Brandeis University President Jehuda Reinharz says his decision, announced Thursday, to resign at the end of the academic year is not a consequence of the months-long controversy over the school’s Rose Art Museum. Reinharz, who back in January said the university would close the museum and sell off its collection, says he’s leaving to make a career change and plans to head a major nonprofit group focused on issues facing the international Jewish community. 

President since 1994, Reinharz was severely criticized by faculty, alumni, and the art and philanthropic communities for the initial decision about the Rose, and was rebuked by more than 60 faculty members, who said his handling of the situation had created a “crisis of confidence’’ over his leadership. The college later backtracked on the January decision, saying it would turn the Rose into an art study center and sell just a small portion of the 7,500-object collection, if it has to. The controversy, which generated national headlines, also led to an apology from Reinharz, who said he had “screwed up.’’ Earlier this week, he said he supports a new report from a university committee that recommends keeping the Rose open to the public, although he added that a resolution by the university’s board of trustees to sell art, if necessary, still stands.

Read more at the Boston Globe.