Touro University

In addition to its various undergraduate and graduate medical degree programs, Touro University regularly engages in efforts to combat antisemitism, especially on college campuses across the United States. The university’s expansion in New York City and absorption of other medical colleges, including the New York College of Podiatric Medicine (NYCPM), has been part of its intentional effort to secure more pro-Jewish college communities. ^{4  5}

History

In 1971, Touro College welcomed its first class of 35 students in Manhattan. Bernard Lander founded the school, which he named after Jewish-American philanthropists Isaac and Judah Touro. The school’s founding intent was to create a space that promoted Jewish cultural and spiritual as well as academic life. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Touro opened more campuses across New York City and created programs to serve immigrants, Yeshiva students, and expanded its graduate programs. The Touro College system has since produced several graduates who went on to serve in both state and federal government entities, including New York state Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr. (D-Queens) and U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice (D-NY). The collection of Touro colleges received university status in 2022. ³

Activities

Health Care Education

Touro University is a health-care research university and offers a wide variety of academic programs to its students. The university offers several research opportunities across more than a dozen campuses, including research related to the discovery of prehistoric mollusks in Jordan, the use of marijuana in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, and uncovering the lives of forgotten victims of the Nazi occupation of Europe, as well as student-led research related to behavioral risk of diabetes in the Orthodox Jewish community, bone loss in periodontitis, and investigating less invasive techniques for chronic subdural hematomas. ⁶

The university’s most popular and well-known academic programs include health professions and related programs; psychology; and business, management, marketing, biological and biomedical sciences. ⁷ It also offers graduate-level and medical school programs through its absorption of the New York Medical College and its podiatric medicine program, the Touro University College of Dental Medicine, and the Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine, among others. ⁸

The university also produces a live interview show called “Touro Talks,” during which Touro University president Alan Kadish has interviewed prominent public figures, including United States Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY). ⁹

Activism Against Antisemitism

Touro University maintains several projects aimed at combating antisemitism. In January 2025, Touro University’s law school partnered with the National Jewish Advocacy Center to provide its law students with clinical legal training in fighting antisemitism and other legal strategies to combat antisemitism on college campuses. ⁴

Several of Touro University’s “Touro Talks” have also centered on the topic of antisemitism in higher education, including multiple episodes on the 2023-2025 war in Gaza, its impact on normalizing antisemitism in the United States, and combating United States-based organizations and individuals who fund Hamas. ^{10  11  12}

In February 2025, Touro University absorbed the New York College of Podiatric Medicine (NYCPM) to expand medical school offerings to those who seek an education rooted in Jewish values. Touro University President Alan Kadish said the absorption of NYCPM was in part a response to growing antisemitism on other college campuses across America as part of Touro’s efforts to protect safe spaces for Jewish education. ⁵

Bomb Threat

In September 2025, the Jewish Theological Seminary and Touro University received bomb threats. New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were informed that an anonymous person sent an email to the school administration that a pipe bomb would detonate in a library garbage can. A second email from the same sender contained a racial slur against Jews. Officers conducted a preliminary investigation that concluded there was no immediate threat to either campus or its students, however the investigation into the email sender who made the threat remains ongoing. ¹³

Leadership

Alan Kadish is the president of Touro University. He received his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, his postdoctoral medical training at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a fellow in cardiology. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and cardiac electrophysiology. Kadish has worked as a mentor, research scholar, scientist, and clinician, holding numerous senior-level administrative positions at Northwestern University and at the University of Michigan. He is also a researcher and writer and has published extensively in cardiovascular medicine. He has also been the recipient of numerous research grants, including from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he has also served extensively on review panels, as well as from the National Science Foundation and other not-for-profit organizations. ¹⁴

Finances

In 2024, Touro University reported $367,265,660 in total revenue, $364,898,280 in total expenses, and $789,718,250    in total assets. That year, Touro University received $14,551,513 in government grants (approximately four percent of its total revenue). ¹⁵