Richard M. Joel
Encyclopedia
Richard M. Joel is the fourth president of Yeshiva University
(YU), a Modern Orthodox
Jewish university
with some 7,000 students at its undergraduate and graduate divisions in New York City
. In addition, Joel has traveled the globe giving talks on topics of Jewish leadership and identity at numerous universities and Jewish Federations.
. He was an assistant district attorney in New York, and Deputy Chief of Appeals in Bronx, NY. His career continued as associate dean and professor of law at YU’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. President Joel is an at-large member of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU) Board of Trustees.
, an organization which supports Jewish life for college and university students throughout the world. In 1994, Joel orchestrated Hillel's independence from B'nai B'rith
, its parent organization since 1925. Joel also increased the organization's financial stability and prestige by bringing on board major philanthropists such as Michael Steinhardt
, Edgar Bronfman
, and Lynn Schusterman
and Charles Schusterman. During his tenure, Hillel partnered with Birthright Israel
, and launched the Steinhardt Jewish Campus Service Corps, a group of recent college graduates tasked with engaging unaffiliated Jews and drawing them to Judaism and Jewish events. Hillel also expanded to the former Soviet Union and South America. Joel's tenure at Hillel has been criticized by some as providing stylish instead of substantive Judaism. (More on criticism of Hillel.) However, Joel has also been credited for his “skilled management, magnetism, personal warmth” and “clarity of vision.” Joel is credited as the one who "transformed this movement (Hillel) and put Jewish renaissance at the forefront of the community's agenda," and his contributions to Hillel have been defined as "immeasurable" by its past and present leadership.
(OU) to investigate allegations that community leaders had ignored charges against the abusive outreach rabbi Baruch Lanner
, an executive with the OU's National Conference of Synagogue Youth
(NCSY). The commission concluded that many OU and NCSY leaders had made serious errors in judgment.
, who had been president since 1976. Since assuming the presidency, President Joel has appointed new deans for Yeshiva College
, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
, Sy Syms School of Business
, and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
(RIETS), added faculty positions throughout the university, and spurred wide-ranging improvements to campus life, including the construction of YU's newest building, the Jacob and Dreizel Glueck Center for Jewish Study, which opened in August 2009.
As president of RIETS, he has spearheaded efforts to reinvigorate professional education for rabbis, continuing education and rabbinic placement.
President Joel speaks often of a Yeshiva University education as "ennobling and enabling" a generation of leadership. Additionally, President Joel has established various centers and programs including the university's centers for Ethics, Israel Studies, Public Health and the Jewish Future.
He has also established a Presidential Fellowship program that provides training and professional development to recent graduates to further their path toward communal leadership.
, have six children all of whom have attended Yeshiva University schools. They currently reside in Riverdale
, NY.
group, The Maccabeats
, known for their viral Hanukkah
hit Candlelight
. Ironically, while Nachum only joined the Maccabeats in late 2010, Richard was featured in the song "Shaleshudis Medley" on the Maccabeats CD, Voices from the Heights, which debuted in March 2010.
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
(YU), a Modern Orthodox
Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....
Jewish university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
with some 7,000 students at its undergraduate and graduate divisions in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In addition, Joel has traveled the globe giving talks on topics of Jewish leadership and identity at numerous universities and Jewish Federations.
Academic and professional credentials
Richard Joel received his BA and JD from New York University where he was a Root-Tilden law scholar, and has received honorary doctorates from Boston Hebrew College and Gratz CollegeGratz College
Gratz College is a general college of Jewish studies founded in 1895 offering a broad array of credentials and programs in virtually every area of higher Judaic learning to aspiring Jewish educators, communal professionals, lay people and others seeking to become more knowledgeable of...
. He was an assistant district attorney in New York, and Deputy Chief of Appeals in Bronx, NY. His career continued as associate dean and professor of law at YU’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. President Joel is an at-large member of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU) Board of Trustees.
At Hillel
From 1989 to 2003, Joel served as President and International director of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus LifeHillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally...
, an organization which supports Jewish life for college and university students throughout the world. In 1994, Joel orchestrated Hillel's independence from B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
, its parent organization since 1925. Joel also increased the organization's financial stability and prestige by bringing on board major philanthropists such as Michael Steinhardt
Michael Steinhardt
Michael H. Steinhardt is an American investor and philanthropist active in Jewish causes. He was one of the first prominent hedge fund managers, and is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He founded Steinhardt, Fine, Berkowitz & Co., a hedge fund, in 1967...
, Edgar Bronfman
Edgar Bronfman
Edgar Bronfman may refer to:* Edgar Bronfman, Sr. , Canadian businessman and former long-time president of the World Jewish Congress* Edgar Bronfman, Jr. , CEO of the Warner Music Group...
, and Lynn Schusterman
Lynn Schusterman
-Biography:Lynn Schusterman was born in 1939. She attended the University of Miami, but dropped out before graduation. She is the widow of Charles Schusterman, the founder of the Samson Investment Company....
and Charles Schusterman. During his tenure, Hillel partnered with Birthright Israel
Birthright Israel
Taglit-Birthright Israel is a Jewish Israeli registered charity that sponsors free 10-day heritage trips to Israel. Birthright Israel's goals are to diminish the division between Israel and Jewish communities around the world and to strengthen participants' personal Jewish identity and...
