News for Faculty & Staff
News from the Dean
Dear Colleagues,
This month marks the end of my first academic year as Dean of Arts and Sciences and it seems like a good time to take a step back and reflect on the experience.
I think it’s fair to say that I did not anticipate how challenging a year it would be. Between the significant tensions that arose on campus in the wake of Hamas’s attacks and Israel’s military response and the budgetary challenges we are now facing across the university, I don’t know that I can point to a solid week of my tenure thus far that could be described as “business as usual.” Not that there ever is such a thing as a typical week in the deanery, where we are always trying to strike a balance between managing the predictable routines of the academic year and addressing the unanticipated crises or opportunities (big and small) that inevitably arise. And, of course, there is always the need to carve out time to think and plan beyond the most immediate and obvious demands—there never seems to be enough of that.
As I’ve observed to some of you over the year, while I would never have wished for any of these substantial challenges, the silver lining to all of them is that they have accelerated the pace at which I’ve been able to get to know many of you and to learn about what matters most to you; to see just how dedicated you are to the work we do at Brandeis—and how good you are at it; and to understand what makes this place so special.
I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my first year and, while I don’t want to rehearse them here, I do continue to learn from them even as I keep making new ones. I am grateful to those who have given me the grace to acknowledge my errors and the space to make amends, even as I do appreciate your willingness to call me on my missteps—really! I can’t get better at my job if I don’t know where I need to improve. I strongly believe that we must model humility and open- mindedness to our students and feel it is among my chief responsibilities as Dean to set an example.
Most importantly, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the people who make it possible for me to fulfill my duties, starting with the team in the DAS office. Kathleen McMahan works quietly but oh-so-effectively behind the scenes, ensuring the smooth internal operations of our office and keeping me on task, expertly assisted by Brynn Sibley and Kayla Whitehurst. Shannon Kearns is simply superb at all things operational and administrative. First Wendy Cadge and now Charles Golden have been extraordinary deans, partners, and counsellors in the work we do in support of graduate studies. Without Joel Christensen (assisted by Alicia Hyland and Heather Young) and Olga Papaemmanouil (along with Lauren Buckley) I honestly do not know how I would have gotten through the year—their wisdom and perspective, not to mention their hard work, have been essential. I am grateful for my partnership with Dean of Academic Services, Lori Tenser. And I am delighted to welcome our new A&S development officer, Hannah Taytslin Devine, who will be a key partner in our increased fund-raising efforts going forward. I also want to thank Division Heads Bulbul Chakraborty, Caren Irr, and Aïda Yuen Wong for all their work and support, with a special shout-out to Bulbul as she steps down from the role at the end of this academic year. Finally, I want to recognize the dedication of all the departmental and program leaders, too many to mention here.
Thanks to all of you. I am so proud and thankful to be your colleague.
Wishing you all a restful, restorative, and productive summer. I look forward to seeing you back on campus in the Fall.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey
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General Updates
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Brandeis is now offering a Faculty Mortgage Program (FMP) for tenured faculty at Brandeis. The purpose of the program is to make home ownership more affordable to newly tenured faculty and to make Brandeis a more attractive employer to recruit and retain exemplary talent. A secondary goal is to have the beneficiaries of this program live in relative proximity to campus to allow them greater engagement with campus activities. For additional information, please visit the faculty mortgage program page.
Academic Affairs
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March 22, 2024
The Office of Admissions will be welcoming admitted students and their families to visit Brandeis this spring for three different events, one of which takes place on a Friday. Families who drive to campus will be instructed to park in the Theater Lot. To alleviate congestion in the Theater Lot, we kindly ask Brandeis staff, who usually park there, to utilize Lot J (located across from University Office Park on Angleside Road). Our campus shuttle operates from the South Street @ Brandeis Commuter Rail Station on weekdays for convenient transportation. Walking from the Brandeis/Roberts Commuter Rail Station to campus takes approximately 10 minutes, but if you prefer, our shuttle service reduces travel time to less than 5 minutes.
For additional transportation information, please see the campus shuttle page. The "Inside Deis" admitted student events are scheduled for April 7, 13, and 19.
Thank you for your support in helping us bring the next class of Brandeis students to our community.
March 5, 2024
Dean Shoulson has set aside hours across March and April for open office hours or for lunch at the faculty club. No reservations or sign-up is needed.
