Located at Case, the School is one of the oldest university-affiliated graduate degree programs in social work. It is ranked consistently in the top ten social work schools in North America. The mission of the Mandel School is to provide and integrate professional social work education, research and service to promote social justice and empowerment in communities locally, nationally and internationally. The Mandel Leadership Fellows Program is an invitational doctoral fellowship for outstanding human services professionals. The Mandel Foundation is a major funder of the School.

The Mandel Foundation believes that exceptional leaders—inspired by powerful ideas—are key to improving society and the lives of people around the world.  Our mission at the Mandel Leadership Institute is to partner with these leaders and train them to channel their creative energies into practical endeavors aimed at enhancing the vitality of Jewish communities worldwide and contributing to a thriving Jewish and democratic State of Israel. At our Jerusalem-based campus, Fellows hone their social and educational visions by examining the great figures, ideas, and works of western and Jewish civilization, and by learning to translate these visions into practice.  MLI Fellows acquire the skills needed to establish and lead the institutions that will implement their creative solutions to educational and social challenges with which society and their communities are faced.

The development of educational leadership calls for integrating innovative thinking and deliberate action. Therefore, our training programs place the educator's vision at the center of professional development. Our world-class faculty composed of leading academic figures from both Israel and abroad, works with Fellows to articulate their individual visions. Experience has taught us that the combination of superior faculty, challenging curricula and comfortable, technologically-advanced surroundings—of the type offered at MLI—play a critical role in the training of professionals who go on to head premier educational institutions in Israel and in Jewish communities around the world.

Joining the ranks of the Mandel Leadership Institute entails much more than participating in a short-term program. For us, it means embarking on a lifelong relationship.  Our Graduates Unit supports alumni throughout their careers, offering consulting, mentoring, and coaching services to our serve our graduates in the invaluable work they are trained to do in the field.

The Mandel Leadership Institute in Jerusalem was established by the Mandel Foundation in cooperation with the Israel Ministry of Education.