Judaism, History and the Environment: Climate Change and Natural Disasters
Tuesday, January 20, 2026, 12:30 to 1:30 PM CST
In this special Launch & Learn, Dr. Dean Bell, Spertus Institute President & CEO, launched his new book, Judaism, History and the Environment: Climate Change and Natural Disasters. After a brief overview of the historical examples of Jewish experiences related to natural disasters outlined in his book, Bell led a discussion on how to harness our learning from past responses to crises to address contemporary leadership challenges. The session included discussion of several key Jewish texts and the analysis of a contemporary leadership case study to elevate the role of constructing narrative, engaging complexity, understanding causality, and understanding the importance of future thinking in leadership.
Spertus Institute President & CEO Dr. Dean P. Bell leads this session.
Dr. Dean P. Bell is the ninth President and CEO of Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, where he also holds a faculty appointment as Professor of History. He has served on the faculty of institutions including DePaul University, Northwestern University, Hebrew Theological College, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of California, Berkeley. A leading voice for the advancement of Jewish higher education, Dr. Bell has served as President, Vice-President, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Midwest Jewish Studies Association and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Jewish Studies. A historian by training, he is widely published in the areas of medieval and early modern Jewish history as well as early modern cultural responses to disaster.
Presented by Spertus Institute and JPro Chicago, Connect & Learn is an online, community-building, professional development series.
Connect & Learn workshops offer participants around the world a chance to join Spertus students and alumni for lively sessions on topics key to Jewish professional life today.
Build skills you can apply immediately to your life and work. Become part of a network of learners and Jewish community leaders. Sessions are online, live, interactive, and collaborative. Each session includes time to connect, network, meet new colleagues, and strengthen relationships. Sessions are free of charge thanks to the generosity of our sponsors. Programs take place via Zoom.
Connect & Learn is presented in partnership with JPro Chicago.
This series is presented under the auspices of Spertus Institute’s Center for Jewish Leadership, supported in part by a generous grant from the Crown Family.
This program is a Spertus Institute Norman Asher Memorial Program, endowed by the Asher family.
If you can, we encourage you to make a gift to support this free program and others like it!