Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio is known for its strict adherence to Catholic doctrine. Courtesy of Franciscan University of Steubenville

By Debrah Miszak November 17, 2023

Two Ohio Catholic colleges are offering “expedited” admissions for Jewish students who feel discriminated against at their current schools.

“Our community will welcome them with generosity and respect,” Franciscan University of Steubenville President Dave Pivonka said in a press release. “Our religious differences will not cause any conflict. On the contrary, at Franciscan, our radical fidelity to Christ and the Catholic faith demands of us fraternal charity toward our Jewish brothers and sisters, as it does toward all people.”

Franciscan University spokesperson John Romanowski said that no Jewish students have yet asked to transfer to the school, which is located about an hour’s drive west of Pittsburgh.

Calls to Walsh University, which is about an hour south of Cleveland in North Canton, Ohio, and which made a similar offer to Jewish students, were not immediately returned. 

The schools invited Jewish students to enroll in late October, after campuses across the nation erupted in controversy over the Israel-Hamas war, and incidents against Israeli and Jewish students began to rise. 

Franciscan, with 3,800 students, has no Hillel or Jewish organizations and is known for its strict adherence to Church doctrine, particularly in relation to LGBTQ+ issues. Pivonka, a priest, told Inside Higher Ed that the university would try to support students who keep kosher in its dining facilities.

Walsh University, with 2,311 students, also does not have a Hillel or Jewish student groups, though nearby Canton is home to two synagogues and the Canton Jewish Community Federation.

Franciscan and Walsh invited Jews to enroll after joining a movement organized by Yeshiva University. The flagship higher education institution of modern Orthodoxy had asked other colleges to support Jews on college campuses who, in the face of anti-Israel protests and rising antisemitism, felt unwelcome.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount