Newsmakers

Barry Shrage has been appointed professor of the practice in the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program. One of America’s foremost Jewish leaders, Shrage has for the past 30 years served as president of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. At Hornstein, Shrage will train and mentor students, and help further Hornstein’s role as the premier training ground for future Jewish professional leaders. Shrage will also lead the Initiative for Jewish Identity — housed in the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies/Steinhardt Social Research Institute — which will draw on Brandeis’ deep strength in the study of Jewish life to develop innovative programming for teaching and engaging members of the Jewish community.

William R. O’Reilly has been named chief of staff in the Office of the President. Currently a partner at law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, he will join Brandeis on Aug. 13. O’Reilly will provide strategic and analytical support for the president, prioritize the office’s responses and actions, and manage the university-wide strategic-planning process. He brings knowledge and experience in the administration and governance of schools and universities to his new role. He was a member of the Tufts University Board of Trustees from 2004-17, nine of those years as vice chair. He has also been a member of the Beaver Country Day School Board of Trustees and is currently on the Tufts University Hillel Board of Directors. For two years, O’Reilly served as president of the Tufts University Alumni Association. In his law practice, O’Reilly represented such clients as the Museum of Science, Boston; Brown University; and City Year.

In April, Brandeis received the 2018 Good Neighbor Award from Waltham Partnership for Youth, a nonprofit that works to improve outcomes for local students. Lucas Malo, director of community service; Anique Olivier-Mason, PhD’12, director of education, outreach and diversity at the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center; and Marya Levenson, the Harry S. Levitan Director of Teacher Education, accepted the award on behalf of the university. The university logs 40,000 hours of community service to Waltham schools, organizations and groups annually.

The university’s Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, celebrating its 10-year anniversary, has appointed Jonathan D. Sarna ’75, MA’75, University Professor and the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, as its new director, beginning Aug. 1. Sarna, who succeeds visiting professor David Ellenson in the post, is a pre-eminent scholar on American Jewish history, modern Judaism and Israel studies. Rachel Fish, PhD’13, will become the center’s executive director. And Alexander Kaye, the Karl, Harry and Helen Stoll Assistant Professor of Israel Studies, has been appointed to the Stoll Family Chair in Israel Studies, succeeding founding Schusterman Center director Ilan Troen ’63.

Head men’s and women’s fencing coach Bill Shipman retired at the end of June after 37 years at the university. He guided the Judges to five University Athletic Association titles and 13 men’s, women’s and combined Northeast Fencing Conference titles. His squads have won at least one New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference or Northeast Fencing Conference crown each year since 2013. Shipman has coached 15 All-Americans over the years, including Tim Morehouse ’00, Brandeis’ only Olympian and a 2008 silver medalist in Beijing as a member of Team USA’s saber squad. Shipman also served as Brandeis’ golf coach for 10 seasons, from 2001-10.