Classical music plays in the background.
Brandeis blue slide with the Brandeis logo as watermark that says:
“Brandeis University”
Title: “Seventieth Commencement”
Subtitle: “Sunday May, Twenty-Third
Two Thousand and Twenty-One”.
Fades to show two speakers in full regalia on stage.
Transitions to Neal Hampton, one of the speakers on stage.
His title reads:
“Neal Hampton, Associate Professor of the Practice of Music and
Director Brandeis University Orchestra”.
He speaks:
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Rabbi Seth Winberg, Executive Director, Hillel, Senior Jewish Chaplain and Director, Centre for Spiritual life, who will deliver the invocation followed by soloist Benjamin Emmanuel Maffa, Brandeis Class of 2021, who will perform the national anthem.”
Transitions to Rabbi Seth Winberg, the other speaker on stage.
His title reads:
“Rabbi Seth Winberg, Director, Center for Spiritual Life, Senior Jewish Chaplain and Executive Director, Hillel”.
He speaks:
“Dear students of the class of 2021, it has been so wonderful and inspiring these past few weeks to hear from so many of you just how much Brandeis has meant to you and your hopes for this and fears for this next stage of your lives. Before we begin today's commencement, we want to acknowledge that too many members of our extended Brandeis family feel a void in their lives today.
Even as we feel we are emerging on the other side of this pandemic, someone dear to you may not be able to mark this milestone with you. That void diminishes the joy we're all feeling today at graduation. The university graduation or commencement is a lot like a religious ceremony; we wear special clothes, we give invocations and benedictions, we follow customs and traditions.
Today, dear students, we mark your transition from Brandeis student to Brandeis graduate with special formulas like, "I hereby present to you, the candidates for the degree of."
Words play a central role in today's commencement. Words have also been a major part of your college education. You've read, interpreted, and analyzed them, edited and rewritten them, used them to discover what's false and what's true, deployed them to argue for what's right and just. Ancient Jewish traditions teach that the pursuit of truth and the repair of the world are rooted in a culture of deliberate, mindful, and constructive use of words. According to the ancient rabbis, it is better to throw yourself into a fiery furnace than to just say words that embarrass someone in public. As the biblical Book of Proverbs writes, "The tongue has the power of life and death."
The rabbis also teach us that when an ordinary person offers you a blessing or congratulations, you should take it very seriously. אל תהי ברכת הדיוט קלה בעיניך take it seriously when someone gives you a blessing because words have power. The other radical idea embedded in this teaching is that blessings and words have power regardless of who says them. While I'm certain that our professors, deans, mentors, and the university administration have helped you develop your verbal skills, Judaism teaches that the words of regular people like you and me can make an enormous difference and I encourage you to be careful with the power you have worked so hard to cultivate at Brandeis. On behalf of the entire extended Brandeis family as well as your friends and family, Mazel Tov, and congratulations to the Class of 2021.”
Transitions to Benjamin Maffa in front of one of the lights at the Light of Reason sculpture at Brandeis.
His title reads:
“Benjamin Maffa ‘21, The Star-Spangled Banner”.
The flag of the United States of America waves in his virtual background.
He sings:
O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Transitions to new title that reads:
“Retired and Faculty Emeriti”.
Hampton speaks:
“Provost Carol Fierke will now recognize retired and faculty emeriti, teaching, mentoring, and staff awards.”
Transitions to Provost Carol Fierke.
Her title reads:
“Carol Fierke, PHD ‘84
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs”.
Fierke speaks:
“The university expresses its gratitude to those members of the faculty who joined the ranks of Brandeis' retired and faculty emeriti. We will now recognize 2021 retired and faculty emeriti.”
Transitions to a series of slides, each with the header:
“Brandeis University, Seventieth Commencement
Retired and Faculty Emeriti”.
As the Provost announces each name, the award recipients' photo and title appear on screen.
Provost speaks:
“Joseph Cunningham, Professor of Psychology.
Susan Dibble, Louis, Frances, and Jeffrey Sachar Professor of Creative Arts.
Judith Herzfeld, Professor of Biophysical Chemistry.
