Dean Goldschmidt of Touro’s Lander College in Flatbush Honored by Brooklyn Borough President

Date: December 11, 2015
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams (left) presents Dr. Robert Goldschmidt, executive dean of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences in Flatbush and Touro’s vice president for planning and assessment, with a citation and gold-plated cornerstone brick, symbolizing his numerous contributions to the community and to the building of “One Brooklyn.”
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams (left) presents Dr. Robert Goldschmidt, executive dean of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences in Flatbush and Touro’s vice president for planning and assessment, with a citation and gold-plated cornerstone brick, symbolizing his numerous contributions to the community and to the building of “One Brooklyn.”
Media Contact:

Gabe Kahn
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gabriel.kahn@touro.edu

New York, N.Y.— Dr. Robert Goldschmidt, executive dean of Touro’s Lander College of Arts and Sciences in Flatbush and the vice president for planning and assessment of Touro College, was honored as a Brooklyn Business Cornerstone by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams at a recent ceremony at Borough Hall.

“With more than four decades as a leader in higher education under his belt, Dr. Goldschmidt has been instrumental in securing accreditation for the college in New York, leading it through five major reviews,” said Adams during the presentation. He added that two of Dr. Goldschmidt’s former students served as interns at Brooklyn Borough Hall, one of whom became a full-time employee.

As part of the ceremony Adams presented Dean Goldschmidt with a citation and a large, gold-plated cornerstone brick, symbolizing his numerous contributions to the community and to the building of “One Brooklyn.” The text of the citation reads:

Whereas on behalf of all Brooklynites, I salute Dr. Robert Goldschmidt, Vice President and Dean of Touro College for his outstanding service, having worked at Touro College for 41 years. I applaud him for the dedication he has shown over the years which has contributed immensely to the success of Touro College. I commend Dr. Robert Goldschmidt for his exemplary leadership and for making a positive impact on the lives of many in our great Borough. I thank him for all that he has done to touch and improve the lives of thousands, helping move our community forward as One Brooklyn.

Dean Goldschmidt is the architect and founding dean of the Lander College in Flatbush, which serves more than 2,500 men and women in separate schools over three semesters annually.

“I am honored and humbled by the Brooklyn Borough President’s tribute to me for educational leadership and service at Touro College,” said Dean Goldschmidt. “My deepest gratitude is to Touro for affording me the privilege of guiding, shaping and enriching the lives of generations of students.”

In his role as Touro’s liaison to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Dean Goldschmidt has been instrumental in securing accreditation for the college in New York, successfully leading it through five major reviews. He is also responsible for leading the accreditation process for Touro’s branch campuses in Berlin, California, Moscow, Nevada and Paris, and has obtained approvals for the opening of the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and the College of Pharmacy, both in New York.

“Dean Goldschmidt is an icon within Touro and it’s virtually impossible to talk about the accomplishments of Touro over the last four decades without discussing the irreplaceable contributions and incomparable leadership of Dean Goldschmidt,” said Rabbi Moshe Krupka, Touro’s executive vice president. “For all he has accomplished and for the thousands of yeshiva and seminary students who have achieved professional success and have contributed to their communities, this honor is well deserved.” 

Schooled in Paris and at Yeshiva Chachmei Tzorfas in Aix-les-Bains, France, Dean Goldschmidt mastered Talmudic tractates, as well as six languages: French, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Hebrew and Yiddish. At age 16 he and his family immigrated to the United States where he enrolled in Yeshiva Torah Vodaath in Brooklyn. He studied at the yeshiva until he received his smicha from renowned Torah sage HaGaon HaRav Gedaliah Schorr, zt”l.

Dean Goldschmidt graduated from Brooklyn College as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and completed his master’s and advanced coursework for a doctorate in political science at New York University where he was a research fellow for two years at the NYU Center for International Studies.

In 2013, Touro conferred on Dean Goldschmidt an honorary doctorate of laws at the school’s 39th commencement exercises. At the 2015 commencement, Dean Goldschmidt was the inaugural recipient of the Touro College Gold Medal of Achievement, bestowed with appreciation for his tireless efforts on behalf of the Touro College and University System.

He and his wife, Elky Sherer, have two children, Suri Schoenbrun and Shrage, the 1996 valedictorian of the Lander College.

Touro’s Lander College in Flatbush, with separate schools for men and women, enrolls 2,500 students annually in fall, spring and summer semesters. It offers a choice of 25 majors and pre-professional programs in disciplines including accounting (CPA program), finance, management, computer science and multimedia web design, pre-medicine/pre-dentistry/pre-pharmacy, the allied health sciences (occupational and physical therapy, physician assistant, nursing), education, psychology, biology, political science/prelaw, mathematics/actuarial studies and speech language pathology.

About the Touro College and University System

Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 18,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow and Paris. New York Medical College, Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus, as well as Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: www.touro.edu/news/.