One session of Office Hours remains for this semester: Friday, April 12, 10:00-11:00 AM. Feel free to drop-in.
Remaining Open Lunch Hours at Faculty Club (Table reserved, lunch is paid by each person) are:
- Wednesday, April 10, 12:30-1:30 PM
- Tuesday, April 30, 12:00-1:00 PM
For specific meeting requests, please email Kathleen McMahan to schedule a time with the Dean.
February 1, 2024
The university is deeply appreciative of the continued efforts made by our staff to support the university’s mission, our students and each other. We recognize the importance of work/life flexibility and time away from work to focus on yourself, your family and friends and to return to the workplace with renewed energy.
Departments/units may continue to offer a flexible or compressed schedule to eligible staff this summer beginning Monday, June 10 through Friday, Aug. 16 (excluding holiday weeks).
The University’s priority is to provide effective and efficient services to internal and external constituencies during all normal working hours, Monday through Friday. Therefore, it is important that flexible or compressed work schedules are discussed with staff and approved by the department’s appropriate supervisor, in coordination with the Department Chair, Director, Dean, Vice President or Senior Vice President. Some departments may be unable to implement the program due to operational needs. Please visit the Flexible Schedule website for additional information.
February 1, 2024
Welcome new undergraduate students to campus as a Navigating Health and Safety Instructor! Instructors teach sections of Navigating Health and Safety, a six-week module required for all new/incoming undergraduate students addressing mental health, substance use, sexual health, consent, bystander intervention, and campus resources.
This position is designed for current Brandeis employees. It provides the opportunity to connect with new students and have fun doing it!
The 50-minute classes are held once per week, either during business hours or in the evening depending on your availability and your supervisor’s approval. In the classroom, instructors lead discussions and facilitate engaging group activities. There is no lecturing!
For more information, visit the HWL Instructor Resources webpage. The compensation is $480 per section for instructors who have worked at Brandeis fewer than 6 years. Instructors that have worked at Brandeis for six or more years will receive $536 per section. Apply on Workday, and direct any questions to hawp@brandeis.edu.
Teaching Updates
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In a Pedagogical Partnership, a faculty member chooses a student partner to work with them on a course they teach throughout the semester. The student partner sits in on their faculty member’s course and meets with them weekly to provide feedback from a student point of view. The CTL provides training and support for both the student partners and the participating faculty members throughout the semester.
By signing up, you agree to participating in the following components:
- Weekly meetings with your student partner for 30-60 minutes (at a time that is convenient for you both);
- Monthly meetings throughout the semester with the other five-to-six faculty members involved in the program (organized and facilitated by the CTL).
The program is open to any full-time faculty members, teaching on a multi-year contract or tenured/tenure-track. Participating faculty will receive a $1,000 stipend for the semester and student partners will receive $1,250.
For more information, please visit the CTL Pedagogical Partnership page or email Marty (msamuels@brandeis.edu).
Apply by August 7th
As you prepare your fall semester courses in Moodle 4, the Library’s Instructional Technologists offer you two types of Moodle workshops:
- Workshops titled ‘Moodle 4’ will teach you how to port over your existing courses from LATTE to Moodle 4;
- Workshops titled ‘Building a new course from scratch in Moodle 4.0’ are for those who do not have any old courses to move over from legacy LATTE (or don’t want to move them).
You should also visit the Brandeis Moodle Getting Started documentation. There will be more workshops throughout the next several months, including in the summer. The Library’s Instructional Technologists are here to help you in the move to Moodle 4!
As shared in a February 29, 2024, email to campus, Brandeis has decided not to renew its subscription to LinkedIn Learning. The Library is highlighting our robust workshop offerings and curating a list of training resources, including training resources covering some of the most frequently used LinkedIn Learning topics. Read more.
Through our membership in the Boston Library Consortium, Brandeis Library has joined JSTOR's Path to Open, a pilot program that supports open access publication of new scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences. The Path to Open pilot seeks to offer a sustainable model for providing libraries and their patrons with affordable access to important scholarship, while also providing equitable access to researchers from all over the world and helping authors reach larger audiences. Brandeis students, faculty and staff will have immediate access to Path to Open books as they are published on the JSTOR platform; each Path to Open title then becomes open access three years after its publication.
Read more about ways Brandeis Library supports Open Access publishing.