Mark Hulliung, Richard Koret Professor of the History of Ideas.
Paul Jankowski, Raymond Ginger Professor of History.
Wellington Nyangoni, Professor of African and African-American studies.
Linda Stoller, Senior Lecturer in the Brandeis International Business School.
David Wright, Professor of Bible and the Ancient Near East.”
Transitions to a new slide with the title:
“Teaching and Mentoring Awards”.
Fierke continues speaking:
“The University is proud to recognize and acknowledge excellence in teaching, mentoring, and service.”
Transitions to a series of slides, each with the header:
“Brandeis University, Seventieth Commencement
Teaching and Mentoring Awards”
Provost speaks:
“The recipient of the 2021 Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching is Lucia Reyes De Deu, Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies.
The recipient of the 2021 Dean of Arts and Sciences Faculty Service Award is Sacha Nelson, Gyula and Katicia Tauber Professor of Life Science.
The recipient of the 2021 Dean of Arts and Sciences Mentoring Award is Ulka Anjaria, Professor of English.
The recipient of the 2021 Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Class of '69 and Joseph Neubauer Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring is Govind Sreenivasan, Associate Professor of History.
The recipient of the 2021 Michael L. Walzer Class of '56 Award for Teaching is Wangui Muigai, Assistant Professor of African and African-American Studies and History.
The recipient of the 2021 Heller School for Social Policy and Management Mentoring Award is Sarah Lamorey, Class of '19, Practicum Program Manager and Advisor, Global Programs.
The recipient of the 2021 Heller School for Social Policy and Management Teaching Award is Robert Dunigan, Class of '04, Senior Research Associate and Lecturer.
The recipient of the 2021 Heller School for Social Policy and Management Teaching Assistant award is Julianna Brill, Class of '21, Co-chair of the Heller Student Association.
The recipient of the 2021 Heller School for Social Policy and Management Staff Service Award is Amy Dimattia, Associate Director of the Executive MBA for Physicians Program.
The recipient of the 2021 Heller School for Social Policy and Management Equity, Inclusion and Diversity award is Phin Gardiner, Class of '18 Communication Specialists for the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy.
The recipient of the 2021 Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Early Career Research Investigator Award, is Clemens Noelke, Research Scientist.
The recipients of the 2021 Brandeis International Business School Award for Excellence in Teaching are Benjamin Gomez-Casseres Class of '76, Peter A. Petri, Professor of Business and Society in the Brandeis International Business School and Rob Podorefsky, Adjunct Professor in the Brandeis International Business School.
The recipient of the 2021 Rabb School Outstanding Teacher Award is Melissa Kane, Adjunct Instructor in the Rabb School of Continuing Studies, Division of Graduate Professional Studies.”
Title reads:
“Staff Awards”
Provost speaks:
“The University is proud to recognize and acknowledge the recipients of the 2021 staff awards.”
Transitions to a series of slides, each with the header:
“Brandeis University, Seventieth Commencement
Staff Awards”
Provost continues:
“The recipient of the 2021 Lou Ennis Staff Award is Philip Gnatowski, Department of Psychology.
The recipient of the 2021 Lewis and Helen Zirkel Staff Award is Adrian Valladares, Facilities Administration.”
Transitions to Neal Hampton on stage.
Hampton speaks:
“Mr. Meyer G. Koplow, Brandeis Class of 1972, a Brandeis parent, and Chair of the Board of Trustees will offer greetings.”
Transitions to Meyer G. Koplow.
His title reads: “Meyer G. Koplow ‘72, P’02, P’05
Chair, Brandeis University Board of Trustees”.
He speaks:
“As Chair of the Brandeis Board of Trustees, it gives me great pleasure to speak to you with this virtual conferral of degrees. I extend my congratulations to the Class of 2021. I would like to thank President Ron Liebowitz, Provost Carol Fierke, our deans, the Board of Trustees, and our faculty and staff for their dedication to our students. You have taught, mentored, and supported every one of our graduates with great care and commitment, especially this past year, and for that, we are grateful. To the families and friends watching this with your graduates, we thank you too for all that you have done to help your students achieve their degree with us at Brandeis. To our graduates, you are headed into a time of unprecedented challenges and complexities. I have no doubt that you, like all Brandeis alumni, will courageously and compassionately do all that you can to improve the lives of others and make the kind of difference that is greatly needed in the world today. I wish you the greatest success in all of your endeavors. Thank you.”
