University President Jehuda Reinharz was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Theological Seminary in March of this year, Reinharz said in an interview with the Justice. Reinharz's election was announced in an Oct. 7 JTS press release. Also newly elected to the Board of Trustees are Robert Jossen, a partner at the international law firm Dechert, LLP; Jonathan Lopatin, who currently serves as the co-chair of the Strategic Plan Implementation Committee for JTS; Steven Price, who is chairman and chief executive officer of Townsquare Media LLC; and Keith Shapiro, who is a part of the Greenberg Traurig law firm, according to the press release. In the press release, JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen said of the new trustees, "They will be a great asset to us as we move forward with the realization of our 2010 strategic plan, adding wisdom to our deliberations and broadening awareness of JTS in their home communities and constituencies."

Reinharz said that his interest in serving on the Board of Trustees at the JTS stemmed partly from the fact that he is an alumnus; according to the press release,

"I owe a great deal of my professional development to JTS," said Reinharz, "so I feel that this is part of my hopefully giving back in some small measure."

According to its website, JTS, located in New York City and founded in 1886, "is a preeminent institution of Jewish higher education that integrates rigorous academic scholarship and teaching with a commitment to strengthening Jewish tradition, Jewish lives, and Jewish communities." JTS includes "The Graduate School; The Rabbinical School; H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music; William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education; Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies; [and] the Rebecca and Israel Ivry Prozdor High School" as well as a summer school, institutes for developing lay leadership and a "world-renowned" library, according to its website.

Reinharz said that the teaching mission of JTS is "the teaching arm of the Conservative [Jewish] movement in the United States." He continued to say that JTS "trains people for Ph.D.s in the fields of Judaica, trains people for the fields of Jewish education" and prepares students for rabbinical posts.

Reinharz said that he is also assigned to the institution's Governance Committee. The duties of the committee include reviewing the role of the Board of Trustees, reviewing and suggesting new members to the board and studying the day-to-day operation of the board.

When asked what impact his time at Brandeis had on how he would approach his role on the Board of Trustees at JTS, Reinharz said that he could not quickly summarize all the experience that he has gained in 16 1/2 years of being president of Brandeis but said, "I assume that part of the reason that they asked me to join is not just because I am an alumnus . but because I bring some experience which might be helpful to [JTS]."



-Nashrah Rahman contributed

reporting.