movement’s rabbis, cantors, educators and nonprofit management professionals. It also offers graduate programs for scholars of all faiths.
   
• The Cincinnati campus is internationally recognized for preserving many of the rarest treasures of Jewish people, including the Klau Library, the second largest Jewish library in the world; the Skirball Museum, incorporating the B’nai B’rith Klutznick Museum art collection; and the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, documenting Jewish life in the Western Hemisphere. The community is invited to explore these treasures and take part in educational and cultural programs. 
   
• Classroom learning is augmented by professional development through hands-on internships within institutions of the Jewish public sphere, including The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Sacred Service Learning Fellowship. Hebrew Union's 4,000 active alumni serve over one million members of the Reform Movement, nearly 900 North American congregations, and more than 1,200 congregations worldwide.

This information was provided by officials with Hebrew Union College.