Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz Announces Retirement

GARDEN CITY, NY — Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz announced today that he will be retiring next year, ending his five-decade career at the school.

Rabinowitz said that he will be retiring at the end of his current term, which is Aug. 31, 2021. When he retires, he said he will have spent 50 years working at the school: 19 years as a faculty member in the law school, 11 years as the law school dean and 20 years as school president.

"In every position I have held, I have devoted all of my professional energies towards helping the University and its students reach their full potential," Rabinowitz said in a statement. "My tenure as President has been especially meaningful to me as I have done all I could to help the University achieve deserved international recognition as an educational institution of the highest quality in all respects."

According to the school, the search for Rabinowitz's replacement will begin immediately. Donald Schaeffer, chairman of the school's Board of Trustees, said that the board plans to develop a plan to search for a new president, and will solicit imput from the entire community. Rabinowitz also pledged to help make the transition as smooth as possible.

“What President Rabinowitz has done for Hofstra in all of his roles culminating with the Presidency is extraordinary and has significantly contributed to the preeminence that Hofstra has achieved, in particular over the past 20 years during his presidency," Schaeffer said in a statement. "President Rabinowitz has built an incredibly strong foundation from which the University will continue to grow and excel.”

Rabinowitz was chosen to be the school's president in December of 2000, and assumed the post in June of 20o1. During his tenure as president, the university has opened several new schools teaching medicine, nursing, engineering, government, health professions and more. Rabinowitz also founded the University’s National Center for Suburban Studies and the Center for Entrepreneurship.

It was also under Rabinowitz's leadership that Hofstra hosted three consecutive presidential debates in 2008, 2012 and 2016. It is the only school to ever do so.