William H. Lebeau

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William H. Lebeau is Dean of The Rabbinical School, Vice Chancellor and Chairman of the Department of Professional Skills, and Lecturer of Professional Skills at The Jewish Theological Seminary. Over the course of his tenure as Dean, Rabbi Lebeau has significantly enlarged enrollment in The Rabbinical School and has maintained its academic excellence while enhancing a curriculum geared toward spiritual development and professional skills.

In 1999, Rabbi Lebeau was tapped to broaden his role as Vice Chancellor with expanded commitments an d responsibilities for rabbinic development. He served as liaison to Conservative rabbis and carried the message of JTS's central role in assuring a Jewish future. In his role as Chairman of the Department of Professional Skills, Rabbi Lebeau continues to imbue students with his love for the rabbinate as he guides them in their transition to future pulpits and other areas of rabbinic work through classroom teaching and close personal contact.

As a congregational rabbi, he served three communities over a period of twenty-four years, beginning with two years as a chaplain in the United States Navy and Marine Corps. That military experience, at the very beginning of the Vietnam War, was a rewarding and challenging introduction to the rabbinate. His first civilian congregation in Port Jefferson Station, New York, grew from sixty to seven hundred fifty members during his thirteen-year tenure. He then served for ten years as the rabbi of North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, Illinois before joining the JTS faculty.

Rabbi Lebeau is the author of numerous articles on contemporary Jewish life, including a recent monograph titled On Becoming a Conservative Rabb i. Rabbi Lebeau was ordained at JTS in 1964, having earned his bachelor's degree from New York University in 1959 and a master's degree from JTS in Jewish studies in 1962. Rabbi Lebeau and his wife, Beverly, have five children and seven grandchildren.