Dr. Robert D. Wexler

President of American Jewish University
Colen Distinguished Lecturer in Bible.

Dr. Robert D. Wexler has served as president of American Jewish University (formerly University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute) since 1992. He received his B.A. in Sociology from UCLA in 1971 and was ordained as a rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he also earned a Master of Arts degree in Hebrew Literature. While enrolled in rabbinical school, Dr. Wexler also earned his M.B.A. degree from Baruch College in New York City with a specialization in accounting. Following his ordination in 1977, he spent a year on the faculty of Princeton University teaching in the Department of Middle East Studies.

Returning to Los Angeles in 1978, Dr. Wexler joined the staff of American Jewish University (AJU), where he occupied a variety of administrative positions before becoming president. He earned both a Master of Arts degree and a Ph.D. from UCLA in the Department of Near Eastern Languages. His doctoral dissertation dealt with concepts of death and immortality in the ancient near east.

Rabbi Jay A. Strear

Senior Vice President, Chief Advancement Officer

As Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer at American Jewish University since 1995, Rabbi Jay Strear manages a department in which the interest of the donors and the needs of the institution are brought together to culminate in significant support to the university. Rabbi Strear's efforts have resulted in the university's ability to offer financial aid to 87% of AJU's student population. As a certified planned giving specialist, his responsibilities include working with donors to make strategic estate planning investments. Rabbi Strear teaches Business Ethics in the university's MBA program.

He completed his undergraduate studies and earned his MBA in Nonprofit Management at AJU, and was ordained by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in 2000. Prior to his development positions at AJU, he worked as a congregational rabbi in Detroit.

Stuart J. Sigman, Ph.D.

Provost and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Stuart J. Sigman joined the AJU senior staff in 2011 as Provost and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, after having served for five years as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Naropa University (Boulder, CO).

Previously, he served Emerson College (Boston, MA) as founding Dean of the School of Communication for eight years. He has held faculty positions at West Virginia University, Penn State University, the State University of New York (Buffalo and Albany campuses) and the Union Institute and University; he was also a visiting faculty member at Bond University in Australia.

Dr. Sigman received his BA from Hunter College, City University of New York, completing an honors degree with concentrations in theatre, communication and linguistics. He received his MA and PhD from the Annenberg School of Communications, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Sigman, who also holds a faculty position at AJU as Professor of Communication, is the author of A Perspective on Social Communication (Lexington Books), founding editor of Research on Language and Social Interaction (Borealis Press and Lawrence Erlbaum Associates) and founding co-editor of the monograph series Everyday Communication: Case Studies of Behavior in Context (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates).

Zofia Yalovsky

Vice President, Finance, Administration and Technology

Zofia Yalovsky earned her B.A. in Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University and acquired her education and experience in information technology in the Israeli Air Force.

When she moved to the United States in 1991, she had more than two decades of experience in senior management, particularly in areas of finance, business HR, administration and technology.

Ms. Yalovsky has been involved with AJU since 1992, receiving her MBA here in 1993. In 1997she accepted the position of Director of Business and Administration, advanced to Associate VP and Chief Operating Officer, and finally became VP Finance, Administration and Technology, responsible for the university's finance affairs, internal controls and compliance, administration and campus technology.

Ms. Yalovsky teaches from time to time Management, International Business and Leadership in the undergraduate program and Human Resources to MBA students and serves as an advisor to undergraduate students majoring in Business . She mentors MBA students in their internships and from time to time works with them on their thesis.

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, DHL

Vice President, Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, Lecturer in Rabbinic Studies

Rabbi Artson graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1981 with a B.A. in History and Literature. He received his rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary with an M.A. in Jewish Studies in 1988, and a Doctor of Hebrew Letters in 2010 from Hebrew Union College, Magnin School of Graduate Studies.

Following ordination in 1988, Rabbi Artson led a congregation in Mission Viejo, which he helped grow from 200 to 600 family units. In 1998 he moved to L.A. as the Executive Vice President of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California.

In 1999, a year after the Ziegler School was established as an ordaining seminary, the founding dean made aliyah. AJU President Robert Wexler invited Rabbi Artson to breakfast to offer him the position of Dean of the Rabbinical School. The proposition was irresistible, and has allowed Rabbi Artson to serve as one of the leaders of Conservative Judaism, and to show his love for rabbis and rabbinical students.

Artson is the author of seven books. His most recent is The Gift of Soul: Spiritual Resources for Leadership & Mentoring.

Dr. Gady Levy

Vice President, Dean, Whizin Center for Continuing Education

Dr. Gady Levy has served as Dean of the Whizin Center for Continuing Education and Vice President of American Jewish University since 1999. He received his Ed.D. from Pepperdine University in Organizational Leadership, his Masters in Education and Bachelors in Marketing from CSU Northridge, and both a Masters in Jewish Education and Bachelors in Literature from the University of Judaism.

Under his direction, the University has expanded its programming to include events, concerts and a wide variety of classes and seminars including the highly acclaimed Public Lecture Series, Yesod, Celebration of Jewish Books, The Bruce Geller Screenwriting Competition and the Gittelson Seminars in Ethics. The Whizin Center, which is responsible for all adult continuing education at AJU, is the largest Jewish adult education program in the United States, which serves over 12,000 students a year. It includes the Dortort Program for the Arts, Road Scholar Program, Making Marriage Work, the Wagner Human Services Training Program and Biblical Archaeology. Additionally, in the past three years, Dr. Levy has taken on the responsibility for Camp Alonim, Brandeis Collegiate Institute and The Jewish Television Network.

Iris Waskow

Associate Vice President, Communications

Iris Waskow is the Associate Vice President of Communications at AJU and has more than 25 years of advertising, marketing and public relations experience. Prior to joining the AJU staff eleven years ago, she was the Vice President of Marketing at Good Samaritan Hospital and Centinela Hospital. She has worked in both the for-profit and nonprofit world. When she owned and operated her own graphics and production agency, her clients ranged from international advertising agencies to large aerospace companies and medical and health related corporations. Iris is entrepreneurial by nature and appreciates an environment where ideas and new ways of looking at opportunities are welcomed.

Sam Levitt

Senior Director of Facilities & Auxiliary Services

Sam Levitt joined American Jewish University in January 2009 to oversee operations & auxiliary services. He earned his BA in Judaic Studies at University of California, San Diego, with minors in Law & Society and Biology. He earned his MBA in Nonprofit Management from American Jewish University in 2007, receiving the David Lieber School of Graduate Studies Professional Leadership Award. His MBA Capstone was titled “Mergers in the Nonprofit World: Their Impact on the Organizations Involved and the Communities They Serve.”

As Senior Director of Facilities & Auxiliary Services at American Jewish University, Sam is responsible for the daily operational aspects of the University at both the Familian and Brandeis-Bardin Campuses. In addition, he oversees the conference, catering and other auxiliary units throughout the Institution.