Volume 67, Issue 3

First impressions go along way.  That dictum summarizes a commonly held belief about the presidency fairly accurately.  The unabbreviated thought goes more like this: If our next president fails to begin implementing a coherent vision for the university immediately, his or her tenure is doomed.  Trite perhaps, but true.  The only thing bothering us is the fact that we haven’t heard the same rationale applied ipso facto to our new Chairman of the Board.

Ronald P. Stanton, who just became the most powerful member of the Yeshiva community, has his work cut out for him.  With Rabbi Lamm eagerly eyeing his year-end reprieve, Stanton should, without question, devote the bulk of his time to procuring a suitable replacement.  The stark reality of a leaderless Yeshiva, which would leave the university and Modern Orthodoxy headless, must be averted at all costs.  Period.  In fact, Stanton may even be hamstrung by some of the problems plaguing Yeshiva without a resolute president. 

As it stands, the nascent chairman must figure out how to deal with Cordozo and Einstien threatening to secede from the university if a Rosh Hayeshiva is appointed president – a stance glaringly indicative of a larger identity crisis brewing just beneath the surface.  He must also decide how to deal with burgeoning populations on both undergraduate campuses.  And, finally, if Stanton hopes to equip board members with accurate financial data, with the eventual aim of funneling funds back into the university, he is going to have to cross swords with the territorial Vice President for Business Affairs Sheldon Socol.  And we all know what that means.

Almost a month after his installment, Stanton has yet to decide how the presidential search process is to proceed or even convene his first Board of Trustees meeting.  Such salutory neglect is simply unacceptable under the current constraints.  If Stanton wants to ensure a productive tenure as chairman, then it would behoove him to read the aforementioned advice.  If not, then he is not only jeopardizing his chairmanship but also the very future of this university.    

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