2008 Woodie Awards
Ships without Captains
Issue date: 8/31/05 Section: Editorials/Op-Ed
- Page 1 of 1
As the 2005-2006 academic year commences, both Yeshiva College and the Sy Syms School of Business are regrettably without deans. While the administration has appointed interim deans, it too acknowledges that these top-level vacancies leave a damaging void, which prevents the respective schools from achieving new and greater academic heights.
Esteemed universities invest money and great effort courting qualified individuals for the all-important position of dean. The dean is more than a figurehead or administrator; he or she is tasked with the challenge of evaluating the institution's strengths and weaknesses and formulating a coherent vision toward accentuating the former and ameliorating the latter. President Joel is trying to transform Yeshiva into a top-tiered, renowned university; can the undergraduate schools realize this vision without stalwart leadership?
This was not an unforeseen problem. Dean Adler's departure was no shock to the administration, and while Dean Snow's SSSB tenure had nearly reached its contractual conclusion, his departure too was not completely unexpected. In the case of YC, we are encouraged by the fact that the administration is actively engaged in negotiations with a number of serious candidates, and "extremely close" to deciding on one in particular. However, Syms students, who too should be encouraged by the president's recent vote of confidence, should also be worried at the lack of administrative movement toward acquiring a replacement. Frustratingly, a search has yet to begin.
While possessing different strengths and weaknesses, both YC and Syms have much room for improvement: departments to strengthen, teachers to hire, students to nurture, and an educational vision to shape. Installing new deans should have been the highest priority for Yeshiva not just over the course of this past summer, but for well over a year, perhaps even longer. Instead, Yeshiva seems to be reverting back to its age-old stigma of embracing inefficient, rudderless bureaucracies.
The question remains: Who is in charge?
Esteemed universities invest money and great effort courting qualified individuals for the all-important position of dean. The dean is more than a figurehead or administrator; he or she is tasked with the challenge of evaluating the institution's strengths and weaknesses and formulating a coherent vision toward accentuating the former and ameliorating the latter. President Joel is trying to transform Yeshiva into a top-tiered, renowned university; can the undergraduate schools realize this vision without stalwart leadership?
This was not an unforeseen problem. Dean Adler's departure was no shock to the administration, and while Dean Snow's SSSB tenure had nearly reached its contractual conclusion, his departure too was not completely unexpected. In the case of YC, we are encouraged by the fact that the administration is actively engaged in negotiations with a number of serious candidates, and "extremely close" to deciding on one in particular. However, Syms students, who too should be encouraged by the president's recent vote of confidence, should also be worried at the lack of administrative movement toward acquiring a replacement. Frustratingly, a search has yet to begin.
While possessing different strengths and weaknesses, both YC and Syms have much room for improvement: departments to strengthen, teachers to hire, students to nurture, and an educational vision to shape. Installing new deans should have been the highest priority for Yeshiva not just over the course of this past summer, but for well over a year, perhaps even longer. Instead, Yeshiva seems to be reverting back to its age-old stigma of embracing inefficient, rudderless bureaucracies.
The question remains: Who is in charge?