How Does the Program Work?
The Wexner Heritage Program consists of two years of intensive Jewish study and leadership preparation with a faculty of professors, rabbis, professionals and political leaders who are world-class educators as well as leaders in their own right.
Each local Seminar group consists of 20 outstanding Jewish volunteer leaders. Serious Jewish learning creates shared experience and bonds among people who live in the same community but might otherwise never have worked together or even met. The relationships created around the learning table are the heart of the program.
The Wexner Heritage Program is a focused experience that requires a significant commitment of time and energy from each participant. Attendance at all Seminars and Institutes is critical, and there is reading and other preparation between meetings as well.
Seminars and Institutes
Members attend four-hour evening Seminars approximately once every two weeks in their local communities. There are 18 Seminars each academic year, for a total of 36 evenings. The group helps determine the night on which the Seminars meet.
Three out-of-town Institutes, each 5-7 days in length, are held in resort conference centers and hotels in the United States and Israel during the summer months. In recent years, the domestic Institutes have taken place in Aspen, Colorado. The Israel Institute has been based in Jerusalem but also involves touring various parts of Israel. Institutes take place at the beginning, middle, and end of the two-year program. Wexner Heritage groups from multiple communities come together for Institutes, creating synergy across North America.
Curriculum
The curriculum is dynamic, yet grounded in the wisdom of our tradition and in cutting-edge leadership learning. Seminars and Institutes reflect the following curricular components:
Yesodot: Jewish Fundamentals. Encounters with the fundamental philosophies and traditions underlying an active and committed Jewish life [covered at the initial New Member Institute]
The History of the Jewish People: The story of our people from Biblical times to the 21st century. The emphasis on the major issues, personalities, and trends in Jewish history helps contemporary Jewish leaders to lead more effectively into the future [covered in the first year of Seminars].
Professional Staff
Rabbi B. Elka Abrahamson oversees all three of the Foundation's leadership initiatives. Rabbi Jay Henry Moses is the Director of The Wexner Heritage Program.
The Faculty
The Wexner Heritage Program Faculty comprises the finest scholars, practitioners, and professional leaders in the Jewish world. Faculty include professors at university Jewish studies programs and the leading rabbinical seminaries; congregational rabbis; professionals from Jewish Federations, Foundations, and other communal organizations; and in Israel, both leading thinkers and public officials. We have no permanent faculty; while some have been teaching in the program for many years, we are continually expanding the ranks of our faculty as new world-class teachers emerge.
What Happens after the Two-Year Program?
Upon completion of the program, Members become part of a lifetime network of Wexner alumni from across the Jewish world. Please see the section of our website on Alumni Activities. Cindy Chazan, Vice President, Alumni and Community Development oversees all Alumni Acitivites.
What does the Wexner Foundation expect from Alumni of the program?
Applicants and Members often ask what is expected of them after they finish the program. Leslie and Abigail Wexner have steadfastly maintained that part of being a leader is to figure out for oneself how best to apply leadership energy. The Wexner Heritage Program is designed to help leaders discover their full Jewish leadership potential and to inspire them to realize that potential. The Foundation and our partners are investing in Members based on that potential, and the hope and expectation is that each Member, with support from the Foundation and its network of Alumni, will find his or her own way to maximize long-term impact in the Jewish community.
What Does the Program Cost?
There is no cost to Members for the Wexner Heritage Program. The program is funded by The Wexner Foundation in partnership with the local community as a joint investment in the Jewish community’s future leadership. For more information, please see the section of our website on Community Partnerships.