A Letter from Dr. Moses Pava, Director of The Syms School of Business As Syms begins its 25th year (and I begin my 24th year here and my first as director) I am looking forward with great anticipation and much excitement to the upcoming academic year. I am especially looking forward to working with Professor Michael Strauss, entrepreneur-in-residence and clinical professor of management, who has been appointed associate director of student advising and administration, and Dr. Avi Giloni, who is now serving as associate director for academic research. As the first order of business we have streamlined our name and are now officially the Syms School of Business. While this is a small change, it is my hope that it reflects a broad change in culture with an enhanced focus on strengthening relationships among administration, staff, faculty, students, alumni and others. More important than a name change, we are continuing the ongoing accreditation process with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International). We also welcome Dr. S. Abraham Ravid as the Syms Professor of Finance. Dr. Ravid is an internationally acclaimed researcher specializing in capital structure, debt features, bankruptcy and mergers and contracts. He is a welcome addition to our experienced and dynamic faculty—a faculty fully dedicated to the academic and professional needs of our students and committed to the highest standards of business research practices. As director, my goal for the Syms School of Business is to strengthen our primary commitment to our energetic, bright, ambitious and very hard-working students. I view Syms as a dynamic learning-community, dedicated first and foremost to preparing the next generation of highly successful Jewish business leaders and professionals in accounting, finance, marketing, management, entrepreneurship and decision sciences. Working together with Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University’s world-class Jewish Studies Programs and the Career Development Center, Syms is preparing students to succeed and thrive in the fast-changing global economy. In addition to our undergraduate program, our MS Program in Accounting, under the experienced leadership of Dr. Joseph Kerstein, is continuing to grow and improve. This program provides students with state of the art knowledge and skills necessary to achieve both their short and long-term goals as accounting professionals. An Executive MBA Program (recently approved by New York State) will be launched next year with Professor Steven Nissenfeld serving as director. In order to better serve the needs of our students and to promote dialogue among members of the Syms learning community, I will hold Town Hall meetings on both the Beren and Wilf Campuses, modeled after President Richard M. Joel’s highly-successful meetings. Professor Strauss is working hard with the rest of the administrative team to simplify our student advisement process and to better integrate it with Yeshiva College and Stern College. He and I are both committed strongly to transparent, efficient, fair and friendly student and administrative interactions. Dr. Giloni will head up our curriculum committee. We encourage student participation and help in this process. We also invite students to participate in our new Friday faculty seminars, where faculty will have a chance to share their most recent research projects. I encourage you to participate. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Syms, I am introducing a special series of lectures and roundtable discussions on “Leading with Meaning: The Spirit of Jewish Enterprise.” These programs will rotate between the Wilf and Beren Campuses and will include notable Jewish business leaders and academics. Michael Strauss, Avi Giloni and I look forward to working with students, alumni, faculty, staff, the Syms School Board of Overseers, prospective employers and the liberal arts programs to increase synergies with the other undergraduate units of Yeshiva University. We truly believe that the best is yet to come. I invite you to share this message with others who may be interested in the future of Syms and to email me at mpava@yu.edu with both constructive criticism and your new ideas for the Syms School of Business. Sincerely, Moses Pava Director, Syms School of Business