Join us as we celebrate the enduring vision of our founders, Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise and Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, at Cincinnati Founders' Day on Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 11:00 am ET. The ceremony will take place at our Cincinnati campus (3101 Clifton Avenue) and on Livestream.

Rabbi Mark Washofsky, Ph.D., '80, '87, Solomon B. Freehof Professor Emeritus of Jewish Law and Practice, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters and will deliver the Founders’ Day address.

Distinguished alumni who have served the Reform Movement for 25 years will receive the Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa: Rabbi Mark S. Bloom and Rabbi Sandra J. Cohen of the Class of 1995; Rabbi Aaron Bisno, Rabbi Kenneth Carr, Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis, and Rabbi Jennifer Weiner of the Class of 1996, and Rabbi Jay Moses, Rabbi Elena Stein, and Rabbi Andrea Steinberger of the Class of 1997.

Questions? Please contact us at (513) 487-3231.

Rabbi Mark Washofsky Ph.D. '80, '87 is the Solomon B. Freehof Professor of Jewish Law and Practice, distinguished ethicist of the Reform Movement, and a beloved teacher and mentor of generations of students on our Cincinnati campus. Associated with HUC-JIR for nearly five decades, Dr. Washofsky received his rabbinical ordination in 1980 and his Ph.D. in 1987. He has served as a member of the HUC faculty since 1985, and in 2006 succeeded Dr. Ben Zion Wacholder, z”l, as holder of the Chair established in honor of Dr. Solomon B. Freehof by The Allen H. and Selma W. Berkman Charitable Trust. Specializing in the literature of the Talmud and Jewish law, he has imbued his students at HUC and adult learners in the larger Reform Movement with a deeper understanding of how Jewish tradition responds to contemporary issues. Dr. Washofsky has contributed numerous articles to, and has taken leadership roles in, the Solomon B. Freehof Institute of Progressive Halakhah. He chaired the Responsa Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis from 1996-2017 and has been a sought-after expert in a broad array of Reform responses to Jewish ethical and legal issues. His book, Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice, serves as a desk reference for many congregational leaders and professionals. His extensive publications include Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century and essays and articles on medieval halakhic literature, the application of legal theory to the study of Jewish law, Jewish bioethics, outreach and conversion, among other topics.