David M. Schizer

David M. Schizer, the Dean Emeritus of Columbia Law School and a noted Jewish community leader, is the CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).

Born in Brooklyn, Schizer was thirty-five years old when he became dean, the youngest in the history of Columbia Law School. During his 10 years of service in that role, he dramatically expanded the faculty and launched a range of new initiatives, including a partnership with Columbia Business School. Schizer also led a $353 million capital campaign, doubling the school’s traditional fundraising.

Schizer has been actively engaged in leadership positions in Jewish communal life as well. He is President of America’s Voices in Israel, Co-director of Columbia’s Center for Israeli Legal Studies, and a member of the Board of Directors of the 92nd Street Y and the Ramaz School. He also served previously on the boards of Natan and Columbia-Barnard Hillel, and as a senior advisor to the Tikvah Fund.

Schizer holds undergraduate, graduate, and law degrees from Yale. He clerked for Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

He and his wife, Meredith, reside in Manhattan with their three children.