The most likely contender, board members say, is Richard Joel, president of Hillel, the world’s largest network of Jewish campus organizations. If he is chosen, it would mark the first time a non-rabbi was named Yeshiva’s president.
Current president Norman Lamm, who has held the post for more than 25 years, announced almost two years ago that he would retire in August, but has agreed to stay on until a new president is in place. Since then, the board has grappled to reach a consensus on a replacement, with some members holding out for a rabbi and others insisting that strong managerial and fund-raising skills were paramount.
“You prioritize and realize that you can’t get it all,” a member of the search committee says. “Richard Joel has very strong leadership qualities. He took Hillel, a sleepy organization, and turned a $14 million budget into a $51 million budget.”
Sources say Mr. Joel would probably make more money than Mr. Lamm, whose salary last year was $328,000.
Mr. Lamm, a rabbi with a Ph.D. in Jewish philosophy, has three roles at the university: president of the university; president of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, Yeshiva’s rabbinical school; and rosh yeshiva, the rabbinic authority at the Yeshiva. If Mr. Joel gets the job, he would likely take over as president of the university and of RIETS, with Mr. Lamm staying on as rosh yeshiva, sources say.
Yeshiva University has more than 6,500 students and 1,000 faculty members, spread among 17 schools and affiliates, including the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the Sy Syms School of Business.
