Wexler Accepts Hebrew University Professorship

Philip Wexler has accepted a professorship at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and has resigned his position as professor at the Warner Graduate School. In the Hebrew University’s School of Education, he will focus on the sociology of education and continue his studies, as Wexler said, “at the intersection of the fields that I am interested in—education, society, and religion.”

A political and social theorist, Wexler came to Rochester in 1979 with a joint appointment in education and sociology. In 1989 he succeeded Guilbert Hentschke as dean. In his roles of dean, teacher, researcher, and writer, he gave the Warner School a strong foundation of social theory and an understanding of education as social practice.

His most current books include Holy Sparks: Social Theory, Education, and Religion (St. Martins, 1996) and The Mystical Society: Revitalization in Culture, Theory, and Education. (Westview Press, 2000).

Wexler left the Warner School in July of 2000 for a two-year stint as a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Israel. When he announced his plans to colleagues, he wrote:

“[T]his is . . . an opportunity for me to explore further my intellectual interests in social and educational theory and practice. The shaping of the Warner School’s mission and programs have, in a real sense, led me in this direction. . . . ”
Wexler relocated with his wife, Ilene, and daughters Ava and Helen. “Our major worry, as I think it is worldwide now, is the danger of international terrorism, and our major hope is for peace, in a stable, democratic, and pluralistic world.”

His colleagues and students at the Warner School wish him well and are grateful for his strong leadership at a time when the Warner School struggled to find its voice in the areas of educational theory and practice.