Touro University awards honorary doctorate to outgoing CFO
Dr. Alan Kadish of Teaneck, Touro University’s president and CEO, awarded an honorary doctorate to Melvin Ness of Teaneck, Touro’s outgoing senior vice president and chief financial officer. In conjunction with Touro’s executive board, Dr. Kadish, bestowed Ness with the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Melvin Ness stepped down after overseeing 30 years of financial growth and expansion at Touro.
Ness joined Touro in 1996 and played a transformative role in the institution’s growth and success, guiding the university through massive expansion. Under Ness’s stewardship, Touro evolved from a $60 million institution serving 6,000 students, to an $800 million enterprise educating more than 20,000 students worldwide. He also served as a trusted advisor to Dr. Kadish and Touro’s founding president, Dr. Bernard Lander.
“As Touro’s steadfast CFO, your strategic acumen, unflagging integrity, and ability to forge critical relationships with key stakeholders have been instrumental in Touro’s landmark achievements,” Dr. Kadish said before presenting Ness with the honorary doctorate.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Dr. Kadish praised Ness for his generosity and adherence with halachic principles.
“Whether quietly ensuring that students in need receive scholarship funding, or supporting colleagues through personal challenges, your actions reflect a profound sense of compassion and responsibility,” he said. “You have exemplified how fidelity to Torah is critical to Touro’s success, and it has been the linchpin to our numerous accomplishments over the last 30 years.”
After serving as managing partner of a respected CPA firm and later as vice president and controller at a telecommunications company, a chance encounter with one of Dr. Lander’s lieutenants led to Ness interviewing for a job at Touro.
“Coming to Touro gave me the opportunity to meet Dr. Lander, to work with Dr. Lander, to become close to Dr. Lander, to be just blown away by his brilliance and vision, and his compassion,” Ness said. “And in the last 15 years, I’ve been fortunate to experience it again with Dr. Kadish.” It was, he added, a very unexpected journey.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would wind up in higher education.”
Rabbi Doniel Lander, Touro’s chancellor and the Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim, talked about Ness’s strength of character and his close relationship with his father and the Lander family.
“Mel has distinguished himself through his honesty, his adherence to halacha, and his love of Yiddishkeit and his fellow Jews,” Rabbi Lander said. “My father was fortunate to have Mel at his side for his knowledge, his expertise in financial matters, and for his overall counsel. Perhaps even more than that, my father appreciated how their working relationship quickly developed into a friendship, one that he cherished for the rest of his life.”
Ness is recognized as a visionary leader as well as a prudent administrator of funds, at both corporate and Jewish educational institutions. He played a transformative role in Touro’s growth and success, including the acquisition and development of Touro’s Vallejo campus; the sale of Touro’s online university for $190 million; and the creation of the Master Trust Indenture, which revolutionized the university’s financial structure and enabled the financing of major Touro campuses across the country.
“Mel’s devotion to honesty and transparency is a testament to his unwavering integrity and spiritual elevation,” said Rabbi Moshe Krupka, Touro’s executive vice president. “He embodies a rare form of responsibility: not just careful stewardship of material wealth, but a reverence for the higher ideals that these resources represent.”
Since November, Ness has worked closely with incoming CFO Benjamin Lowenthal as part of a two-month transition period. Lowenthal, a seasoned leader with 35 years of experience in the world of higher education finance, most recently served as senior vice president for administration and finance and chief fiscal officer at Towson University in Baltimore. He assumed full responsibility as CFO this month.
The honorary doctorate was presented at an annual retreat where Touro’s academic and lay leaders, and board members gathered to review last year’s achievements and plan for the future. Among the issues addressed were Touro’s ability to respond to growing antisemitism and responsibility to the Jewish community, expanding its reach to deliver healthcare to the underserved, and more.