The newly selected president of Hofstra University, Stuart Rabinowitz looks toward the future with anticipation as he plans to replace Garden City resident Dr. James Shuart who has served as the leader of Hofstra for 25 years.

Rabinowitz who has worked at the university for 28 years, the last 11 as dean of Hofstra's School of Law, was selected as the new leader last month from a pool of 60 candidates from around the world.

"Hofstra University's next president, Stuart Rabinowitz, has proven to be a most effective and successful leader as dean of the Hofstra School of Law. His vast talents and outstanding leadership abilities speak well for the many continued successes Hofstra University can expect under his presidency," said John J. Conefry, Jr., chairman of the Hofstra University Board of Trustees. The search committee, led by Hofstra University Trustee Frank Zarb spent two years in an international search to replace Shuart. More than 400 members of the Hofstra community met with the finalists prior to Rabinowitz's selection.

Hofstra has gained much recognition and has expanded tremendously under the leadership of Shuart, who will be retiring this spring. According to Rabinowitz, a Woodbury resident, he considers following Stuart to be both a blessing and a difficult task. "It's a blessing because he's done so well, that there's such a great infrastructure here. The campus is beautiful, we're at the number of students we should be at, the university's financial condition is absolutely stable and there aren't that many universities in the United States where the new president can say that," stated Rabinowitz in a recent interview. "In a way it's a tremendous benefit to follow in his footsteps. On the other hand, I have very big shoes to fill. I'm confident that I'm up to the task and I know the board of trustees is, otherwise they wouldn't have selected me."

Rabinowitz chooses to focus on the opportunities his selection as Hofstra's eighth president presents. Noting, again, how fortunate he is to be taking over the leadership of a university which is doing so well, Rabinowitz says that he plans to focus his energies on increasing the academic stature and reputation of the university. According to Rabinowitz he has some relevant ideas as to how to accomplish those goals. "How that translates into a particular plan remains to be seen but we think we need to do what we can to increase our student recruitment on a national level," said Rabinowitz. He noted that in order to accomplish this the university needs more resources available for student financial aid, "so we can attract and retain the best students around."

As part of this attraction of new students, Rabinowitz said that the university must strengthen its science programs, especially engineering and computer science. Another proposal that Rabinowitz is looking into and very excited about is an honors college, which eventually may have up to 500 students. According to Rabinowitz, the honors college would be more difficult to get in to so it would appeal to very highly qualified students and would offer a special experience for those students. Rabinowitz explained that these students would take most of their courses with everyone else, but there would be significant educational enhancements in their program and a more interdisciplinary study to give the students a more intellectual immersion for their four years at the university. Rabinowitz noted that the honors college is not a new idea, but it is a new idea for Hofstra. "The beauty of what we're proposing is that it doesn't isolate the students. It's not like the honors college is viewed as some separate campus, some separate entity where the students don't interact with anybody else," said Rabinowitz. "We wanted to avoid that because I think that defeats the purpose of one university community, so the plan is to make the honors college different but completely integrated with the rest of the university."

Rabinowitz noted that all his plans require resources and, as president, one of his chief responsibilities is to help attract those resources, whether it be from fund raising, foundations, corporations, or government grants. "I intend to make that a high priority of my workload," stated the new president.

Rabinowitz, has taught every class that has graduated from the law school. In addition to serving as the Andrew M. Boas and Mark L. Claster Distinguished Professor of Civil Procedure, Dean Rabinowitz's other areas of special interest include federal courts and conflict of laws. He also has participated as a special litigation counsel in a wide variety of private and pro bono cases. He serves as a member of Hofstra University's President's Advisory Committee and the Provost's Council.

Rabinowitz is the chair of the Nassau County Local Advisory Board and has served as a member of the Nassau County Commission on Government Revision which was charged with drafting a new charter and a new form of government for the county. He is the recipient of the Martin Luther King Living the Dream Award, EOC; Award for Distinguished Service in the Cause of Justice, Legal Aid Society; UJA Federal Leadership Award; Bar Association of Nassau County, Proclamation for Outstanding Service to both the Legal Profession and the Community; and the Hofstra Faculty Distinguished Service Award, Hofstra University School of Law.

Rabinowitz received his Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, from the Columbia University School of Law, where he was a member of the board of editors of the Columbia Law Review and a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He served on the Columbia faculty as an associate in law and then practiced law with a major New York City law firm. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the American Law Institute.

"With three decades of exceptional experience at Hofstra University, Stuart Rabinowitz has proven he has the talent and expertise to continue to move the university forward in Hofstra's long established tradition of accomplishment. I look forward to working with him over the coming months before I retire in June of 2001," said President Shuart.