Nearly three years after his arrival at Yeshiva College to head the nascent Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program, Dr. Frank Felsenstein will likely step down from his position sometime following this semester. While the immediate impetus for his departure remains unclear, ranking Yeshiva College faculty and administrators have revealed that the move stems from a desire by Yeshiva College Norman Adler to change the focus and aims of the Honors Program.

Neither the Deans Office nor Felsenstein has made any official pronouncements on the matter, and the lack of a definite search protocol for filling the expected void troubles Yeshiva faculty members. "If no replacement is found by the start of next semester, the void will probably be filled on an interim basis by Will [Lee] and Gabe [Cwilich]," predicted one professor referring to the current co-chairs of the faculty Honors Committee.

Dr. Lee, an associate professor of English, refused to speculate on the record about this possibility, merely remarking that "the future of the Honors Program remains in the hands of the faculty committee." Similar reticence characterized the responses of all relevant parties, as Adler refused to comment more on the matter than a terse "under Drs. Lee and Cwilich, the focus on the program will hopefully shift from its structure to its student orientation."

Adler's obfuscation notwithstanding, The Commentator has learned that the Dean encouraged the move in order to further integrate the Honors Program into the mainstream of Yeshiva College. In the words of one faculty member, "he [Adler] needed to make the program more populist and relevant to a significant minority in YC. Felsenstein was a top-notch scholar, and demanded that the program conform to extremely high academic standards, while Norman [Adler] views things in a more practical sense."

Another administrator defended Adler's position, however. "The Honors Program needs to create a group of talented and educated Modern Orthodox leaders, and for this to happen, the student body needs to accept it wholeheartedly and enthusiastically," the source explained. "Adler sees encouraging a more practical and less theoretical program as the route to such acceptance. He is also aware of the need for the program to yield tangible results, and he is trying to ensure such an outcome."

Concerned faculty members nonetheless questioned whether such a paradigm shift in the program was merely a buzzword for lowering the program's standards.

"The faculty does not want to lower standards under any circumstances," raged one member of the Honors Committee. "We have to stand firm on this point."

Felsenstein likewise remained mostly mum on the possibility of such a rift in the Yeshiva College administration. Instead, he chose to focus narrowly on the nature of his position. "I was initially hired on a six-month basis," he recalled. "The dean asked me to found an Honors Program, and I think I have fulfilled all the things I said I would. Bear in mind that the National Collegiate Honors Council, to which Yeshiva's program belongs, has records on the average term of honors program directors. This figure is around three years." Felsenstein did cryptically predict, however, that he doubted that the program would be "radically altered" within the next year, based on the faculty's original reluctance to accept a diluted version of program at its inception.

While Felsenstein's resignation seems fairly certain, if unspoken, he did reveal that he would continue teaching in the upcoming semesters. Felsenstein is scheduled to instruct an honors English course entitled "Constructions of Otherness," dealing with negative stereotypes perpetuated in various cultures.

Overall, the YC faculty seemed disappointed with the news of the move. "I think it's a mistake to give up on him before the program's initial wave of students graduate," complained one professor. "Until then, no real assessment of his effectiveness can be made. Further, I think he's been doing an excellent job in soliciting courses and creating policy. The perception of him in the Deans Office, however, is that he is not relating closely and easily to the students, in terms of their academic and career goals."

Students informed of the presumed resignation scoffed at this assessment, however. "Dr. Felsenstein has always been extremely accessible and open to me," insisted Yair Sturm, a YC junior in the Honors Program. "I think my experience is shared by my fellow honors students, as well."

Similarly, students praised Felsenstein's teaching style and scholarship. "The two courses I took with him were well prepared and well executed," recalled YC junior Zvi Rosen. "His class was one of the few focused lectures I have attended in Yeshiva," remarked another junior Honors student, who requested anonymity. "It will be a tremendous loss to Yeshiva College as a whole, and to the English Department and Honors Program in particular if he actually leaves us."