Fades to black.
Transitions to Neal Hampton.
Hampton speaks:
“The President of Brandeis University, Ronald D. Liebowitz.”
Transitions to Ronald D. Liebowitz in full regalia on the stage.
His title reads:
“Ronald D. Liebowitz
President, Brandeis University”
He speaks”
“Good morning. On behalf of the faculty, staff, and trustees of the university. I'm delighted to welcome all of you to the 70th commencement ceremony of Brandeis University. First and foremost, congratulations to the graduates of the Class of 2021.
Graduating amid the challenges of the past year is no small feat and yet you arrived at this day and have done so in an exemplary way. In the face of adversity and loss in a time marked by pandemic and social upheaval you have pursued your education with zeal, curiosity, and intelligence. You can and should take great pride and the determination and resilience you have shown throughout your time at Brandeis, particularly during the pandemic. These are qualities you might never have known you had and there are ones that will serve you well throughout your lives.
I want to recognize the parents, grandparents, family members, loved ones, and friends who have helped our graduates reach this milestone. You have played an important role in making this day possible. On behalf of the faculty and staff who have taught and gotten to know and appreciate these students over the past few years, thank you. Your support was critical to their success.
I would also like to take a moment to offer a special welcome, as I've done in past years, to Frank Brandeis Gilbert, the grandson of Louis Brandeis, our namesake, and to also Frank's wife, Ann. They have been committed partners of our university from the beginning. Frank attended the university's opening convocation at Boston Symphony Hall in 1948 and until a few years ago, attended every commencement ceremony since the first one in 1952. It is a true honor for Brandeis to count both Frank and Ann, among our dearest friends. They connect our institution to the legacy and values of Justice Brandeis and his great contributions to American jurisprudence, democracy, and civil society. To our graduating class over the past four years and especially over the past 15 months, you've become experts at navigating the ever escalating challenges of this era.
These have been harrowing times. As you look to the future, it is too easy to focus on the obstacles your generation will face. But despite the value and power of realism, I urge you to avoid getting stuck in this perspective. Instead, think about all the opportunities before you and how no previous generation has been as prepared as yours to use its access to knowledge, its skills, and tools to research, learn and discover solutions to whatever stands in its way. I say this because yours is a generation like no other.
Not only are you equipped with a defining virtues of a liberal arts education, being broadly educated and possessing the ability to analyze problems and solve them from multiple ways of knowing from studying the arts, the humanities, the social sciences, and sciences. But you're also able to deploy a skill set that no previous generation could. You are truly digital natives. Criticism from boomers like me, and even from younger adults, perhaps your parents have focused on the many downsides are unregulated, highly tech-dominated lives. Yet that very same technology, especially combined with how your liberal arts education developed your flexible, adaptable, and probing minds, is a powerful combination for creativity and problem-solving. The likes of which previous generations did not possess.
Already, during your time at Brandeis, you have synthesized these attributes and deployed them to turn what might have been a lost year of learning into a year of accomplishment and success. Presented with the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic and unique demands of hybrid learning. You adjusted on the fly as faculty with significant support from our graduate teaching assistants, redesigned their approach to teaching, research and mentorship. But a large part of your academic success this past year was the product of your own ability to engage with technology and adjust to new and untested pedagogical strategies. As all of you adapted to new modes of learning, community building, and co-curricular life.
You also organized so effectively using social media and other digital tools to help turn the social upheaval experienced around the country into well-coordinated demands for action and accountability, including, and especially here on our campus. I have great confidence that you have what it takes to confront and overcome many of society's challenges and their cascading consequences. As you have learned and experienced, there are many, including climate change, inequality and poverty, the erosion of democratic institutions, the polarization of American society, militarization as a means to resolve conflict and hate in all its forms.
