2026 Comenius Award

Stuart H. Lubow  ’79

The Comenius Award recognizes an alum’s outstanding achievement or service in their field of work. This is the Alumni Association's lifetime achievement award.

For Stuart (Stu) H. Lubow ’79, success has never been just about the numbers—it’s about the people behind them. Over his distinguished fourdecade career, Stu has built lasting relationships with customers, shareholders, and colleagues, turning those connections into the foundation of his achievements in banking.

Stu began his career immediately after earning his accounting degree from Moravian. He joined Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., as assistant treasurer in the corporate subsidiary and management information systems (MIS) audit division. Over the next several years, he worked at multiple banks, steadily taking on more complex auditing roles and expanding his expertise.

At just 29, Stu was named chief operating officer of Dollar Dry Dock, where he supervised more than 300 employees. At the time, the bank was shifting from a traditional teller-based model to financial retail centers that provided services such as wealth management, mortgages, and financial planning.  Stu led the launch of a state-of-the-art ATM network to increase convenience for customers and introduced a quality assurance program to evaluate and improve existing operations. He also oversaw the outsourcing of the  bank’s MIS function, generating $5 million in annual cost savings while improving efficiency.

The experience sparked Stu’s interest in leading comprehensive bank turnarounds—an area that would define much of his career during a turbulent decade for the banking industry marked by widespread bank failures, rising non-performing loans, and financial crises at home and abroad.

In quick succession, Stu was recruited by two banks to address regulators’ concerns about management strength and succession planning. In both roles, he stabilized operations while implementing strategies that restored profitability. At Garden State Bancshares, he transformed the bank’s performance from a $500,000 net loss to a $3.5 million net gain in less than three years.

Stu soon turned his attention to a new challenge: starting a bank from the  ground up and shaping every aspect of its strategy from branch locations to community engagement. When his bank reached profitability in under two  years, he sold it and launched Community National Bank, which drew industry attention for its innovative approach.

At Community National Bank, Stu pioneered a business banking single-point-ofcontact relationship model in which one banker manages all of a client’s needs, including loans, deposits, treasury services, and cash management. He built a team of bankers committed to service standards that set a new benchmark for  the industry.

After selling the bank, Stu accepted an opportunity with its purchaser, Dime Community Bank—one of the oldest banks in the United States. In 2017, he became the institution’s 17th chief executive officer in its 160-year history. Over the past decade, he has transformed the organization from a thrift model focused on savings and personal loans into a dynamic community commercial bank.

Stu launched Dime’s Private and Commercial Bank, establishing a single-pointof-contact approach for top-tier business clients. Within a year, he expanded the initiative to 15 banking teams across New York, introduced lending specialties such as healthcare, and brought in more than $2 billion in deposits. At the same time, he diversified Dime’s lending portfolio by launching a residential loan group and broadening its commercial lending capabilities.

Under his leadership, Dime earned “Outstanding” Community Reinvestment Act ratings in 2022 and 2024—a distinction the bank has achieved only five times  in its 160-year history. The designation recognizes institutions that excel at meeting the credit needs of their communities, including low- and moderateincome neighborhoods.

Soon after arriving at Dime, Stu also established the Dime Community Bank Foundation. Its largest fundraiser, the Dime Invitational Charity Golf Classic,  has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support community initiatives  in New York as well as Moravian.

Stu remains a steadfast champion of Moravian, supporting athletics, scholarships, innovative learning spaces, such as the Haupert Union Building, and the university’s business program. Through regular visits to campus, he shares insights on emerging banking trends, helping broaden students’ perspectives  and prepare them for leadership in the industry.

Over a career defined by financial expertise and a deep understanding of human connection, Stu has shown that the most effective leaders excel at both.