Background
Rosenbaum was born in Michigan and is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he received his Bachelor of Arts with high distinction and highest honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa (1968).
theology educator college administrator
Rosenbaum was born in Michigan and is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he received his Bachelor of Arts with high distinction and highest honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa (1968).
Bachelor, University Michigan, 1968. Biodiversity Heritage Library, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, 1971. Master of Arts, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, 1972.
Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard University, 1978. Postgraduate, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1970. Postgraduate, Jewish Theological Seminary America, Jerusalem, 1970.
DDiv (honorary), Hebrew Union College, 1997. Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Hebrew Union College, 1997.
From 1998 to 2009; president emeritus of Gratz College and a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, since 2009. He is a specialist in Biblical history, the paleography and epigraphy of ancient Semitic languages, and American Jewish history. Rosenbaum then earned rabbinical ordination and an Master of Arts He taught in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Nebraska from 1976 to 1986 and then became the University of Hartford"s first Maurice Greenberg Professor of Judaic Studies and director of its Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies from 1986 to 1998.
At Hartford he was also professor of history, served as acting chair of the department of history, and established a major and minors in Judaic Studies and a joint master"s degree with the University of Connecticut.
From 1995 to 1998 Rosenbaum served as a deputy director of the Ein Gedi Archaeological Expedition in Israel, an excavation co-sponsored by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Hartford. At Ein Gedi he oversaw the excavation"s academic program including courses in archaeology and Near Eastern history.
He also organized and chaired "Paleographical Studies in the Ancient Near East," a section of the national meeting sponsored by the Society of Biblical Literature. In addition, he taught in the graduate and law schools of the University of Connecticut and at Hartford Seminary.
A rarity in the contemporary Jewish world, Rosenbaum has served as a rabbi in Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox congregations.
During his student years at HUC-JIR, he held a student rabbi position at Congregation Israel (Reform), Galesburg, Illinois (1970-1972). While at Harvard he was assistant rabbi, Temple Israel (Conservative), Swampscott, Master of Arts, (1972-1976), and then a part-time rabbi of Congregation Israel (Conservative), Danville, Illinois (1976-1984). From 1994 to 1998 he was rabbi (mara" de-atra) of Congregation Agudas Achim, a mainstream Orthodox, century-old congregation in West Hartford, Connecticut. Among the awards he received were Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, by HUC-JIR and Doctor of Hebrew Letters, honoris causa, from the Jewish Theological Seminary.
At Gratz College he instituted new academic programs including a doctoral degree and online courses and degrees, expanded the faculty and staff, successfully oversaw development, and refashioned Gratz"s mission in a changing academic climate.
(From the back cover: MAKING A LIFE, BUILDING A COMMUNITY ...)
Married Susan Jane Gordon, August 3, 1969. Children: Joseph, Joshua, Jeremy.