The Library's Research Excellence Prize recognizes students who apply sophisticated information literacy skills to the selection, evaluation, and synthesis of sources for a research project. The Library has prizes in nine different categories:
- Community-engaged research, offered in partnership with the Samuels ’63 Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation (COMPACT). Community-engaged research typically addresses the questions, issues, and/or needs of a community partner — whether at the local, state, regional, national, or global level.
- Student research related to racism and anti-racism. This award is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Dissertations are not eligible for this award.
- Climate change-related research. This award is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Dissertations are not eligible for this award.
- Research completed in a University Writing Seminar (UWS).
- Research completed by an undergraduate student outside of UWS.
- Research completed for an undergraduate senior thesis.
- Research completed by a graduate student. Dissertations are not eligible for this award.
- Research that makes use of materials in the Brandeis University Archives & Special Collections. This award is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Dissertations are not eligible for this award.
- Digital research project. Examples include research presented through data visualization, mapping, story maps, digital storytelling tools, or multimedia. Both standalone digital projects and those that accompany a research paper will be considered.
Please encourage students to apply! The application deadline is May 14, 2024.
Academic Services has updated their Academic Alert Form, designed to identify and support students who exhibit behaviors that could possibly lead to academic difficulty. Your participation in this process provides students with timely feedback and personalized academic intervention strategies. Effective early alert systems have been proven to identify at-risk students and improve retention and graduation rates.
When you submit this form, an email will be immediately generated to your student letting them know that they have an alert for your course. It will share opportunities for academic resources and support, along with any recommendations you provide. A copy of the email will be sent to you and the student’s academic advisor.
While Academic Services may periodically reach out and encourage faculty to share academic alerts, please know these can be submitted at any time during the semester.
At this time, we encourage you to submit academic alerts for any attendance or performance concerns you have for your students at this point in the semester. If you have a number of alerts to submit, you’re welcome to send a spreadsheet with relevant information to Brian Koslowski, Director of Academic Advising.
You are encouraged to bookmark the link above. It can also be found on Academic Services' Resources for Faculty.
The Center for Teaching and Learning has introduced a new university syllabus template, which offers faculty the flexibility to remove the course plan from the syllabus and upload it as a separate document in Latte. The New Course Proposal Form now includes an option to upload a course plan if it is not included in the syllabus. There is no need to upload a separate course plan if it is included in the submitted syllabus. Courses with no course plans will be returned to instructors/departments for revision.
Support for Teaching, Research and Student Engagement
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The URCC Spring Symposium is a unique opportunity for Brandeis A&S undergraduates from every discipline to share their research and creative projects in a single event. Poster sessions, oral presentations, and exhibits will take place in the Hassenfeld Conference Center on campus. Please encourage your students to participate.
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May 20-22, 2024
This three-day hybrid event, designed for PhD students working on their dissertations, will feature both in-person and online writing workspaces, planning sessions, mini-workshops, and guest panels designed to set you on a productive path for your summer dissertation writing.
A complete agenda, together with additional details and instructions on how to prepare, will go out to registrants in the days prior to the retreat.
Questions? Email the Assistant Directors of the Writing Center, Yi He and Robert Cochran at writingcenter@brandeis.edu.
Sign Up Form
Our students are navigating so much this year, we want to ensure they are able to receive psychological support as needed, especially as they enter final exams.
The Brandeis Counseling Center will be offering a few drop in support groups for undergraduate and graduate students to connect and share about the impact of political unrest on mental health. These drop in support groups are:
- Wednesday, May 1, 10am (via Zoom)
- Wednesday, May 8, 3pm (in-person)
Please feel free to email Addie Wyman with questions and to register!
For emergencies, contact Public Safety at 781-736-3333 (on-campus issues) or 911 (off-campus issues).
For urgent mental health concerns, contact the Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC) at 781-736-3730 (24/7 consultation available).
For student behavior concerns that can wait at least one business day, submit an I Care Form to the Care Team to evaluate and coordinate resources of the university and provide necessary support. Also, please submit an I Care Form after calling Public Safety, 911, or the BCC to ensure follow up for student wellbeing.
These resources may also be helpful: Top Ten Care Practices, Care Team Tips, Campus Resources, Resilience Guide, and Campus Connection Points (list of ongoing, drop-in or scheduled times for students to have casual or structured connections through conversations).
