 Eisen is the second non-rabbi, after Cyrus Adler, to hold this post.He is also the first person with a social science background to serve as Chancellor; previous chancellors had backgrounds in Jewish history or Talmud.In January 2007, at the start of Eisen's chancellorship, Daniel S. Nevins was named the Dean of the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, succeeding Rabbi William Lebeau.