Dr. Noam Wasserman Appointed Dean of Sy Syms School of Business

Wasserman Brings a Wealth of Experience in Higher Education and Entrepreneurship

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Mar 05, 2019, 11:41 ET

NEW YORK, March 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Noam Wasserman has been appointed the new dean of the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University, effective May 2019. He will take the reins from Michael Strauss, interim dean of Sy Syms, who led the school for two years and served as associate dean for six years before that.

Dr. Wasserman, who holds a PhD in organizational behavior and a master's degree in sociology, brings to the position more than 15 years of expertise in higher education. A prominent authority on business startups, Dr. Wasserman is the Lemann Chair in Entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California (USC) as well as the founding director of USC's Founder Central Initiative. Prior to that, he was a professor at Harvard Business School for 13 years.

"Dr. Wasserman embodies the values for which Yeshiva University stands," said Dr. Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University. "His appointment represents our commitment to growing the quality of our education, preparing our students for greater success in the marketplace of tomorrow and bringing Jewish values to the world. We are excited for Dr. Wasserman to lead our business school into its next great era."

"Dr. Wasserman brings to YU a rich background in research, scholarship and teaching," said Dr. Selma Botman, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Yeshiva University. "There is no doubt that he will provide transformative leadership to our growing Sy Syms School of Business."

"As chair of the search committee, I can attest to Dr. Wasserman's passion and commitment to driving YU and Sy Syms to the next level," said Michael Strauss, interim dean. "He brings a new perspective to our school during this critical period of change in the landscape of business education."

Michael Strauss will serve as associate dean under Dr. Wasserman during the next academic year, working closely with Dr. Wasserman to build and expand Sy Syms as well as continuing to devote much attention to mentoring his students.

During the last eight years, Sy Syms has seen substantial growth and has brought on several high-quality research faculty members, experienced practitioners and administrators while also introducing many new courses, majors and graduate programs.

Dr. Wasserman has authored two books, the second of which, The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup, won the Academy of Management's "Impact on Practice" award. In addition to contributing to numerous scholarly publications, he has been published in the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review and was a columnist for Forbes and Inc.

"I am very excited to be the next dean of the Sy Syms School of Business," said Dr. Wasserman. "YU is the world leader in bringing the timeless wisdom and ethics of Judaism to cutting-edge real-world problems, and I plan to work with our faculty, staff and students to deepen and extend that tradition."

About Yeshiva University

Founded in 1886, Yeshiva University (YU) brings together the ancient traditions of Jewish law and life and the heritage of Western civilization. More than 7,000 undergraduate and graduate students study at YU's four New York City campuses: Wilf Campus (Washington Heights), Israel Henry Beren Campus and Brookdale Center (midtown Manhattan) and Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus (the Bronx). YU's three undergraduate schools—Yeshiva College, Stern College for Women and Sy Syms School of Business—offer a unique dual program comprised of Jewish studies and courses in the sciences and humanities. Graduate and affiliate schools include: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, The Mordecai D. and Monique C. Katz School of Science and Health, and Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. YU is ranked among the nation's leading academic institutions.