Rabbi Ariel Kopitnikoff named Assisstant Dean

RABBI ARIEL KOPITNIKOFF, formerly of Elizabeth, was named assistant dean for student life at Touro’s Lander College for Men (LCM).

In the newly created position, he will plan and direct college activities related to student affairs, campus life, and housing. He previously served as director of housing and director of student life.

“Rabbi Kopitnikoff is a beloved member of the LCM administration, deeply invested in the well-being of each student, full of creative ideas, and highly competent. We delight in his promotion, and in his many successes,” said LCM dean Dr. Moshe Sokol.

Kopitnikoff is a graduate of the Jewish Educational Center in Elizabeth and Yeshivat Tifereth Jerusalem in Israel. He earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from LCM in 2006, received smicha at Lander’s Beis Medrash L’Talmud in 2009, and earned a master’s in Jewish education in 2016.

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“My philosophy is that every single student can contribute to the institution and the yeshiva in his own unique way,” said Kopitnikoff. “My goal is to create a forum for student participation and a game plan facilitated by the administration and student government so there’s an activity that each student can enjoy and an opportunity for everyone to lead in some way. Students become more invested in their college and yeshiva experience when they are contributors, not bystanders.”

He resides on the LCM campus with his wife, Shani, and their three children.