Office of the President

Celebrating our soccer team, and our community's achievements

Dec. 2, 2017

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Please join me in congratulating the Judges men’s soccer team on a spectacular run in the NCAA tournament, which culminated in a Final Four appearance on Friday night.

I want to recognize some remarkable student-athletes for their contributions to the team. The team captains — defender Josh Berg ’17, midfielder Christian Hernandez ’18, and goalkeeper Ben Woodhouse ’18 — and the team’s entire senior class led their teammates admirably this season.

I also want to acknowledge head coach Gabe Margolis and his assistants, Adam Batista, Ryan Wilson, and Jake Picard ’16, for their role in guiding the team to its fifth — and second consecutive — Final Four appearance.

Finally, I am proud of our entire athletics staff — director of athletics Lynne Dempsey ‘93, associate athletic directors, trainers, coaches, and sports information staff. The team we have off the field is just as impressive as the one we watched on it.

Our success in the NCAA tournament is just the latest in a series of accomplishments. Michael Rosbash, the Peter Gruber Endowed Chair in Neuroscience, and Jeffrey Hall, professor emeritus of biology, are on their way to Stockholm to accept the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on circadian rhythms. Last week, we formally recognized eminent scholar Jonathan Sarna ’75, MA’75, the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, as a University Professor. And earlier in November, Edward Hackett, vice provost for research; Gina Turrigiano, the Joseph Levitan Professor of Vision Science; and Leslie Griffith, director of the Volen National Center for Complex Systems, were all named American Association for the Advancement of Science fellows.

This is an exciting time to be a member of the Brandeis community. We are in the midst of a remarkable upward trajectory, and I know many more accomplishments lie ahead.

Best,

Ron Liebowitz