Volume 67, Issue 3  

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.

Sources close to the search process have stressed that although negotiations are currently underway regarding Rosensweig and Bacon, nothing is set in stone. “These two names have definitely come up, but nothing’s yet happening,” said one highly respected Board member. “They’re both not interested in the job, and the Board hasn’t even met yet to determine whether there should be two positions. You can’t even look towards Karen [Bacon] at all before deciding that there’ll be two candidates, [one Rosh Hayeshiva] and one President.”

Rabbi Sol Roth, Rabbi of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue and member of the Presidential Advisory Committee, further noted that even Yeshiva insiders are unfamiliar with the current state of affairs. “I’m not aware that [the consideration of Rosensweig and Bacon] reflects any attitudes, decisions, or perceptions of the Board,” he said. “Many members of the Board do not know what’s taking place. I’m reasonably convinced that it’s nothing of a formal nature.”

Both Rabbi Zevulun Charlop, Max and Marion Grill Dean of Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and Rabbi Rosensweig were unavailable for comment.

While confirming that as of mid-October, both Schnall and Shatz are no longer official candidates, Rabbi Roth did point out that they are both still under some sort of consideration. “To my knowledge, Dr. Schnall officially declined, as did Dr. Shatz, but the Board may attempt to keep them involved,” he revealed. “[Their withdrawal] doesn’t mean that they will not be reconsidered.”

On September 24th, Shatz reportedly informed Stanton that he no longer wished to remain a candidate. “Dr. Shatz realized as the process developed that as president of the University, he’d become a public figure, and that was something he wasn’t prepared for,” explained Search Committee Chairman Michael Jesselson. “Shatz is a decent individual, a mensch, a top-rate academician, and a role model. It was [thus] very disappointing, but I respect his decision.”

A few days after Shatz pulled out, according to Rabbi Roth, Schnall followed suit. Jesselson noted that as of now, “it’s up to Stanton to what extent the Search Committee” will be involved. “Until I hear from him,” Jesselson said, “I will no longer be directly involved in the search process.”

Yeshiva insiders are wondering when Stanton will finally call to order the long-awaited Board meeting. “The search for our next president is currently in the middle of nowhere, going nowhere,” said one well-respected member of the Executive Council. “We have no candidates, and we have no Board meeting. We haven’t even decided whether splitting the position is an option.”

Another caveat to the possibility of appointing a Rosh Hayeshiva President or even co-President is the objection of Yeshiva’s graduate schools. According to a Board member, “Both AECOM and Cardozo have made it clear to the Board that they don’t want a rabbinical figure leading the institution.” It remains unclear whether this would include someone like Rosensweig, the Board member explained, but it is very likely that it would.

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