Scholarships
2018 DEIS Scholars
Photo Credit: Simon Chasalow
The Legacy Fund supports pioneering college-access initiatives for eligible students through a variety of scholarship opportunities.
The A. Philip Randolph Fellowship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Legacy Fund established the A. Philip Randolph Fellowship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to honor the prominent 20th-century civil rights leader in 2007. Originally funding Posse scholarships, it now supports the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Scholarship (DEIS) in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
The Diversity, Excellence and Inclusion Scholarship is designed to enable U.S. citizens and permanent residents from historically underrepresented backgrounds — including first generation college graduates — to benefit from a world-class Brandeis education.
Legacy Fund founder Jules Bernstein ’57 cited A. Philip Randolph, along with Bayard Rustin, as his social justice heroes in the summer 2019 issue of the Heller magazine.
About A. Philip Randolph
Asa Philip Randolph (1889-1979), who received an honorary degree from Brandeis in 1969, founded the first independent black labor union in the United States when he organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925. Randolph also successfully pushed for integration of the military in the 1940s, founded the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights in the 1950s, and was a leading organizer of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. He also served as a vice president of the AFL-CIO.
Tony Williams Memorial Endowed Transitional Year Scholarship
Established in 2007 to honor Tony Williams, the beloved longtime director of Brandeis’ acclaimed Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program (MKTYP), this scholarship supports intelligent and talented undergraduate students who typically have not had access to AP and honors courses in their previous schooling experiences through this program.
The Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program is an integral part of the university’s founding and enduring commitment to social justice. Founded in 1968, the MKTYP is a one-year academic program for students who have developed the skills for college success by practicing leadership in their life experiences.
About Tony Williams
Tony Williams was the beloved longtime director of Brandeis’ acclaimed Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program (MKTYP). Williams came to Brandeis as assistant dean of students in 1969. Nine years later he was appointed director of TYP, put in charge of a pioneering initiative that gives outstanding individuals their first real chance to pursue a rigorous university education. He retired as director in 2004.
As all great teachers understand, Williams knew that some of the most enduring lessons have little to do with subject matter. “With Mr. Williams, it wasn't just about academics,” said Pedro Pontes ’00, a MKTYP student during the 1995-1996 academic year. “He taught us so much more than that. He taught important life lessons.”