Brandeis University President Jehuda Reinharz announced on Sept. 25 that he will resign from his post after 16 years at the helm.
In recent months, he has come under criticism for deciding to close the university's Rose Art Museum, but he said that that had no impact on his decision.
"I have reached the conclusion that now is the right time for me to focus on the next chapter of my career," Reinharz said in an e-mail to the Brandeis community. "Following the completion of my term as President of Brandeis, I expect to be the president of a significant foundation, where I can address issues facing the Jewish community at the national and international level."
Reinharz will remain president until a successor is chosen, and at the latest until June 30, 2011, according to a Brandeis press release. He plans to serve as president emeritus at Brandeis.
Reinhartz told The Justice, a Brandeis student newspaper, that the resignation was prompted by "the realization that I've completed most of the things that I want to complete. I will never complete everything I wanted to do … I have an opportunity to do something different.
"I decided this was a good time," he added.
Reinharz succeeded Samuel Thier as the seventh president of Brandeis in 1994. Before that, he had served as provost for three years. He had considered resigning in 2006, but the Board of Trustees convinced him to stay on, The Justice reported.
The university most recently renewed Reinharz's contract last year for an additional six-year term.
During Reinharz' presidency, Brandeis' endowment nearly tripled, bolstered by $843 million raised in the past seven years for academic needs and financial aid. The university made a commitment to diversity, saw improvements made to campus facilities and developed new areas of study.
Jason Gray, a senior at Brandeis who last year served as president of the university's undergraduate student body, praised Reinharz.
"I worked with President Reinharz through last year during the financial crisis," Gray told the Daily. "From my experience with him, the more we worked together, the greater the respect I developed for him."
Increasing the university's accessibility by increasing financial aid was a key priority for Reinharz, according to Gray.
"Reinharz had a devout commitment to financial aid and in making Brandeis affordable to those who sought attendance," Gray said. "He believes that Brandeis is meant to be a global institution, and the student body shares his vision."
Reinharz earlier this year found himself and the university receiving widespread criticism for the school's decision to close its Rose Museum and sell some of its artwork. Controversy over the museum erupted in January, when university officials announced plans to shut the institution's doors and auction parts of its $350 million collection in order to compensate for the university's financial troubles brought on by the economic crisis.
Faced with a highly critical reaction from students, faculty and alumni, including a sit-in student protest, Reinharz backtracked on the decision in February, announcing that the museum would remain open and publicly apologizing for the mismanagement of the episode.
But Reinharz said in media interviews that the controversy and its aftermath played no part in his resignation. "The Rose [Art Museum controversy] obviously was not a pleasant experience, but it had no impact on my decision," Reinharz told The Justice.
Brandeis Board of Trustees Chairman Malcolm Sherman thanked the outgoing president for his dedication and achievements in a letter to Reinharz dated Sept. 24.
"[W]e would have greatly preferred that you complete your term," he said in the letter, which was provided in a Brandeis press release.
