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"It's about the conversation. . ."
I write this note at the end of a long but energizing day in the RHC Dean's office. We are at that point in the semester where students raise their eyes from their current crop of courses and begin looking ahead to the next semester's offerings. I always enjoy this period because students appear at my door in greater numbers and I get to learn how things are going in more detail.
Mission, Values, Vision, and Goals
Mission Statement
The Rabinowitz Honors College enriches the education of exceptional students at Hofstra inside the classroom and beyond. We promote intellectual engagement, creativity, conversation, leadership, civic responsibility and global reach. In short, we serve and challenge RHC students in ways that radiate throughout the entire Hofstra community and beyond.
Values Statement
RHC values curiosity, independence of thought and close collaboration among students, faculty and administrators. We prize inquiry, scholarship, integrity and the pursuit of knowledge in all its forms. We support extraordinary artistic achievement, as well as creativity within the professions. In sum, RHC values all forms of engagement that enrich human experience in ways that are both sustainable and respectful of the social and physical environments on which we depend.
Vision Statement
“Academic excellence guides everything that the University undertakes.” – Hofstra Mission
The University’s pursuit of academic excellence is the raison d'être for the Rabinowitz Honors College (RHC). RHC enlarges the University's ability to recruit, serve and retain students of the highest caliber. It provides a hub for pedagogical innovation, faculty development, and community engagement. In service to students, faculty and administrators from all of Hofstra's schools and colleges, RHC forms partnerships that enrich and extend student learning and achievement.
Goals
- To attract, retain and support highly motivated, high achieving students to HUHC and the broader Hofstra community.
- To provide RHC students with the intellectual tools and administrative support to advance toward their own chosen academic goals.
- To help RHC students make informed choices from among the many different options open to them at the University.
- To create opportunities for RHC students to engage with and learn from broader academic and civic communities of which they are a part.
- To establish a social network for RHC students that can serve as a starting point for engagement with the Hofstra community.
- To be a center for intellectual engagement among faculty from across all the different disciplines at Hofstra University.
- To create pedagogical opportunities where faculty experiment with new strategies and explore creative new classroom possibilities.
- To partner with other individuals, departments and programs in pursuit of new opportunities to enhance and enrich intellectual life at Hofstra University.
Dean's Office
The RHC Dean's Office is the place to go when you have a question, need some guidance, or just want to sit, relax and find someone to talk to. Always lively, it includes the RHC "living room," where you'll find coffee, teas, hot chocolate, fruit, candy and other snacks, as well as just about every kind of conversation – from animated political debates to light-hearted discussions of popular culture. Most of all, the RHC Dean's office is where you will find RHC's dedicated administrative and student staff, whose mission is to help ensure that your experience at Hofstra is as full and rich as possible.
Warren G. Frisina, Dean of Rabinowitz Honors College (RHC) and Associate Professor of Religion, came to Hofstra in 1997 from a position as acting Executive Director of the American Academy of Religion, the world's largest learned society for scholars of religion. He earned the PhD from the University of Chicago where he did work in theology, philosophy and Chinese intellectual history. He has published widely in the areas of American pragmatism, Neo-Confucianism, and the academic study of religion. Contemporary theories of knowledge, metaphysics, Chinese philosophical and religious thought, and comparative philosophy and religion are among his current research and teaching interests. He is especially interested in the implications of recent work in cognitive psychology for our understanding of knowledge and the mind. His book, The Unity of Knowledge and Action: Toward a Nonrepresentational Theory of Knowledge, was published in 2002 by SUNY Press. He has also co-edited Teaching the Daodejing, Oxford University Press, 2007, and The Pragmatic Century: Conversations with Richard J. Bernstein, SUNY Press, 2007. Before his appointment as Dean of RHC, he served as Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion and as founding chair of the newly independent Department of Religion. He has also taught at Rice University, the University of Houston, and Emory University.
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Tomeka Robinson
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Dr. Tomeka Robinson is the Senior Associate Dean & Professor of Rhetoric and Public Advocacy. Dr. Robinson earned a BS in Biology & Speech Communication from McNeese State University in 2005, MA in Communication from Texas A&M University in 2007 and a PhD in Health Education from Texas A&M University in 2009. Her scholarship focuses primarily in the areas of health, culture, and argumentation & debate appears in multiple journals, including Journal of Health Science, Journal of International Crisis & Risk Communication, The Forensic of Pi Kappa Delta, Revista Brasileira da Educação Física Esporte, and Colecao Pesquisa em Educacao Fisica. Her co-authored book Jogos Olimpicos 2016 e politicas publicas de esporte e lazer no Brasil was released in Brazil in 2020. Dr. Robinson is also currently serving as the immediate past- president of the Pi Kappa Delta National Forensics Honorary Association and the International Liaison for the International Forensics Association and was inducted into the 2021 National Forensics Association Hall of Fame for her work with the intercollegiate speech & debate community. She is frequently invited to give lectures throughout the US and Brazil and regularly gives commentary to regional and national news organizations about issues of politics, health, and race.
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Lauren Burginat-Kozol
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Lauren Burginat-Kozol is currently the Associate Dean in Rabinowitz Honors College and Associate Adjunct Professor in the Writing Studies Department at Hofstra University. She received her BA from Columbia University and her PhD in English Literature from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, which won the Robert Adams Day Award for "the best dissertation involving interdisciplinary work." She also holds a Professional Certificate in Music Composition from Berkeley College of Music and has done further studies in connection with Mannes and the Juilliard School. In addition, she participated in a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Seminar on Literature and the Visual Arts. Her primary area of scholarly research is avant-garde collaborations among poets, composers and artists in the 20th and 21st century. Before coming to Hofstra, Dr. Burginat-Kozol was the Director of Academic Writing at Manhattanville College and Research Assistant Professor at Polytechnic University where she won prizes for “outstanding and dedicated service” and as "Faculty Advisor of the Year" for her work with the Performing Arts Club. As well as teaching traditional writing and literature classes, she has offered interdisciplinary courses in the arts, Professional Writing for Artists and Architects, Contemporary Theater, and Latino Culture in New York. She enjoys collaborating with students both academically and creatively and has run workshops for them with professional actors, musicians and orchestral conductors in the city. Her most ambitious excursion to date involved co-leading a semester abroad program at Polytechnic in which she took twenty-three students to seven countries in Asia – China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Outside the University, her favorite activities include writing poetry, composing music, and playing the piano in chamber groups.
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Carol Peng
Office Manager and Alumni Liaison
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Carol joined Rabinowitz Honors College (RHC) in September 2024, bringing extensive experience from her prior role in Student Affairs at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University/Northwell. At RHC, she oversees office operations, coordinates co-curricular trips, and organizes alumni talks and mentorship programs, all designed to enrich the student experience. She is dedicated to supporting RHC students and fostering a welcoming environment.
Carol holds a B.A. in Computer Information Systems, an M.S. in Computer Science from Queens College, and an M.B.A. from New York University. She is currently completing an M.S.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies at Hofstra University.
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Jaclyn Leitermann
Senior Support Specialist
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Jaclyn is a Long Island native and Hofstra Alum. She graduated with dual degree in History and Sociology. Prior to joining the Rabinowitz Honors College, Jaclyn worked in the legal field and marketing industry.