Chabad House on Campus, Carlow University create new program for Jewish students

Rabbi Shmuli Rothstein knows how hard it can be for some Jewish women to get a college degree.

Rothstein is the head of Chabad House on Campus-Pittsburgh. He said that two of his sisters got married and had children before getting degrees. When they decided to go back to school, they had to juggle all the challenges that accompany a Jewish life — holidays and life cycle events specific to Judaism, for example — while raising a family and meeting the obligations of school assignments.

“College is built around mainstream students,” Rothstein said. “You graduate from high school, maybe do a gap year, you’re not married, you’re not running a business, you’re not having kids.”

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An idea emerged during a conversation between Rothstein, former Chabad House on Campus-Pitt co-Director Sara Weinstein and Carlow University President Kathy Humphrey about strengthening ties with the Jewish community.

Weinstein told Humphrey that some women in the community were interested in entering the workforce, Humphrey recalled.

Humphrey said she wanted to help community members achieve that goal and suggested that anyone — women or men — considering a return to school should pursue careers that lead to well-paying jobs.

“We need to make it count,” Humphrey said.

Her desire, Humphrey said, was to start a program with at least 10 students that would be focused on degrees those students could receive quickly and which would enable them to earn a livable wage.

“LPN [licensed practical nurse] is a 16-month program. In 16 months, you come out making $60,000. The surgical tech program is a 20-month program, you walk out making between $60,000 and $65,000. Our early learning programs train you to become a certified teacher,” Humphrey said.

The program would focus on the needs of the Jewish community with classes shaped around the rhythm of Jewish life, including Friday night/Saturday Shabbat celebrations, Jewish holidays and more.

“Jewish living,” Rothstein explained, “is more than just the major holidays. It’s Tisha B’Av, Chanukah, Purim, fast days, kosher food, modesty concerns and needs, and more.”

Carlow University, a private, Catholic university founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1929, has always had a special relationship with the Jewish community, Weinstein said.

Humphrey said the university launched with the mission of educating Catholic women.

“But when it surfaced that Jewish women weren’t being given the opportunity to get an education, they were encouraged to come, as well,” she said. “Many did.”

The university, Weinstein said, continues to focus on the needs of its students.

“One woman told me she went to Carlow and was in a class that had an assignment due every Saturday night. After struggling with it, she told her professor, ‘This is just impossible for me.’ She had a family, a husband, Shabbos — she couldn’t get it done by Saturday night.”

Rather than tell her those were the requirements of the course, the professor moved her deadline to Sunday nights, allowing her to continue working toward her degree.

Weinstein shared that story with Humphrey.

“I told Kathy and she said, ‘I want to know that professor’s name because I want to thank them,’” Weinstein recounted.

Humphry said that’s what Carlow strives to do: embrace each student as a whole person.

“We are sensitive to others’ needs. Period,” she said.

While the university benefits, Weinstein said it’s a testament to Humphrey and the way she views opportunities. “It’s always a win-win with her,” she said.

Chabad House on Campus-Pittsburgh and Carlow University hope to launch the program in the fall 2026 semester. It will require just 10 students to get started — what Weinstein called “a minyan of female students.”

They’ve already held one meet-and greet that featured both Humphrey and Carlow University Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Rhonda Maneval. Another is being planned targeting school/education administrators, healthcare professionals, students, community members, parents/grandparents and anyone who might be interested in learning more about the opportunity.

The program will be tailored to the needs of Jewish women, but men can also register for the program. In fact, Rothstein said, it’s open to anyone across the Jewish spectrum.

“The goal is to help Jewish students get a degree without compromising their values and to encourage accessibility without penalizing people for starting a family early,” he said.

Those interested in learning more about the program can reach out to Weinstein at sara@chabadpgh.org; for information about becoming a Carlow University student, visit their website. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.