Jewish camps, the summer workplaces of many Jews at Brandeis, offer traditional summer activities in a Jewish environment. As their popularity has grown, camps have become larger organizations demanding strong business skills as well as an extensive Jewish background from their directors. In order to educate the next generation of Jewish camp leaders in meeting the new challenges of running a camp, the University announced a new graduate program last month for aspiring Jewish camp directors. The fellowship will allow one student each year to receive a joint master of Business Administration degree in Jewish Professional Leadership through the Heller School of Social Policy and Management and Hornstein, a graduate program for future Jewish professionals.

The fellowship will start next school year. Profs. Jonathan Sarna (NEJS) and Leonard Saxe (Heller), Director of the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and Hornstein faculty member, hope to see the fellowship develop into a full program in the future.

According to Jewish leaders, as Jewish camps become more popular and the required skill set to lead them becomes more extensive, this graduate program aims to equip directors with the tools necessary to run more effective camps.

Jerry Silverman, director of the Foundation for Jewish Camping, the organization sponsoring the fellowship, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last December that as camping becomes a more competitive industry, "the expectation for Jewish leadership has changed and what is expected of them has changed."

"Camp has become more of a business now, but directors need to be able to do a little bit of everything," the director of the nondenominational Camp Yavneh, Debbie Sussman, said. "Nothing beats experience, but this fellowship would be great for someone already in love with the field."

Sarna, director of the Hornstein Program, said the new fellowship will help ensure Jewish continuity because camp is an opportunity for kids to learn about Judaism and mingle with other Jews.

"Camps are a powerful socialization and educational institution. They play a critical role for those who don't go to [Jewish] day school and help the children to learn about a Jewish lifestyle," Saxe said.

Brandeis is an obvious place for the fellowship, Sarna said, as three of Hornstein's current faculty have conducted research in the field of Jewish camping-himself, Saxe and Prof. Joe Reimer (Hornstein).

The program will include courses on the history of Jewish camping, statistics and Jewish identity, which, Saxe said, will allow leaders to gain the skills to work in a larger organization.

"A camp is like a small community and every community needs good managers," Saxe said. "With Hornstein, people get both an understanding of the Jewish community as well as getting traditional management skills.