CASJE (Consortium for Applied Studies in Jewish Education) announced today that Dr. Arielle Levites will become its first Managing Director, effective June 24, 2019. CASJE is a community of researchers, practitioners, and philanthropic leaders committed to producing and sharing knowledge to improve Jewish education.
“The American Jewish community invests a great deal of resources into Jewish education,” says Dr. Levites. “Developing high-quality research that generates new insights and can produce tangible benefits is a deeply important endeavor. I am excited to work with the CASJE Advisory Board and other colleagues committed to bringing the best research to bear on critical questions in Jewish education. I am honored to be CASJE’s first managing director and welcome the opportunity that comes with this role to champion research that is useful and illuminating.”
Levites has received numerous awards and has published widely on Jewish education, Jewish campus life, and Jewish millennials. Her most recent publication is Gen Z Now: Understanding and Connecting with Jewish Teens Today, which she co-authored with Dr. Liat Sayfan of Rosov Consulting. Currently, Levites is the Golda Och Postdoctoral Fellow at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses and lectures on contemporary American Jewish life. Prior to that she was an Affiliated Scholar at Brandeis University; a Kogod Research Fellow and Faculty at the Shalom Hartman Institute of New York; and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Hebrew College. She holds a Ph.D. in Education and Jewish Studies from New York University. Since 2012, Dr. Levites has served as an Applied Research Consultant to many national programs in Jewish education, where she has developed large- and small-scale research studies and program evaluations employing qualitative and quantitative methods.
“Dr. Levites’ experience as an accomplished scholar-practitioner working with educators and leaders in an array of Jewish organizations makes her the ideal fit for this position,” say CASJE co-Chairs Dr. Michael Feuer, Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD) at The George Washington University, and Rabbi Mitchel Malkus, Head of School at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School of Greater Washington, D.C. “Her creativity and commitment to advancing research in Jewish education is highly regarded in the field. She was selected from a pool of highly qualified candidates.”
CASJE receives support from The AVI CHAI Foundation, Jim Joseph Foundation, The Crown Family, and William Davidson Foundation, among others. The George Washington University GSEHD is CASJE’s institutional home, enabling its activities to be developed and enriched as part of a global, comprehensive research university. CASJE’s current projects include the career trajectories of Jewish educators, Jewish educational leadership in Jewish Day Schools, Jewish early childhood education, Hebrew language education, and Israel education.
“Dr. Levites brings exemplary leadership to CASJE and deep knowledge about both the needs of the Jewish education field and the critical role for research to inform the work of educators and leaders,” adds Yossi Prager, Executive Director for North America of The AVI CHAI Foundation.
“With Arielle as its managing director, CASJE’s efforts at supporting and advancing applied research for Jewish education will be reinforced tremendously,” says Barry Finestone, President and CEO of the Jim Joseph Foundation, which has supported CASJE since its founding. “The appointment of Dr. Levites opens an exciting and bold new chapter in the life of CASJE.”
CASJE’s Advisory Board includes co-chairs Dr. Michael Feuer and Rabbi Mitchel Malkus and members Dr. Charles “Chip” Edelsberg (Scottsdale, AZ), Dr. Rena Dorph (UC Berkeley), Dr. Sharon Feiman-Nemser (Brandeis), Dr. Ellen Goldring (Vanderbilt), Dr. Paul Goren (Superintendent of Evanston/Skokie School District 65), Dr. Ilana Horwitz (Stanford), Dr. Benjamin Jacobs (The George Washington University), and Robert Sherman (The Jewish Education Project). Professor Lee Shulman (Stanford) is the CASJE Distinguished Chair Emeritus.
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CASJE (Consortium for Applied Studies in Jewish Education) is an evolving community of researchers, practitioners, and philanthropic leaders dedicated to improving the quality of knowledge that can be used to guide the work of Jewish education. Our aim is to stimulate and support the work of researchers, practitioners, and funders who believe that evidence should drive decision-making in Jewish education. To this end, CASJE helps to develop applied research programs focused on high-priority issues facing Jewish education.