, and launched the Steinhardt Jewish Campus Service Corps, a group of recent college graduates tasked with engaging unaffiliated Jews and drawing them to Judaism and Jewish events. Hillel also expanded to the former Soviet Union and South America. Joel's tenure at Hillel has been criticized by some as providing stylish instead of substantive Judaism. (More on criticism of Hillel.) However, Joel has also been credited for his “skilled management, magnetism, personal warmth” and “clarity of vision.” Joel is credited as the one who "transformed this movement (Hillel) and put Jewish renaissance at the forefront of the community's agenda," and his contributions to Hillel have been defined as "immeasurable" by its past and present leadership.
Investigating abuse
During his tenure at Hillel, Joel served as the head of the special commission impaneled by the Orthodox UnionOrthodox Union
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America , more popularly known as the Orthodox Union , is one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. It is best known for its kosher food preparation supervision service...
(OU) to investigate allegations that community leaders had ignored charges against the abusive outreach rabbi Baruch Lanner
Baruch Lanner
Baruch S. Lanner is an American Orthodox rabbi who was convicted of child sexual abuse.-Career:Lanner was the principal of Hillel Yeshiva High School in Ocean Township, New Jersey and later the director of regions for the Orthodox Union's National Conference of Synagogue Youth, .-Crimes:In 2000,...
, an executive with the OU's National Conference of Synagogue Youth
National Conference of Synagogue Youth
NCSY is an Orthodox Jewish youth group sponsored by the Orthodox Union. Founded in 1954, it has members in the United States, Canada, Israel, Chile, and formerly also in Ukraine. Its slogan is Inspiring the Jewish Future...
(NCSY). The commission concluded that many OU and NCSY leaders had made serious errors in judgment.
At Yeshiva University
Joel became president of YU in 2003, succeeding Rabbi Dr. Norman LammNorman Lamm
Norman Lamm is a major American Modern Orthodox rabbi, scholar, author and Jewish communal leader. He is presently the Chancellor of Yeshiva University....
, who had been president since 1976. Since assuming the presidency, President Joel has appointed new deans for Yeshiva College
Yeshiva College
Yeshiva College is located in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan. It is Yeshiva University’s undergraduate college of liberal arts and sciences for men...
, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a graduate school of Yeshiva University. It is a not-for-profit, private, nonsectarian medical school located on the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus in the Morris Park neighborhood of the borough of the Bronx of New York City...
, Sy Syms School of Business
Sy Syms School of Business
The Syms School of Business is Yeshiva University's business school for men and women...
, and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary , or Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University, located in Washington Heights, New York. It is named after Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, who died the year it was founded, 1896...
(RIETS), added faculty positions throughout the university, and spurred wide-ranging improvements to campus life, including the construction of YU's newest building, the Jacob and Dreizel Glueck Center for Jewish Study, which opened in August 2009.
As president of RIETS, he has spearheaded efforts to reinvigorate professional education for rabbis, continuing education and rabbinic placement.
President Joel speaks often of a Yeshiva University education as "ennobling and enabling" a generation of leadership. Additionally, President Joel has established various centers and programs including the university's centers for Ethics, Israel Studies, Public Health and the Jewish Future.
He has also established a Presidential Fellowship program that provides training and professional development to recent graduates to further their path toward communal leadership.
Personal life
Joel and his wife Esther (née Ribner), who holds a PhD from YU's Ferkauf Graduate School of PsychologyFerkauf Graduate School of Psychology
The Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology is a division of Yeshiva University. Along with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, it is located at the Louis E. and Doris Rousso Community Health Center on Yeshiva University’s Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus in the Bronx, New York.Lawrence J...
, have six children all of whom have attended Yeshiva University schools. They currently reside in Riverdale
Riverdale, Bronx
Riverdale is an affluent residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx in New York City. Riverdale contains the northernmost point in New York City.-History:...
, NY.
Maccabeats Performance
Joel's son Nachum is a member of Yeshiva University's a cappellaA cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group, The Maccabeats
The Maccabeats
The Maccabeats are an all-male college a cappella group from Yeshiva University noted for their 2010 Hanukkah song "Candlelight".-Career:The group released its first album, Voices from the Heights, in March 2010. In November 2010, they released "Candlelight", a Hanukkah-themed single directed by...
, known for their viral Hanukkah
Hanukkah
Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
hit Candlelight
Candlelight (song)
"Candlelight" is a song by the band The Maccabeats, that was released in late 2010. It achieved viral status. The song is a transformation of Mike Tompkins's a cappella cover of the Taio Cruz song "Dynamite"...
. Ironically, while Nachum only joined the Maccabeats in late 2010, Richard was featured in the song "Shaleshudis Medley" on the Maccabeats CD, Voices from the Heights, which debuted in March 2010.