Opening slide text:
Brandeis University (with Brandeis University seal)
Department of Classical Studies
Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies
Celebrating the Class of 2020
Slide show of buildings and campus landmarks set to music "The arrival of the Queen of Sheba" from Solomon by Handel:
Side view of statue of Louis Brandeis with robe fluttering "Louis Dembitz Brandeis" by Louis Berks (1956)
Front view of Berks' statue with Shapiro Campus Center in the background.
Aerial view of campus
Philip J. Lown School for Near Eastern and Judaic Studies (front view)
2018 window replacement project in Lown (seen from outside, front view)
Mandel Center for the Humanities (seen from Loop Road)
Mandel Center lit up at night (seen from Loop Road)
Inside Mandel looking up the stairwell towards the ceiling mounted art installation "Campus Constellation" by Martin Dermady (2010)
Mandel Center lit up at night (seen from the roof deck)
Mandel Center lit up at night (seen from Loop Road)
A black t-shirt with yellow lettering spelling out NEJS in English, Arabic, Hebrew and Ugaritic (a Cuneiform script)
The Great Lawn with Shapiro Campus Center in the background
Art installation "A Golem for Brandeis" by Paul Belenkey (2014)
Looking across Fellows Garden at the Volen National Center for Complex Systems and the science complex
The Brown Social Science Center (seen through trees and shrubs)
"Student and Knowledge" by Penelope Jencks (1986). Statue of a student lying on a large rock, propped up on one elbow and gazing towards the Goldfarb Library
Sherman Hall and Rosenthal and Usen Residence Halls (seen from the gardens of Massel Quad)
BUNWC donors statue of an open book on a podium (seen from the gardens outside Farber Library)
Shapiro Campus Center (seen from the gardens of old Starr Plaza in front of Gryzmish)
Student art installation "Look Up, Look In, Look Again," Maggie Ziegel ’18, comprising many rainbow-colored umbrellas suspended outside of Goldfarb Library
Close up of the umbrellas which are embellished with phrases including: What have you done for your body today? What does it mean to be an ally? How have you changed? Sherman or Usdan? and What motivates you?
"Light of Reason" art installation of oversized street lamps by Chris Burden 2014 (seen from Loop Road)
Inside the Rose Art Museum gallery features paintings and sculpture
Spingold Theater (seen from Loop Road)
A theater set under construction inside Spingold Theater
Berlin Chapel (seen across Chapels Pond)
Inside Berlin Chapel
Usen Castle and Skyline construction
Usen Castle (outdoor view)
Skyline Residence Hall and East Residence Hall (seen from above in Usdan)
Looking up at Rabb Graduate Center (seen from outside of Kutz)
The Village Residences (seen from the Village plaza)
Usdan Student Center (seen from Loop Road)
Looking up the stairs outside Kutz Hall
Women's Studies Research Center (seen through the trees)
Abraham Shapiro Academic Complex (seen from Loop Rd)
Bernstein-Marcus Hall (seen from Loop Road)
Wide aerial shot of campus including the Boston Skyline
On-screen text: Thank you to the Office of Communications and Photographer Mike Lovett
Brandeis University
Eugene R. Sheppard
Associate Professor of Modern Jewish History and Thought
Sheppard:
Welcome. I am Eugene Sheppard, chair of the Department of Near Eastern Judaic Studies. At Brandeis we call it NEJS. On behalf of the departments of classical studies and NEJS, it's my pleasure and honor to welcome faculty from both departments and affiliated programs, graduates in the class of 2020, their family and close friends to this mini celebration.
As you could gather from the the cacophony of languages offered by the faculty of these two departments, NEJS and Classical Studies are a natural fit for celebrating the achievements of our students who've devoted themselves to rigorous study of diverse languages, cultures, religions and lived experience of peoples and societies, tracing back to the ancient Mediterranean and the broader Middle East. NEJS also, of course, follows these legacies into medieval and modern periods.
The ambition of today's celebration is to provide an opportunity for us to mark and celebrate the achievement of our students in a collective way despite the challenges of physical distancing. While formal commencement has been postponed, we hope that everyone involved will see this program as a celebratory moment, and take advantage of the opportunity to interact with faculty live in breakout rooms at the conclusion of today's formal program.
Today's program will consist of brief introductory remarks, slides and videos made by students and faculty, as well as roll calls of all graduates who wish to be included in today's event. Joel and I want to thank the outstanding crew of IT specialists and communications, who have helped edit these items together. We also want to acknowledge Joanne Arnish, senior administrator for NEJS, and David DeVore, administrator for classics. They have acted as the primary operators behind the scenes, suggesting and vetting ideas for the program, as well as soliciting content from all of you, and polishing up so much of what we have for you today.
