VIENNA, Austria — A host of Austrian politicians joined international businessman and philanthropist Ronald S. Lauder last Wednesday to inaugurate Vienna's only Jewish university. The fete in honor of the Lauder Business School coincided with a series of other events in the country's capital celebrating the 20th anniversary of Lauder's foundation, whose first project was the Lauder Chabad elementary and high schools in the city.
Cosmetics Magnate Inaugurates Vienna’s Only Jewish University
VIENNA, Austria — A host of Austrian politicians joined international businessman and philanthropist Ronald S. Lauder last Wednesday to inaugurate Vienna’s only Jewish university. The fete in honor of the Lauder Business School coincided with a series of other events in the country’s capital celebrating the 20th anniversary of Lauder’s foundation, whose first project was the Lauder Chabad elementary and high schools in the city.
Lauder, the cosmetics magnate and avid art collector who is also the president of the World Jewish Congress, serves the business school as its chairman and president. The school welcomed its first students in 2003 with a curriculum drawing on methods and courses used at the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, and recently won accreditation for its bachelors and masters programs.
The school also places an emphasis on developing Jewish leadership skills. To that end, its Jewish Heritage Center, directed by Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Shaya Boas, provides some 200 students from 26 countries with a religious community, complete with prayer services, activities, speakers, kosher food and workshops. The center was officially unveiled at the inauguration ceremony.
At the event, Rabbi Jacob Biderman, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Austria, presented Lauder with a new Torah written in his honor. With tears welling up in his eyes, the philanthropist held the Torah tight and said: “The Torah will be my most cherished treasure.”
