1975-1976
Spurred by a desire to have direct involvement with the gathering and allocation of funds for philanthropic purposes, students began the Brandeis Hillel Tzedakah (Philanthropy) Collective. Students contributed to the collective pool and decided democratically which organizations to support. Students were the sole arbiters of the collective and donations were made anonymously, exhibiting the highest level in the mitzvah, or commandment, of “giving.”
—Ora Gladstone, Associate Director, Brandeis Hillel
In March, Chancellor Abram Sachar published the first edition of A Host at Last, his memoir of the founding of Brandeis University and his 20 years as its President. Offering insights into the processes of developing and running a university not normally available to its students, A Host at Last calls attention to the combination of generosity, good will and community ambition that made Brandeis possible. An expanded second edition, Brandeis University: A Host at Last, the work of the Chancellor’s final years, appeared in 1995, its publication overseen by current Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz.
—Staff
This year the University began offering foreign language instruction in Chinese. Quan Juxiang was the first instructor.
— Prof. John Schrecker, History
Chair, Program in East Asian Studies
The Brandeis campus became the scene of an extensive agricultural experiment this year, when ten members of the library staff occupied nearly 2,000 square feet of campus real estate behind the Goldfarb Library to plant a vegetable garden. In a related development, several Brandeis Trustees were seen armed with saplings and shovels over Commencement Weekend, taking the first step in the landscaping of Fellows Garden beside Ford Hall.
—Staff
He wasn’t the university’s first choice. But after several others declined the honor, the administration invited Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione to accept the university’s award for Publisher of the Year at a November fund-raising dinner. The outcry was immediate. The Brandeis Women’s Caucus demanded an apology from the administration (which was not forthcoming) and immediate action on the proposal for a new Women’s Studies Program that was currently under review. Guccione got his award, an embarrassing moment for the university but one that was over relatively quickly. Women’s Studies eventually became one of Brandeis’ star programs.
—Staff