On Monday, April 11, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's Board of Governors approved several recommendations, including the ending the Cincinnati residential rabbinical program by the end of the 2026 academic year. 

To read the full release from HUC-JIR, please CLICK HERE.

In response, Jewish Federation of Cincinnati CEO Danielle V. Minson has issued the following statement:

“We are profoundly disappointed in the decision by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s Board of Governors to recommend ending the Cincinnati residential rabbinical program by the end of the 2026 academic year. 

The Jewish Community of Cincinnati is vibrant, inclusive, and collaborative. In 2021 we began celebrating 200 years of Jewish Life in Cincinnati and the continuation of a bright future. The students and graduates of HUC’s world class rabbinical school who have chosen Cincinnati to make their home have always been a significant part of this positive culture. This will be a loss for our community.

While we lament the end of a dedicated rabbinical program at the home of Reform Judaism, we understand that it was innovation and adaptation at the heart of its founding in 1875. We share in the board’s optimism of a future where HUC continues to serve as an educational beacon for Jewish leaders across North America and the world. The importance of continued support for the Klau Library, American Jewish Archives and Skirball Museum at HUC cannot be overstated. These are vital resources that enrich the community with art, history, dialogue, and lessons that can be found nowhere else in the world and belong here, in Cincinnati.

It is difficult to imagine a future without the kind of rabbinical program that has enriched the Jewish community in innumerable ways, but we look forward to learning about HUC’s reimagining of the Cincinnati campus to ensure that its bright, vibrant future does not fade.”