This last challenge defeating hate in all its forms might be the toughest to conquer. Yet it is likely to be what is required to tackle successfully many of the other challenges. It cannot be one from which we and you shy away. Just within this past year, we saw hatred in the form of racism on full and open display. When a year ago, this coming Tuesday, George Floyd was murdered. We saw it too over the course of the year aimed at Asians and Asian Americans. We saw it this past week with multiple beatings of Jews identified by their keepers in cities across the globe. The racism that has outlived slavery for almost 150 years. The deep xenophobia on earth by scapegoating for a global pandemic and the millennia-old anti-semitism most recently exercised as a protest against Israel's right to exist, need to be challenged and countered along with all forms of hatred. As alumna, Debra Lipstadt in her 2019 commencement address here at Brandeis, underscored, 'If we're going to fight prejudice, we must fight it across the board.
You cannot be a fighter against anti-semitism, but be blind to racism or even worse, engage in it yourself. You cannot fight racism, but be blind to anti-semitism or even worse engage in it yourself." This particular challenge of beating back hate is a challenge given the university's history and the student body's historic deep interest in social justice that you are likely to most naturally engage in. Brandeis is committed to doing more in the coming years.
The University will soon announce the launch in partnership with the foundation of a co-curricular pilot program whose mission will be to fight hatred of all kinds. It will include a content-rich curriculum, rely on student expertise in the use of social media, and involve peer-to-peer engagement through a student ambassadors program with the goal of working with multiple campuses if the pilot is successful. Daunting as the previously mentioned challenges are hammered home all too often and too often dangerously miscommunicated by social and the mainstream media.
Your generation has the incredible opportunity to turn the doom and gloom narrative into one of positivity and success. I will wager that many in this graduating class be the baccalaureate, masters, or doctoral students will make ground-breaking discoveries in basic science and medicine. Create new forms of art, literature, and human expression. Introduce innovative ways for wealth creation that will lead to growing prosperity enjoyed by a much larger swath of humankind, and shared far more equitably than is the case today. I know this is likely not only because I have witnessed all that you have achieved over the past four years, but also because of the many similarities between this moment and the moment that led to the improbable creation of our university 73 years ago. Shaped by the wake of World War II, The Holocaust, and the rising demand for higher education across America.
Brandeis was established by eight Bostonian Jewish families and was instantly an institution unlike any other. We should never forget that the university's founding was an antidote to anti-semitism and strict quotas which prevented Jews from attending the leading colleges and universities in the United States. Such prejudice, bigotry, and exclusivity extended to other marginalized groups, blacks, immigrants, those with political viewpoints outside the mainstream and in many colleges and universities, women. Yet Brandeis was from its very first days, open to all qualified students, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, political beliefs, or any other personal marker. This counter-cultural approach to higher education was considered radical at the time. But our founders forged ahead with their bold vision for the promise and potential of a more inclusive model for our university forever in the pursuit of truth even unto its innermost parts.
Shortly, we will hear from Bryan Stevenson. An extraordinary man who has made his life's work to pursue truth. This mission is one you have already taken up at Brandeis as students and it is one you will in all likelihood continue to pursue. Graduates, I am optimistic about our collective future because of what you and what your generation represents. I am confident that your education here has prepared you well for the next chapter of your lives. I wish you every success in your endeavors. I look forward to the day when your creativity, discoveries, innovations, and leadership across many fields and roles in society have a noticeable impact on our world. I believe that will be sooner rather than later. Best of luck class of 2021. I know you have taken advantage of all that Brandeis offers and I thank you on behalf of so many for all you have given to this university. Now your alma mater. Congratulations.”
Title reads:
“Conferring of Honorary Degrees”
Carol Fierke speaks:
“The Chair of the Board of Trustees will present the candidates for honorary degrees to the President of the University.”
Transitions to Meyer G. Koplow.
Koplow speaks:
“President Liebowitz and Provost Fierke. By the enactment of Chapter 123 of the acts of 1951, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts authorized Brandeis University to confer honorary degrees. I have the privilege to instruct you to confer the following honorary degrees upon these persons for their singular achievements.”
