For sale: American Jewish University’s Bel Air campus

(American Jewish University campus, Bel Air. Credit: Flickr.com/Rocor)

It’s been a week since the American Jewish University (AJU) announced on Feb. 10 that it plans to sell its Sunny & Isadore Familian Campus in Bel Air, and social media feeds are filled with alumni and community members expressing shock and sadness.

AJU has had multiple name changes since its establishment in 1947, but there is no denying it has held an iconic place as a major Los Angeles Jewish community stronghold. It makes sense that there has been an outpouring of concern about what the future holds in light of this announcement.

In its bare bones press release AJU speaks of the “significant endowment funds” that will come from the sale of the property as AJU focuses more on online programming. AJU has already created a strong push for its new online digital platform called Maven. AJU President Jeffrey Herbst was quoted in the university’s statement as saying, “We look forward to continuing our work to advance the Jewish journeys of individuals and organizations and elevate Jewish life across North America, through both robust online and in-person offerings.”

There is no doubt that AJU will be able to sell the property. It’s a prime piece of real estate and in an interview with Commercial Observer, Arden Realty Chairman Stuart Gabriel noted, “I anticipate that there will be quite a few bids for the facility, and given recent real estate trends, it should command quite a price.”

While there has been speculation that the pandemic has exacerbated AJU’s woes, its dwindling enrollment numbers have been cause for concern for some time. According to UNIVSTATS there were only 93 students enrolled across all programs at American Jewish University in the 2020-2021 school year, and seven of them were studying exclusively online.
I interviewed Herbst when he first took the helm of the institution in the summer of 2018. It was an uphill battle even then, as AJU’s board sought a new vision after Robert Wexler stepped down, ending a 25-year tenure.  Then 11 months ago, AJU announced it was looking for a partner  “to envision the post-COVID future.”

Whatever that vision was, it didn’t materialize and this is the result. At least the Brandeis Bardin Campus in Simi Valley will remain under AJU’s auspices.

The community now waits to see who will purchase the campus, what they intend to do with it and how successful AJU can be as it pushes forward in the online space.