Jonathan Silver '79, a general partner of Commonwealth Holdings Inc., became the third president of the Friends of the Harvard Judaica Collection on Jan. 1, succeeding William Lee Frost '47 (1977-96), who in turn succeeded Leonard Kaplan '33 (1970-77).

The Widener-based Harvard Judaica Collection, a major international resource for research in Jewish studies, relies on the Friends to provide critical financial support for the Judaica Book Fund endowment program. Three hundred seventy endowments support the acquisition and preservation of Judaica, Judaica publications, exhibition and lecture programs, and Judaica staff positions.

Upon retiring from the Friends presidency, Frost expressed "singular satisfaction" with his successor. "Jonathan's extraordinary devotion to public service gives great promise to the future of the Collection," he said. "I was particularly moved by Jonathan's appointment because as an undergraduate, I was a good friend of Jonathan's father, the late eminent rabbi and scholar Daniel J. Silver ['48]." Frost also recalled hearing Silver's grandfather, Abba Hillel Silver, the late rabbi and distinguished American Jewish leader, conduct a holiday service at Harvard shortly after World War II.

Charles Berlin, the Lee M. Friedman Bibliographer in Judaica and head of the Judaica Collection, noted that Judaica has been "particularly blessed" to have the kind of alumni involvement that constitutes "one of Harvard's greatest strengths." During a period of "extraordinary growth" over the past 26 years, Kaplan's and Frost's dedicated leadership has "assured a solid foundation for the Harvard Judaica Collection" and positioned it to face the future. Berlin also expressed gratitude to Silver for assuming a leadership role that will help Judaica flourish in the 21st century.

Silver said he feels "honored to have an opportunity to support and build on the truly outstanding work Bill Frost has done. I look forward to working with Charles Berlin and the dedicated staff of the Library's Judaica Division as we build a collection worthy of the next century."

Before joining Commonwealth Holdings Inc. (a diversified private investment partnership based in Washington, D.C., with interests in financial services, communications, and health care), Silver served as counselor to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1994-95) and as a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Commerce Department (1992-94). He was also a member of the UNESCO delegation to the United Nations, a delegate to the International Labor Conferences in Geneva, and chair of the Nonprofit Liaison Network (which managed Clinton-administration ties with the nonprofit community).

In the private sector, Silver has been a managing director and chief operating officer at Tiger Management Inc., one of the nation's largest and most successful hedge funds; and an executive vice president at John Blair Communications, the nation's second-largest television marketing and sales organization. He began his career at McKinsey and Company, the international business-management consulting firm.