New York University today announced that its Board of Trustees has elected a new chairman, Martin Lipton. Mr. Lipton succeeds Laurence A. Tisch, who has been an NYU Trustee since 1966 and has served as chairman of the Board of Trustees for 20 years. Mr. Tisch will continue to be active on the Board as a Trustee.
Mr. Lipton said, “Few things in my life have brought me as much pride or happiness as my long association with New York University. It is a great institution with an unwavering commitment to excellence in research and education, yet it continually strives to find new, better ways to advance human knowledge and improve itself. I consider it a singular honor that my colleagues on the Board of Trustees have elected me chairman.
“I could not accept this post without recognizing that Larry Tisch has been a exemplary chairman these past twenty years, providing sage guidance during an extraordinary period for NYU. He set a remarkable standard of achievement for the University and of dedication for himself. As chairman, I, in particular, recognize the importance of all the trustees continuing to emulate his example of devotion to our University.”
Mr. Tisch said, “I know of no one better qualified to be chairman of the NYU Board of Trustees than Marty Lipton. His involvement in NYU has been long and distinguished, and his knowledge of NYU and understanding of our goals is unmatched.”
Dr. L. Jay Oliva, NYU’s president, said, “Both Larry Tisch and I are delighted that Marty Lipton has assumed the chairmanship of the University’s Board of Trustees. He is a man of extraordinary brilliance, integrity and commitment. Under his leadership, we have no doubt that the University will continue to build on the illustrious record of achievement it has already established.
“Let me here say a word as well about Laurence Tisch. Mr. Tisch’s time on the Board as member and chairman encompasses what is probably the most profoundly important period for this University since its founding more than a century-and-a-half ago. The prestigious University we have now, this research institution that attracts scholars and students from throughout the world, is in large measure attributable to Larry Tisch’s courage, steadfastness, foresight, dedication, and belief in his city and his alma mater.”
Mr. Lipton is an alumnus of the NYU School of Law and a senior partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz, which was established in 1965 by four graduates of the NYU School of Law and has achieved a preeminent position among American law firms. Mr. Lipton has been a trustee of the University for 22 years and was elected vice-chairman earlier this year. Mr. Lipton has also served as president of the NYU Law School Board of Trustees for the past 10 years. He is a recipient of the University’s Gallatin Medal, its Vanderbilt Medal, and of a Presidential Citation. As a trustee, he has been in leadership positions in some of the University’s most important decisions, including the sale of the Muller Macaroni Company and the merger of the NYU Hospital and Mt. Sinai Medical Center. He also was an adjunct professor at the NYU School of Law, a past president of the Law School Alumni Association, a past member of the Board of Directors of the NYU Alumni Association, and a past chairman of both the annual fund and the capital campaign for the Law School.
In addition to his service at NYU, Mr. Lipton is a Member of Council of the American Law Institute; a Director of the Institute of Judicial Administration; chairman of the Board of Trustees of Prep-for-Prep; a Trustee of Temple Emanu-El; honorary chairman of the Jerusalem Foundation; and a Trustee of the Mt. Sinai-New York University Medical Center and Health System.
Mr. Tisch co-chairman and CEO of the Loews Corporation, CEO of CNA Financial Corporation, and a 1942 graduate of the University was elected chairman in 1978. Mr. Tisch’s 20 years as chairman were marked by some of the most important changes in the University, most notably its transformation from a regional university into a prestigious national research institution. During his tenure as chairman, the University raised some $1.8 billion; saw the re-consolidation of the College of Arts and Science at Washington Square; endowed some 144 faculty chairs; saw freshman applications nearly quadruple; achieved records for average freshman SATs and acceptance rates; increased student housing nine-fold; renovated and constructed substantial new classroom, laboratory, residential and other academic space; established the Center for Neural Science and the Skirball Center for Biomolecular Medicine; relocated the Stern School to Washington Square; constructed new quarters for the Tisch School of the Arts; founded the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life; and established Spanish, Irish, Italian centers for international culture, among other undertakings.
In addition to his service at NYU, Mr. Tisch is a Trustee-at-Large of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, and a past Trustee of the Legal Aid Society, the Suffield Academy and the Whitney Museum. He is the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Skidmore College, the New York State Governor Arts Award, and the Oscar Strauss Award for Outstanding Philanthropy.
New York University, which is located in New York’s historic Greenwich Village, was established in 1831. It is one of the largest private universities in the United States, with some 17,000 undergraduates and some 18,500 graduate and professional students. Through its 13 schools and colleges, it conducts research and provides education in the arts and science, law, medicine, dentistry, education, nursing, business, public administration and service, social work, continuing studies, and the dramatic, cinematic and performing arts.