For a decrease in academic engagement with no evidence of distress or concerning behavior, reach out to the student and ask for a reply within two business days. If no reply, try again with a note that if you do not hear back, you may need to engage other options for support. If you still receive no reply, submit an Academic Alert Form or contact Academic Services at 781-736-3470 (undergraduates only).
CTL recognizes that teaching can often be a difficult and lonely experience, and welcomes all faculty to share their challenges. Submit your request for CTL help.
Nominate a student paper!
The J.V. Cunningham Awards for Excellence in College Writing are open to all Brandeis undergraduates. Cash prizes are awarded for superbly written papers judged to be outstanding in formal content, substantive strength and originality. Each professor or instructor may nominate a paper from a Brandeis course, excluding senior thesis, up to 20 pages in length. TAs and graders are also welcome to nominate!
Deadline: May 7, 2024
Inquiries: University Writing Program, UWP@brandeis.edu
Brandeis Celebration of Teaching Day
Friday, May 3, 9:00am - 2:00pm, Rapaporte Hall
The Center for Teaching and Learning invites Brandeis community to celebrate the ways faculty are transforming their courses and pedagogies to support and advance learning.
The Celebration of Teaching at Brandeis will include
- Honoring teaching award recipients
- Faculty panel on the teaching of writing at Brandeis: across the curriculum, with and without AIs
- Raffles
- Faculty Appreciation Reception by seniors!!!
(All materials from prior workshops are posted on our Events page.)
Faculty Affairs
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A&S Features
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Brandeis' newest undergraduate academic journal, Simpliciter, is slated for publication this spring semester, following months of planning and work by its dedicated editorial team.
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For undergraduates Maya Haubrich ‘24, Rebecca Leon ‘24, and Clay Napurano ’24, attending part of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP-28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates was not only deeply impactful but left them more determined than ever to continue their work in environmental studies.
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Recent Faculty Accolades
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Sonia Almeida (FA) has received a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship. The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation offers fellowships to exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation in any art form, under the freest possible conditions.
Sheida Soleimani (FA) was featured in the Spring 2024 issue of Art in America as the artist invited to make a print included in each magazine. Additionally, the Guggenheim Museum announced they acquired two photographs by Soleimani.
Irina Dubinina (GRALL) has released a co-edited volume, Russian as a Heritage Language: From Research to Classroom Applications. Dubinina is a co-author on two chapters in this book: “Russian as a heritage language in the 21st century: Bridging research in linguistics and pedagogy” and “What eye movements can tell us about reading in Russian as a heritage language: From the lab to the classroom”.
Jonathan Anjaria (ANTH) was awarded an AIIS Long-Term Senior Research Fellowship from the American Institute of Indian Studies. He will use the fellowship during his upcoming AY25-26 sabbatical. The project, exploring new Indian foodways, is titled "Collaboration and Innovation in Indian Artisanal Cheese Production".
Brian Horton (ANTH) has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) summer fellowship. He will use the award in the summer of 25-26 for his next project, "Capturing Race: Screening (Anti)Blackness in India." The NEH summer stipend competition is highly competitive, with only 13% of applications funded this cycle.
Neil Swidey (JOUR) is one of six Biomedical Fellows awarded a 2024 national fellowship from the Logan Science Journalism Program at the University of Chicago’s Marine Biological Laboratory. Now in its 37th year, the fellowship program brings together a dozen science and health journalists from around the world to Woods Hole, Mass., where they get immersive, hands-on training in cutting-edge biomedical and environmental science. Swidey will work with senior scientists to do genome editing using CRISPR/Cas 9 and DNA sequencing and analysis. Swidey also contributed a chapter to "Lifting the Veil on Enrollment Management: How a Powerful Industry is Limiting Social
Mobility in Higher Education", a new book published by Stephen Bird, a senior editor of the New America public policy institute (Harvard Education Press, 2024). Swidey investigates the history and symbiotic growth of enrollment-management practices and US News college rankings. He tracks the modest beginnings of each of these independent forces in the 1980s, explaining how they combined to radically reshape higher education.
Michael Willrich (HIST) was one of two finalists for this year's Pulitzer Prize in History for his book American Anarchy: The Epic Struggle between Immigrant Radicals and the US Government at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century.
Piali Sengupta (BIO) was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Douglas Theobald (BIOCHEM) received funding from the National Institutes of Health for "Evolution of Enzyme Structure and Function Viewed at Atomic Resolution."
See More Accolades