Brandeis University
Joel Christensen
Associate Professor of Classical Studies
Christensen:
Hi, I'm Joel Christensen, chair of the Department of Classical Studies. I'm honored to greet you all today with my colleague and friend, Eugene Sheppard, even in these challenging and strange times. As an alumnus of Brandeis, one of the things I cherished most when I was here, were the relationships I started in the classroom. And I learned to really value them when I took them with me as part of the support that accompanied me throughout my life. My colleagues, Ann Koloski-Ostrow and Cheryl Walker, were once my teachers. And I kept in touch with them and many others, like Lenny Milner and Pat Johnson, as I went to grad school after Brandeis and for the many other surprising turns of my life.
Relationships we build around the pursuit of truth and the creation of community of shared inquiry here at Brandeis are central to what this university means to me. And it's why I'm so lucky to be back here teaching and advising and working every day. And it's also why the isolation in this pandemic has been so troubling. As Eugene said, we've been talking for several semesters now about building on the ties between our two departments because we share interest in the importance of understanding language, literature, religion and history for who we are today.
Brandeis' intellectual history is rooted not just in these places and peoples, but in the stories of students and scholars who studied them for generations. One common piece of ground we share is how we all strive to learn from the past to make a better future for ourselves. Another is our commitment to seeking out the causes and natures of the world around us. These times have been trying, but I've been anchored, sustained and inspired by my colleagues and students over the past months. We face a crisis not a single one of us expected, and to a person, everyone I know in this community has faced it with thoughtfulness and compassion. This, as well as your considerable accomplishments in school and your bright future, are why we are committed to honoring and celebrating you today.
Thank you so much, graduates of 2020. You've made me proud to be a teacher and now your friend as far as the greater Brandeis community.
Each faculty member speaks directly to the camera.
Esther Shorr:
Shalom. My name is Esther Shorr and I teach Hebrew at the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department. Congratulations students and families. It has been a pleasure teaching you, especially and during these aha moments when you realize that you have been saying a word for many years, or singing it and you didn't understand what you were saying, and finally you understood it.
I hope you will continue studying Hebrew so you will be able to read in the original language the Bible, the Hebrew literature, primary sources if you continue to graduate school in the Judaic Studies Department, and more and more understand the Israeli movies, series, culture, songs and more. I wish you luck. Goodbye. I know we'll see you next year when we continue the celebration. Until then, stay safe. Bye bye.
Jonathan Krasner: Welcome.
Caitlin Gillespie: Salvete omnes! Gratias discipulis, matribus, patribus, et propinquis ago! Et gratulor omnibus de hac gloria!
Lisa Fishbayn Joffe: Bonjour et bienvenue. Congratulations, everyone. I wish you every happiness, and you should be very proud of your accomplishments, and I look forward to celebrating with you in the future.
Alexandra Ratzlaff: Welcome!
ChaeRan Freeze: Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Шейхран Фриз. Добро пожаловать. Hello and welcome.
Ellie Kellman: Sholem-aleykhem. Ikh heys Ellie Kellman. Brukhim-haboim. Hello, my name is Ellie Kellman. Welcome to you all to our graduation. And mazel tov to all the graduates.
Ann O. Koloski-Ostrow: Salvete. Parents, students, undergraduates and graduates, family and friends. I'm Professor Ann O. Koloski-Ostrow, known as Professor AOKO to many of you, of the Department of Classical Studies, and head of the Division of Humanities. As the Romans would have said, Quantum Tempus, or long time no see. To my dear students, I've certainly missed all of you in person since mid-March. Welcome to our mini celebration for Classical Studies and for the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. I wanted to explain that my hat, which I always wear at graduation every year, is a Greek Athenians soldiers garb, and I wear it to honor the Greek in all of us. So this hat, and these flowers behind me, and the bright burning candle you see there are all for you. They are signs of hope, of spring and of the great futures that I know you're all going to have. So again, welcome to our mini celebration, maybe not what you originally hoped for, but I promise created with much affection and huge admiration for all that you students have accomplished at Brandeis.
Joel Christensen: Khairete oh mathetai te kai eutukhoite.
Jon Levisohn: Shalom and welcome.
Matt Newman: Khairete, philologoi, arkhaiologoi, historiographoi, kai hoi loipoi.
Sara Hascal: Hello, Judaic students and welcome.
Suleyman Dost: Hoş geldiniz ve bu sene mezun olan herkese çok çok tebrikler! Bonjour, mes félicitations à tous ceux qui finissent leurs études cette année.
اهلا بكم, تهاني لكل الذين سيتخرجون هذا العام
Welcome and congratulations to all those that are graduating this year.
Four-way video mosaic of NEJS and Classics administration.
