Biography

Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman
President and Rosh Yeshiva 
Yeshiva University and Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS)

Social:  X(Twitter) @AriBermanYU
              Instagram @presidentberman
Email:  president@yu.edu

Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman is President of Yeshiva University, a global thought leader, educational visionary and a unifying force for faith and academia.

Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman is the fifth president of Yeshiva University. Since the beginning of his tenure in 2017, Rabbi Berman has anchored the university on the twin pillars of academic excellence and values-based education, guiding it into a new era of growth and innovation as a global leader in higher education.

Under his visionary leadership, Yeshiva University has flourished. The university has launched over 20 new degree programs and four new academic centers, increased graduate school enrollment over 100%, achieved record high undergraduate applications, established a new Health Science Campus in midtown Manhattan, more than doubled annual philanthropic giving, and has already secured $520 million of The Rise Up Campaign for $613 Million—publicly launched just three years ago.

Beyond campus, Rabbi Berman has emerged as a national leader for moral clarity and higher education. He founded a coalition of over 100 university presidents united against terrorism following the October 7th attacks in Israel and led the first-ever delegation of university presidents on the March of the Living to Auschwitz. A founding member of the ACE Commission on Faith-Based Colleges and Universities, Rabbi Berman helped bring together leaders from institutions such as Notre Dame, Baylor, Pepperdine, and Brigham Young University to advance access, affordability, and innovation in higher education while highlighting the essential contributions of faith-based institutions across the broader educational landscape.

A global faith leader, Rabbi Berman bridges diverse communities. He delivered the keynote address at the first Holocaust Commemoration Day in an Arab country in Dubai; presented a nationally viewed address at Brigham Young University on the transformative power of education; led a sustainability forum in Abu Dhabi promoting interfaith peace; joined global leaders in Hiroshima to champion human dignity in AI; and delivered the prestigious Hildesheimer Lecture in Berlin, analyzing the legal and historical intersections of Jewish and non-Jewish communities and presenting a hopeful vision for the future.

A sought-after speaker and thought leader featured in major media, Rabbi Berman holds four degrees from Yeshiva University and a doctorate in Jewish Thought from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is married to Anita Berman, and they have five children.