Fonds F0209 - Sydney Eisen fonds

Sydney Eisen (1929 - ) is a professor, historian, and administrator. Born in Poland, he graduated from Harbord Collegiate Institute in Toronto in 1946. He received a BA. from the University of Toronto in 1950 and a Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University in 1957. He also attended Cornell University in 1950 and the London School of Economics in 1953. Dr. Eisen went on to faculty positions at Williams College from 1955 to 1961 and the City College of New York from 1961 to 1965. In 1965, Dr. Eisen served as a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and joined York University's Department of History and Division of Humanities as an Associate Professor. He was a full Professor at York from 1969 until 1993 when he became a University Professor, retiring in 1995. Dr. Eisen also served as Acting Chairman of the Division of Humanities in 1967, Chairman of the Department of History from 1970 to 1972, Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1973 to 1978, and was the founding Director of the Centre for Jewish Studies from 1989 to 1994. He has assisted in the establishment of a number of research centres including the Centre for Research in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the Victorian Studies Association of Ontario and is also an active fellow of Vanier College. He is the author of numerous articles and books on European history and Victorian studies including "The Human Adventure: Readings in World History" (1964), and "Victorian Science and Religion: A Bibliography" (1994).

Dr. Eisen has been actively involved in Jewish day school education; he is a life member of the board of the Associated Hebrew Schools and of the Community Hebrew Academy. He was also involved in national education in the U.S.A. as President and Chairman of the Board of the National Humanities Faculty from 1976-1980. In recognition of his achievements, Dr. Eisen has been the recipient of a number of honours including a book prize established in the Faculty of Arts at York University in 1978, the Shem Tov Award from the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto in 1988, a conference and Festschrift in 1994, the Ben Sadowski Medal (highest award for voluntary service) in 1995 and election to the York University Founder's Society in 1999. After his retirement he helped found a consulting firm, REF Consultants in Education, Inc. Sydney Eisen married Doris Kirschbaum in 1957. The couple has four children: Daniel, Robert, Sarah and Miriam.