University Registrar Submits Resignation

At the alleged urging of university officials, Rabbi Melvin Davis, University Registrar, submitted his resignation three weeks ago effective the end of the fall semester. Currently, no specific plan for a replacement or for the future of the office has been made available.

According to administrative officials, Davis was called into the office of Dr. John B. Fisher, Director of Enrollment Management, three weeks ago and was informed that his services were no longer needed at Yeshiva. Davis was then given two weeks to submit his resignation or risk having his position terminated.

The impetus behind the decision to force Davis' resignation is not clear. Not a single administrator was able to provide any specific reason as to why Davis was asked to resign. There have been a great number of speculative reasons and conspiracy theories offered by many sources, none of them confirmed. However, one person within the dean's office noted that the registrar's office has accumulated a track record of below par performance for sometime.

According to high level University officials, Rabbi Davis' dismissal came only after the accumulation of this negative track record.

Student sentiment against the registrar's office has existed in the past and has been expressed numerous times on campus. According to students present, the registrar's office was discussed in a negative light at recent meetings of the Student Life Committee. "Many of the complaints involved the organization and day to day operation of the registrar's office. Students often were subject to negative attitudes as well as poor service, two qualities that should not be tolerated in the world of academia," explained one administrator.

According to University employees, the Office of the University Registrar, which serves the entire Yeshiva community with the exception of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, has been handicapped for some time due to understaffing, hampering the office's ability to execute everyday tasks in an efficient manner. A pattern of understaffing manifested itself last January 15, when Hanna Wolfe, Assistant Registrar of Stern College for Women, resigned. After her resignation, her office remained vacant for almost a full semester until Dr. Lea Honigwachs assumed the assistant registrar position. During the interim months, Davis was charged with the direction of the Midtown office while continuing his duties in the University office on the Main Campus.

Further impairing the office's ability to function was the departure of Associate Registrar Carol S. Roth in August of this year. Roth's position still remains vacant. In addition an assistant university registrar position at Yeshiva does not exist. However, the University recognized the need for this office when they placed an advertisement soliciting resumes for an assistant university registrar in June of last year. This position too remains vacant and undefined. "The easiest way to convince people that someone is inefficient is to strip him of his support; no man can do everything on his own," remarked one University official.

Davis, a former student of Yeshiva, (YC '68, RIETS '74) returned to his alma mater in 1994 after serving Long Island University for 15 years as Dean of Student Administrative Services and Director of University Information and Records. Hired as the Director of Enrollment Management, Davis was charged with operating both the registrar and admissions offices. During the two years in his capacity as director, enrollment increased an impressive seventeen percent. After a short stint as assistant to then Academic Vice President, Dr. William Schwartz, Davis was moved to University Registrar. Over his tenure in Yeshiva, Rabbi Davis instituted many changes and improvements in the University, all aimed at "making these offices more user friendly," he said.

When accepting the job, Davis took the initiative to institute a uniform, all inclusive student database that would allow recruiting, admissions, enrollment, finances, and registration to utilize the same set of student data. Davis introduced the University to the Banner system, which has proved so successful that Alumni and Development are now looking at incorporating themselves into the network as well.

Recently, Davis drafted a proposal to add Banner Web 2000 to the University system to provide a secure medium for students to access their personal information relating to financial status and academic grades via the World Wide Web. According to the proposal, the program would also create the option for online registration, a feature offered at many universities across the country. Banner Web would also enable an automatic graduation check module creating a list of the classes already taken and the classes still required for degree completion. "The equivalent to senior check, quicker and any time," explained one registrar employee. Apparently, the University MIS department has hampered this effort.

Under Rabbi Davis' direction, the college course catalog was placed online by students so that their peers could plan academic schedules in advance of registration. In May 1998, Davis moved registration to the more comfortable Belfer Hall, a move that was made after years of using the inadequate registrars facilities in Furst Hall. However, one University official asserted that in fact Dr. Gelman was the catalyst behind the move.

Part of the contention surrounding Davis' dismissal is the timing of the event and the uncertainty of where the recommendation and order for dismissal came. Sources speculate that recently appointed Academic Vice President Dr. Morton Lowengrub was directly responsible for Davis' dismissal, leading to a possible explanation for the poor timing of the event. "Lowengrub was only in office for some four weeks when Davis resigned, not a sufficient amount of time to judge someone's worth or contribution to the institution," remarked one high level university employee.

Although Dr. Fisher informed Davis of his dismissal, many administrative officials maintain that Fisher could not have given the order or made the decision on his own. "Fisher is obviously the hatchet boy in this," asserted one high level administrator. "Hatchet boy for who is something that remains unclear. "

Dr. Fisher's job as Director of Enrollment Management was at one time held by Rabbi Davis, however the duties of the position have changed dramatically since Davis left that post. When Dr. Fisher assumed the roll of Director, the position was changed to cover the financial aid office in addition to admissions and registration. The significance of this change is with regards to whom Dr. Fisher reports. Previously, the Director only reported to the Academic Vice President; however with the addition of financial aid, the Director is responsible to Vice President of Business Affairs Sheldon Socol, as well.

Dr. Fisher was unavailable for comment, as he was attending to difficult situations in Yeshiva University's Israel Office. The Department of Human Resources, the Office of the Academic Vice President, and the Office of the Business Vice President all refused to comment on Davis' resignation, citing supposed rules of confidentiality.

"That is part of the problem here in Yeshiva," explained another high level administrator. "Someone can be fired, or forced to resign, and no reason has to be given, no people have to take responsibility."