Dr. David M. Gordis, 66, the president of Hebrew College since 1993, announced that he will step down from the presidency in the 2009–2010 academic year. He originally planned to retire at the end of the 2007 academic year.

At a regularly scheduled board meeting in early July, the Board of Trustees unanimously asked Gordis, a nationally recognized talmudic scholar, to remain president for an additional three years.

"The college is involved in some of the most important new initiatives in our 85 year history and his leadership is critical to our continued success," says Ted Cutler, Board Chair. "Under his leadership, Hebrew College has evolved into a nationally recognized leader in transdenominational Jewish education and has transformed Jewish life throughout New England."

In recent years, the College has created the first rabbinical school in New England, a Cantor-Educator Program, the Interreligious Center on Public Life, and collaborations with Andover Newton Theological School and Nova Southeastern University in Florida. Graduate and undergraduate enrollment has more than tripled since Gordis took office, from 177 students in 1993 to more than 600 today.

Me’ah is now being offered at about 45 sites in six states, and NETA—an innovative Hebrew language curriculum designed for students in grades 7–12, administered by Hebrew College and supported by The AVI CHAI Foundation—is reaching students in more than 75 schools nationwide.

Professor of Rabbinics at Hebrew College, Gordis is founding Director of the National Center for Jewish Policy Studies (formerly the Susan and David Wilstein Institute of Jewish Policy Studies). Prior to assuming the presidency of Hebrew College, he was Vice President, Provost and Associate Professor of Talmud at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and lecturer of Jewish Law at UCLA.

He has also served as Vice President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America; Executive Vice President of the American Jewish Committee; and the founding Executive Director of the Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel.



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President Gordis to Retire in 2009
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