Joanne Arnish: Welcome. Over the course of your time at Brandeis, many changes have occurred, including the arrival of President Liebowitz, construction of Skyline Commons, library renovations, a transition to Sodexo food service, development and implementation of new Workday financial, HR and student records systems, major refurbishing of buildings in the North Quad, faculty retirements and new faculty recruitment, among many others. The COVID-19 pandemic trumps all. We are very sorry you missed your traditional senior year activities and have not been able to celebrate as usual. However, this in no way diminishes your accomplishments. We wish you all the best as you move forward to the next stage in your lives.
Leah Steele: We are so proud of you.
David DeVore: We wish you the very best.
Jean Mannion: And we look forward to seeing you all back on campus, as Brandeis alums. Please keep in touch.
All four: Congratulations!
Ben Steiner (with picture of Dora E. Valle and Ron Liebowitz in the background):
Dora E. Valle, Lown Building custodian, Upper Campus celebrity, and this year's winner of Brandeis' Zirkel Staff Award for her exceptional service. Dora is a role model under any circumstance. But in the year of COVID-19 I think about her evermore — how she smiles in the face of adversity; how she gives back to others, family and friends; and how she contributes to Brandeis beyond measure.
As we pursue our PhDs, too many of us are too swamped to smile; too focused to contribute to others, too siloed to give back to our community. Dora shows us another way. And she has the credentials to prove it: a master's inoptimism, a PhD in knowing what it means to make a difference. Simply put, she's our MVP. Dora, I will miss you greatly as I leave Brandeis, but I am comforted in knowing that so many others will continue to benefit from your shining presence. So God bless you and congratulations on this long overdue recognition.
Each student has a slide with name and degree shown on-screen as their name is being read; many have pictures as well.
Joel Christensen:
The undergraduate graduates of 2020:
Sunny Akobirshoeva, Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies.
Jacob Diaz, Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies, and recipient of the Esther Goldman Prize for Excellence in Classical Art and Archaeology and Ancient History.
Brenden Morrissey, Bachelor of Arts and Classical Studies, Esther Goldman Prize for Excellence in Classical Languages and Literatures.
On to our graduate students:
Kathleen Dailey, Master of Arts in Ancient Greek and Roman Study.
Michael Hall, Master of Arts in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, and a January degree recipient.
Michael Lundberg, Master of Arts in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies; also a January degree recipient.
Jennifer Marks, Master of Arts in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies.
Elizabeth Randolph, Master of Arts in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies.
Alexa Rose, Master of Arts in the Ancient Greek and Roman Studies.
Rachel Yore, a January degree recipient and Master of Arts in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies.
Eugene Sheppard:
The candidates for Bachelor of Arts in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies:
Sarah Hannah Berkowitz.
Dana Allison Blackman Brown.
Goldie Farah Davoudgoleh.
Jacob Tyler Fine.
Liat Chinanit Fischer, winner of the Rose and Joseph Weissman Prize in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies.
Talia Sidney Goodman, winner of the Ezra Z. Shapiro Endowed Family Prize.
Jonathan David Mohr, winner of the Elsie Witty Award in Jewish Studies.
Churchill Micaiah Perry.
Lily Schmidt-Swartz.
Nicole Leah Zador, winner of the Samuel and Jennie Raucher Prize.
Congratulations to all of our graduates.
The candidates for a Master of Arts in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies:
Habiba Farh.
Anthony Lipscomb.
Xiaoye Qi.
Leah Faye Robbins.
The candidates for Doctor of Philosophy in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies:
Esther Brownsmith, for the dissertation Inconspicuous Consumption: Conceptual Metaphors of Women as Food in the Deuteronomistic History.
Eric James Harvey, for the dissertation Sing to the Lord a New(-ish) Song: Continuity and Change in the Psalms of the Egyptian Hallel, from the Persian Period to the Invention of Printing. Co-winner, of the Nahum Ann Glatzer endowed prize.
Rachel Shaina Minkin, for the dissertation Constructing Jewish Lives: Emerging Adults and the Jewish Cultural Toolkit.
Benjamin Michael Steiner, for the dissertation The Jewish Marriage Contract: A Window into Jewish Social History. Co-winner of Nahum Ann Glatzer Endowed Prize.
Kendra Yarbor, for the dissertation Patterns of Disruption: Judaism and Islam in Black American Life.
Congratulations to all of our graduates.
On-screen text: Celebrate the Class of 2020
Matt Newman: Hi, this is Dr. Matt Newman from the Classics Department and I just wanted to say congratulations to all the classicists, and archeologists, and Near Easternists, Jewish Studies graduates, historians and all of you amazing people. You've done incredible work, and have definitely made me a better thinker and scholar and a better teacher and I appreciate all your efforts, and I look forward to hearing all the amazing things that you're going to do in the future. Congratulations again.
