As part of Yeshiva University’s continuing initiative to develop a more sustainable university model, the Office of the President announced two new appointments to the administrative leadership over the summer. A June 2nd email announced the appointment of Mr. Seth Moskowitz as vice president for institutional advancement. The second appointment on July 10th was of Mr. Jacob Harman as the vice president of business affairs and chief financial officer (CFO). Both Moskowitz and Harman come to their respective positions with years of experience and innovative ideas to bring to the table.
Moskowitz is filling in the shoes of Mr. Daniel Forman, who led advancement for nineteen years and is now the senior philanthropic advisor for the university. “Advancement” is business lingo for fundraising, a vital department for a non-profit organization. The money that Moskowitz and his department raise goes toward scholarships, programming, building funds, and general university operation.
“It’s important to note that the alumni and volunteers involved with YU have been very generous,” said Moskowitz. “It is due to their efforts that, since 2006, we have raised close to a billion dollars for the institution.”
As the new vice president, Moskowitz has more in mind than just keeping the numbers up.
“My job, [in addition to] keeping up the good fundraising work, is to help the university to dream and continue growing as an institution by enabling the creation of more classes, programming, and other opportunities,” he said. To achieve these goals, Moskowitz will continue to work closely with lay leaders and endeavor to involve more individuals outside of the YU family in the fundraising process. But importantly, Moskowitz noted that the first strategy for success is “not to try and fix what isn’t broken.”
Harman, appointed in the place of former CFO Toby Winer, is similarly invested in the continued growth of YU. As vice president of business affairs and CFO, he is in charge of ensuring that all operations by the university, specifically decisions on the business side of affairs, are fiscally sound; his department is also responsible for financial accounting.
“My goals are to help the organization get on sound fiscal footing so that it can thrive and offer the high quality education [that it is known for],” he said, “as well as supporting the organization’s strategic objectives by ensuring that the university makes its decisions based on appropriate financial information, and operates in a fiscally responsible manner.”
To that end, the financial department will continue to work closely with university leaders, helping to “put forth responsible forecasts” and “implementing a process where the financial group assists university leaders in strategic university decisions.” When it comes to creating sustainability, collaboration is the name of the game – “one of the positives about leading a team,” said Harman. His department of business affairs and Moskowitz’s department of institutional advancement have meetings together at least twice a week to “discuss initiatives and where we are headed [as a university].”
The question of where we as a university are headed is a big one in the minds of students. The two new appointments open a new chapter in YU’s plans for greater sustainability, a chapter that will hopefully have positive results for students, faculty, and the university as a whole.
“If my dept is doing a good job, we will see more scholarship money and more initiatives, such as interesting programming and great faculty,” said Moskowitz. “If a university has a robust advancement department, it enables the university to dream and grow as an institution.”
Harman concluded with an optimistic message regarding the positive outcome of a newly implicated fiscal plan for the university: “While the impact [of my department’s activities] should be transparent, the overall effect of bringing the university to a stronger financial position will translate into a more positive environment for the entire university, both students and faculty.”