Trustee Meyer Koplow ’72 has strong feelings for his alma mater – and it’s no wonder. The Koplow family tree has deep roots at Brandeis.

Koplow’s sister Amy Harriet Koplow is a 1974 graduate. His two sons – Michael ’02 and Jonathan ’05 -- both graduated from Brandeis and married classmates (Tovah Sherman ’02 and Jennifer Rothwax ’05). And his niece Chana Miller earned her degree from Brandeis last year.

To underscore his commitment to an institution that has been such an important part of his family’s life, he has set up a challenge to help boost giving by the Brandeis Classes of 1972 and 2002 as they approach their Reunions in June (he serves as co-chair of the Class of 1972 Reunion Committee with Trustee Martin Gross ’72, P ’01, P ’04, P ’08).

For donors who have not made a gift since June 30, 2005, Koplow pledged to match the first $300 of every gift from members of the Class of 1972 and the first $250 of every gift from those who graduated in the Class of 2002. Also, if at least 400 members of the Class of 1972 or 500 members of the Class of 2002 make gifts of at least $25, he will make an additional gift of $100,000 per class. Koplow’s challenge will run through Reunion weekend -- June 8-10.

“I understand that most people do not have the capacity to give major gifts, but I believe that almost everybody has the capacity to give something,” Koplow said. “The $50 or $100 gifts really make a difference, and say a lot to the outside world about how we, as alumni, feel about Brandeis.

“We have an obligation to give back and say thank you for what Brandeis has done for us,” Koplow said. “Brandeis has certainly done a lot for me.”

Koplow spent just two years at Brandeis after transferring from Boston University, but his time on campus left an indelible mark on him. He was particularly struck by the faculty’s commitment to students, exemplified by the close relationship he developed with esteemed scholar Nahum Glatzer while working on his honors thesis.

“It’s difficult to articulate everything I learned during those hours that Dr. Glatzer devoted to me,” Koplow said. “We weren’t just people passing through the halls – the faculty took a real and direct interest in the students. Brandeis was a community, felt like a community, and operated like a community.”

Koplow, a partner in the New York law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz,  generously supported the The Village residential complex and established the Richards and Koplow Endowed Scholarship.

For more information or to make a gift as part of the Koplow challenge, contact Mary Shepherd at 781-736-4021 or shepherd@brandeis.edu.