One of the tools his group used was the creation of a new rabbinical school in New York City. The "Jewish Theological Seminary Association" was founded with Morais as its President in 1886 as an Orthodox institution to combat the hegemony of the Reform movement. The school was hosted by Rabbi Henry Pereira Mendes' Congregation Shearith Israel, a sister synagogue to Mikveh Israel. Morais and Mendes were soon joined by Alexander Kohut and Bernard Drachman, both of whom had received "semicha" (rabbinic ordination) at Rabbi Frankel's Breslau seminary. They shaped the curriculum and philosophy of the new school after Rabbi Frankel's seminary. The first graduate to be ordained, in 1894, was Joseph Hertz, who would go on to become the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. Morais served as the president of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America until his death in 1897. After Morais's death, Mendes led the school, but the financial position of the association became precarious, and Mendes did not have the resources to turn it around. In October 1901, a new organization was projected entitled the "Jewish Theological Seminary of America," with which the association was invited to incorporate. This arrangement was carried into effect April 14, 1902. The new organization was endowed with a fund of over $500,000, and was presented with a suitable building on University Heights by Jacob H. Schiff. It obtained a charter from the state of New York (approved Feb. 20, 1902), "for the perpetuation of the tenets of the Jewish religion, the cultivation of Hebrew literature, the pursuit of Biblical and archeological research, the advancement of Jewish scholarship, the establishment of a library, and the education and training of Jewish rabbis and teachers. It is empowered to grant and confer the degrees of Rabbi, Ḥazan, Master and Doctor of Hebrew Literature, and Doctor of Divinity, and also to award certificates of proficiency to persons qualified to teach in Hebrew schools." The reorganized seminary was opened on Sept. 15, 1902, in the old building of the Theological Seminary Association at 736 Lexington Avenue. A search was executed for a new president. Solomon Schechter was recruited from Great Britain. His religious approach seemed compatible with JTS's, and he assumed the presidency, as well as serving as Professor of Jewish theology. In a series of papers he articulated an ideology for the nascent movement of Conservative Judaism.