Provost Selma Botman To Retire After 13 Years at YU
Selma Botman, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Yeshiva University, is retiring at the end of June. She spent over a decade in YU’s administration.
Botman was appointed as provost in 2014 by President Richard Joel. Before joining YU, Botman served as president of the University of Maine and provost at the City University of New York (CUNY), and has also held roles in other universities. Holding a PhD in history and Middle Eastern studies from Harvard after studying at Brandeis and Oxford, Botman is a scholar of modern Middle Eastern politics. She has written three books on the subject — “The Rise of Egyptian Communism, 1939-1970,” “From Independence to Revolution: Egypt, 1922-1952” and “Engendering Citizenship in Egypt” — and has taught courses at multiple institutions. She is from Chelsea, Mass.
“For the past 40 years, I have had the extraordinary privilege of working in higher education across five institutions and three states,” Botman told The Commentator. “Along the way, I have been blessed to work with trusted colleagues, accomplished faculty and truly exceptional students.”
“For the past 13 years, Yeshiva University has been my academic home,” she added. “It has been both a pleasure and a gift. I have learned a great deal, even as I have devoted myself to strengthening the University’s academic mission and supporting its faculty, students and schools.”
Replacing Morton Lowengrub in 2014, Botman received unanimous approval from the board of trustees. In a 2020 essay in The Commentator, Botman wrote that she was drawn to YU for its strong academics, Jewish roots and commitment to serving the community and society at large. At YU, she was tasked with monitoring academics and resources, recruiting faculty and promoting research.
“Now, I am retiring,” Botman said. “It is time to pass the baton. I do so at a moment when YU is academically strong, sustained by faculty deeply committed to their students, deans committed to their faculty and schools and an administration committed to the University’s continued success and growth.”
A confidential committee search for YU’s next provost is underway, Botman told The Commentator.
Asked about future plans, Botman said she has “the rare luxury of not having to think too much about what comes next, at least not yet,” though she is set to go on a trip with her grandchildren.
“For now,” she concluded, “I leave YU with enormous gratitude for the people, experiences and opportunities that have shaped these 13 years, and with great optimism about the University’s future.”
Photo Caption: Provost Selma Botman
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University
