Richard Joel to Step Down From Yeshiva University at End of Term

Image by Yeshiva University

By Paul Berger September 10, 2015

The president of Yeshiva University, who has steered the flagship Modern Orthodox institution through a sex abuse scandal and an ongoing fiscal crisis, has announced that he will step down at the end of his current term.

Richard Joel, 65, announced his pending departure at the end of an email sent to staff, students and alumni this morning.

The email was primarily to announce that Y.U. had transferred ownership of its prestigious but money-losing medical school to a new joint venture between Y.U. and Montefiore Health System, a healthcare provider in the Bronx, N.Y.

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine has been blamed for up to two-thirds of Y.U.’s operating deficits, which have yoyoed between $50 million and $108 million in each of the past eight years.

Montefiore Health System will take over financial responsibility for the medical school and will be a majority owner in the new partnership.

Joel said that he made the decision not to continue at Y.U. when he accepted a third term as president. He cited his age and his 13 years of service at Y.U. as the primary reasons for his pending departure.

He added that he has asked Y.U.’s chairman Moshael Straus to begin the process of searching for a successor.

A Y.U. spokesman said that Joel’s term ends in 2018.

Contact Paul Berger at [email protected] or on Twitter @pdberger

Paul Berger was a staff writer at the Forward from 2011-2016, covering crime and healthcare issues, such as sex abuse, circumcision, and fraud. He is a fluent Russian speaker and has reported from Russia and Ukraine. He also likes digging into historical mysteries.

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