Volume 67, Issue 3

 Stanton Elected Board of Trustees Chairman
by Zack Streit

At its first meeting of the academic year, Yeshiva’s Board of Trustees officially appointed Ronald P. Stanton, vice-chairman of the university board and chairman of Yeshiva’s $400 million capital campaign, as the seventh chairman of the Board.   Stanton, whose tenure seems to have been fait accompli as early as June of this year, succeeds Chairman Emeritus Robert M. Beren, who allegedly chose not to seek reelection and thus let his two-year term expire because he would not have garnered the requisite number of votes.

Presidential Search Hits Standstill
Dual Position a Possibility
by Yehoshua Levine

Sources close to The Commentator have discovered that top administrators and Executive Board members are seriously considering the designation of two leaders to succeed current Yeshiva President Dr. Norman Lamm.  These recent considerations began immediately after the Sukkos holiday, when the only two remaining candidates for president, Drs. David Schnall and David Shatz, withdrew their names from consideration. Although the Selection Committee, under the new chairmanship of Ronald P. Stanton, has not yet officially convened to discuss such a proposal, Yeshiva administrators and rabbeim have been working behind the scenes to nominate Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rosh Hayeshiva Rabbi Michael Rosensweig and Stern College for Women Dean Dr. Karen Bacon as candidates for the possibly two-person job.

Scheiber’s $36 Million Bequest Finally Released to Yeshiva Students
by Kevin Cyrulnik

After several years of delay, the Yeshiva administration has begun to award the $22 million bequeathed by Anne Scheiber to Yeshiva in 1995 to various Stern College students.  Yeshiva was unable to establish the Anne Scheiber Scholarship and Loan Fund and distribute the money granted to them in Scheiber's will until the resolution of extended probate proceedings. As of now, the gift has matured from its original $22 to $36 million.

Lack of Kippahs Raise Important Questions
by Jamie S. Hirsch
Josh* is a 21-year-old Yeshiva College junior majoring in economics.  Like many undergraduates, he is enrolled in a morning Judaic program, attends five afternoon classes, and just “chills out” at night watching TV between study stints.  Though dressed more casually than many students – he is partial to comfortable jeans – Josh is hardly conspicuous in Judaic classes.  But for all his blending in, Josh, and students like him, is currently the subject of conversations amongst many students, faculty, and administrators.

Yeshiva Ranked Forty and Rising
by Joshua Kessler

U.S. News and World Report’s 2003 annual special report, “America's Best Colleges,” put Yeshiva at number 40, its highest rank ever, on its list of the top fifty universities in America.  The 40th slot was shared with Boston College and Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and was only five places behind New York University.  A close examination of the U.S. News survey, however, reveals some recurring problems with Yeshiva’s academic and fiscal policy.

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