Touro College is a private college of higher and professional education in New York City, New York, in the United States. It was founded by Bernard Lander in 1971 and named for Isaac and Judah Touro and it’s the largest private university in the US with Jewish roots.
The College initially focused on higher education for the Jewish community, but has grown to become the Touro College and University System which serves a diverse population of over 18,000 students across 30 schools in four countries.
Overview
Touro College has about 7,000 undergraduates, with a teaching staff of 1,335, of which over a third are full-time. It has about 4000 graduate students. About 70% of undergraduates and almost 80% of graduate students are female. Among undergraduates, some 4% are Asian, 15% are black, 8% are Hispanic and 64% are white. The four-year graduation rate is 34%.
History
Touro received its charter from the Board of Regents of the State of New York in 1971. It has undergraduate offerings in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Alan Kadish took over as president of Touro in 2010.
In 2007, at least two school employees were found in an internal college audit to have accepted bribes to change grades and provide fake degrees. They were handed over for prosecution by the college, and were subsequently convicted and imprisoned.
Student population
The university initially focused on higher education for the Jewish community, but it now serves a diverse population of over 18,000 students across 30 schools in four countries. More than 25% of students are black or Hispanic, and 60% of freshmen qualify for federal Pell grants, a commonly used measure of population of low-income students.
Ranking
Touro College is ranked #146-187 in the Regional Universities North category of US News and World Report's Best College rankings, and is ranked #1 on the Time/MONEY’s Value-Added All-Stars ranking, a metric that claims to compare how much better graduates of particular colleges perform than could be expected from their characteristics and credentials.
Academic studies
The university system offers degrees in business, law, health sciences, social work, Jewish Studies and technology. The student-faculty ratio at Touro College is 17:1, and the school has 87.3 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students.
Notable alumni
- Marc Alessi, politician
- Rachel Freier, first Hasidic woman Judge of New York City
- David G. Greenfield, member of New York City Council
- Rivy Poupko Kletenik, educator
- Kenneth LaValle, politician
- Boyd Melson, boxer
- Dmitry Salita, former pro boxer
Affiliates
- New York Medical College Valhalla, New York
- Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, Central Islip, New York
- Touro University California, Vallejo, California
- Touro University Nevada, Henderson, Nevada
- TUI University Former online subdivision sold in 2007 and now replaced by Touro University Worldwide
See also
- Henry Abramson
- Lander College
- Marian Stoltz-Loike