HUC-JIR Los Angeles Campus

"The growth of the Los Angeles area after World War II made it home to the largest Jewish community outside New York. To meet the needs of that community, HUC in 1947 established a part-time College of Jewish Studies aimed at teacher training and adult education.

Motivated by the alumnus Jack Skirball, who had left the pulpit rabbinate for a very successful career producing motion pictures and acquiring real estate, the board of governors and President Nelson Glueck were persuaded to open a pre-rabbinic program at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in 1954. Two years later, a former home for asthmatic Jewish girls at 8745 Appian Way, high in the Hollywood Hills, was purchase to provide the first two years of rabbinic studies. The student body and the library expanded rapidly, and the difficulty of access to the site made evident the need for a move. By 1970, land adjacent to the University of Southern California had been acquired, and a handsome, functional building was erected at 3077 University Avenue, primarily with funds raised locally. It was formally dedicated on November 5, 1971."

(from Reform Judaism in American : a biographical dictionary and sourcebook / edited by Kerry M. Olitzky, Lance J. Sussman, and Malcolm H. Stern. Greenwood Press, 1993)

For a timeline of the LA campus history, click here for the HUC-JIR Chronicle

LA Deans

Projects, centers, and initiatives.

Buildings and facilities

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