Yeshiva University has chosen its 4th President: Richard M. Joel, president and international director of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. The Board of Trustees announced on Friday that Mr. Joel had been overwhelmingly approved as president by the Board of Trustees, and as chief executive officer by the Board of its affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). Mr. Joel will assume office by June 2003.
Joel, termed by the YU announcement a "seasoned Jewish communal leader and strategist," succeeds Dr. Norman Lamm, who has been president since 1976.
The appointment culminates an intensive 18-month national search for a new leader. Words of praise for Mr. Joel from YU officials included: “His leadership of Hillel has been innovative and visionary, and, in large measure, responsible for the renaissance of Jewish life on campuses throughout the nation… Mr. Joel is an educator who exemplifies the highest standards of service to the Jewish community, and is eminently qualified to advance Yeshiva University’s role as the flagship of Torah U’Madda, the synthesis of Jewish learning and the advancement of human knowledge."
Mr. Joel, a former New York Assistant District Attorney, was an associate dean and professor at YU’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He and his wife, Esther, have six children, two of whom are YU graduates - one is a rabbinical student at RIETS - and a third currently attends YU's Stern College for Women. Rabbi Dr. Lamm will become chancellor of the University, while remaining Rosh HaYeshiva of RIETS.
Joel, termed by the YU announcement a "seasoned Jewish communal leader and strategist," succeeds Dr. Norman Lamm, who has been president since 1976.
The appointment culminates an intensive 18-month national search for a new leader. Words of praise for Mr. Joel from YU officials included: “His leadership of Hillel has been innovative and visionary, and, in large measure, responsible for the renaissance of Jewish life on campuses throughout the nation… Mr. Joel is an educator who exemplifies the highest standards of service to the Jewish community, and is eminently qualified to advance Yeshiva University’s role as the flagship of Torah U’Madda, the synthesis of Jewish learning and the advancement of human knowledge."
Mr. Joel, a former New York Assistant District Attorney, was an associate dean and professor at YU’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He and his wife, Esther, have six children, two of whom are YU graduates - one is a rabbinical student at RIETS - and a third currently attends YU's Stern College for Women. Rabbi Dr. Lamm will become chancellor of the University, while remaining Rosh HaYeshiva of RIETS.