Suleyman Dost: Hello, everyone. My name is Suleyman Dost. I am the Assistant Professor of Classical Islam at NEJS. I want to congratulate all of our students for graduating this year. It's an incredible achievement, not only for you, but also for your parents, for your families, for your friends. I'm hoping that everything that you learned at Brandeis will guide you throughout your life going forward. I had the distinct pleasure of knowing that many of you who are graduating this year have been in my classes, and that's why I wanted to give a special shout out to those whom I had the distinct privilege of having in my classes. So special shout out to Sarah Berkowitz. Dana Blackman Brown, Jacob Fine, Talia Goodman, Churchill Perry, Jonathan Mohr, Nicole Zador and our one and only BA/MA student Habiba Farh.
Caitlin Gillespie: Congratulations, everyone. I want to thank the parents, families, friends and and all those who have supported our students on their journey. May you take the lessons of Brandeis with you wherever you go, and commit yourselves to bettering the future of our world. Vitae bonae, faustae, felices, fortunataeque sint. Universitatis felicem memoriam spero sempiternam fore. Avete et valete! May your lives be full of blessings, and your joyful memories of university be eternal. Farewell and excel.
Alexandra Ratzlaff: Students, congratulations on your graduation and all you've accomplished at your time at Brandeis. I'm wishing you the very best and am so excited for the amazing opportunities and achievements to come in your future.
Chaeran Freeze: Я поздравляю вас с окончанием университета. и желаю вам всех благ и успеха!
Jon Levisohn: Congratulations. We're very proud of all that you've accomplished in NEJS.
Sara Hascal: Hi, hello.
שמי שרה חסקל ואתם מכירים אותי מהתוכנית לעברית. אני מאחלת לכם בהצלחה בעתיד ומקווה מאוד לשמור איתכם על קשר. תודה רבה וברכות ממני ומכל צוות המורים שלנו והצוות בתכנית לעברית.
Jonathan Sarna: Shalom and mazel tov. Congratulations to all those finishing up this year. I especially want to recognize the three PhDs with whom I personally have worked: Doctors Benjamin Steiner, Kendra Yarbor and Rachel Minkin. PhDs, MAs, BAs, you go out into a world full of uncertainty. A world where the very definition of truth and fact are called into question. And the value of research and scholarship is doubted. I hope that what you have learned here at Brandeis will help you to navigate through these complicated and unhappy times. May you proceed, as the Psalmist put it: "מחיל אל חיל" From strength to strength. Best of luck. And congratulations.
Brendan Michael Morrisey
Cum Laude
Sarah Hannah Berkowitz
Magna Cum Laude
Dana Allison Blackman Brown
Cum Laude
Golda Farah Davoudgoleh
Magna Cum Laude
Liat Chinanit Fischer
Magna Cum Laude
Talia Sydney Goodman
Cum Laude
Jonathan David Mohr
Magna Cum Laude
Churchill Micaiah Perry
Cum Laude
Lily Schmidt-Swartz
Cum Laude
Nicole Leah Zador (Feb. '20)
Summa Cum Laude
Mosaic of seniors waving goodbye while cheerful music plays.
Dr. Robert Duff, conductor
The Brandeis Chamber Singers can be heard singing, “To thee, Alma Mater.”
Singing continues, but the video transitions to Chamber Singers on Zoom. There are 22 frames of students in headphones singing from home, set in three rows. Shot focuses on center student before zooming out to include all of them.
Singing:
“We'll always be true.
All hail to thy standard
the white and the blue.”
Transitions to montage of Brandeis campus shots, including shot of stone Brandeis University sign with red flowers in foreground, a drone shot of Louis Brandeis statue and trees, a sweeping view of the Shapiro Campus Center from across the Great Lawn, aerial views of the Shapiro Science Complex with the sports fields and Waltham appearing behind, and a low shot over the grass walking across Chapels Field.
Transitions back to Chamber Singers grid.
Music continues.
Singing:
“Proclaiming thy future,
recalling thy past
our hopes spring from
mem'ries eternally cast.
With sorrows we'll leave thee,
new worlds to create.
May deeds of thy children
make thee forever great.
May deeds of thy children
make thee forever great.”
Slide of Louis Brandeis statue with overlaid blue filter.
On-screen text: Congratulations Brandeis University Class of 2020
Screen fades to black.
Onscreen text:
Produced by Brandeis Media Technology Services
Aerial drone footage provided by Ian Roy, Tim Hebert
Brandeis Research, Technology and Innovation
Final slide text:
Brandeis University (with Brandeis University seal)
Department of Classical Studies
Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies
Celebrating the Class of 2020