Jonathan Schwab Appointed As New Director of Office of Student Life
Jonathan Schwab (YC ‘11) has taken over as the new director of the Office of Student Life (OSL). Schwab began this new role on July 27, replacing Rabbi Josh Weisberg.
Multiple administrators invited Schwab to interview for the position in mid-June. The position was subsequently offered to Schwab in mid-July by Provost Selma Botman following his interviews with many deans and administrators including Dr. Erica Brown, Dean Chaim Nissel, Dean Shoshana Shechter, Dean Yosef Kalinsky, Dean Dr. Sarah Asher and Provost Botman. Schwab accepted the position on July 18.
After leaving his position as director of University Housing and Residence Life (UHRL) at Wilf Campus in November 2020, which he held for five years, Schwab earned a doctorate in higher education administration from the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.
When asked by The Commentator about what he was most excited about doing in his new role, Schwab responded that he looks forward to developing relationships with students. “I studied it in graduate school, and I am really passionate about the developmental changes that happen during college –this is my life’s passion,” Schwab told The Commentator.
Additionally, Schwab told The Commentator that one of his primary goals is to make OSL as “student-centric” as possible. He wants to make it easier for students to find ways to impact life on campus, such as by simplifying the process for students founding clubs. Instead of “expecting students to reach out with fully developed plans,” he “hopes OSL can work together with students to brainstorm and plan events while guiding them throughout the whole process.”
Administrators expressed confidence in Schwab’s new role. “I am thrilled that Dr. Schwab has returned to YU in his new role, and am confident that all who interact with him will appreciate his professionalism, his creativity and his passion for enhancing the student experience,” Vice Provost of Student Affairs Chaim Nissel told The Commentator.
Schwab has been involved with Yeshiva University for over a decade. He began as a Yeshiva College honors student in 2007 after attending Rambam Mesivta for high school and spending two years of study in Israel at Yeshivat Har Etzion.
Schwab was active as a student at YU. He was senior editor of The Commentator, a member of YC’s Honors Council, a research assistant for multiple professors, an actor in the Yeshiva College Dramatics Society (YCDS) play, and a Presidential Fellow at the Office of the President. Schwab even starred in a YouTube video, YU Boys will be Stern Girls.
Schwab graduated in 2011 with a major in English and minors in chemistry and languages, literature and culture.
After graduating, Schwab worked for the Office of Admissions, handling recruitment for the undergraduate honors programs. Schwab and his wife Esty (SCW ‘10), who he met at YU, became the campus couple on the Beren Campus in 2013, working to enhance the Shabbat experience.
Schwab worked in the Office of Admissions until late 2014, when he joined YU Global, a new office set to oversee online education. In 2015, after the then director of UHRL, Sean Hirchhorn, resigned, Schwab applied, was accepted, and began as director of UHRL that March through November 2020.
Weisberg did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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Photo Caption: Jonathan Schwab
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University