Transitions to a series of slides with the header: “Honorary Degree Recipients”, a picture of the recipient and their name and title.
Provost Fierke speaks:
“Ellen Gordon, class of 1965.”
President Liebowitz speaks:
“Ellen Gordon, Doctor of Humane Letters. The iconic Tootsie Roll is known the world over, and your quiet leadership lies at the heart of the namesake company at launched. Three years after graduating from Brandeis, where you excelled while raising a young family with your husband Melvin, you brought mathematical rigor and an entrepreneurial spirit to this sweet enterprise.
You and Melvin remained fiercely independent in a highly competitive industry over the years acquiring other beloved brands such as dots and junior mints. An early innovator who saw the promise of technology, you invested in robotics on the manufacturing floor and relational databases for the back-office. At the same time, recognizing that people are the true lifeblood of Tootsie Roll industries, you fostered a participatory environment and create growth opportunities from within. As only the second woman to run a Nasdaq listed company, you're a trailblazer in the world of business, yet you contributed equally to the community supporting numerous education, health care, and cultural organizations.
In recognition of your exemplary leadership in both business and civic life, Brandeis University is proud to award you its highest honor.
Congratulations.”
Provost Fierke speaks:
“Herman Hemingway, class of 1953. Myra Hemingway, Herman's daughter, is accepting on Herman's behalf.”
President Liebowitz speaks:
“Herman Hemingway, Doctor of Humane Letters. The first black man to graduate from Brandeis. Herman Hemingway devoted his life to social justice as a civil rights demonstrators starting at age 12, a public defender, a public housing administrator, founding director and architect of the Boston Human Rights Commission, a law professor and a lifelong teacher and mentor. The wooed by Harvard and Boston College, Mr. Hemingway enrolled at the then one-year-old Brandeis because he believed that to be as he said," An innovative and exciting institution."
At Brandeis, he pioneered a path for black students and black activism that flourishes to this day. After a career in law and public service, he went on to hold senior professorships at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the law schools at Boston College and Boston University. A loyal son of this university, he noted that late in life, it was at Brandeis that I learned the tools of change were within my grasp. Recognition of a life dedicated to advancing justice everywhere and to repairing the world until his passing in December, Brandeis University is proud to award Herman Hemingway, its highest honor.
Congratulations.”
Provost Fierke speaks:
“Lynn Schusterman. “
President speaks:
“Lynn Schusterman, Doctor of Humane Letters. Described as an unintimidated philanthropist, you embody the Jewish values that call for pursuing justice. Tzedek , repairing the world Tikkun olam and treating people with dignity and civility, derech eretz. You've inspired countless young people to deepen their understanding of in connection to Israel and to become champions of the Jewish values of inclusion and equity. Throughout your decades-long commitment to Jewish communal and philanthropic Affairs, your contributions have been far-reaching. From co-founding the birthright Israel program, to launching the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis, to using an interdisciplinary model to understand Israel's history, economy, language, culture, and politics to transforming education and improving the lives of young people in your hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Your leadership has strengthened Jewish identity, supported young Jewish innovators, expanded service learning, and promoted inclusivity. Even more, you have created an expansive, sturdy foundation for the Charles and Lynn Schusterman family philanthropies, which will allow it to build upon your high impact efforts and achieve a more just and equitable society for future generations. In recognition of your legacy of leadership and philanthropic investment in joyful, inclusive Jewish community, Brandeis University is proud to award you its highest honor. Congratulations.”
Provost speaks:
“Robert J. Zimmer, class of 1968.”
President speaks:
“Robert Zimmer, Doctor of Humane Letters. Over your long and celebrated career as a pioneering mathematician, distinguished scholar, and transformative university president, you have eloquently championed freedom of expression and robust debate. Throughout your mathematical career, which began as a Brandeis undergraduate, you solved complex problems of geometry and symmetry, devising what famously came to be known as Zimmer's conjecture. You then became one of the most persuasive and principal voices in higher education. Since 2006, as President of the University of Chicago, you have helped profoundly reshaped the institution, and you're passionate defense of discourse, argument, and the lack of deference in the name of learning, has sparked a national conversation about the meaning and value of education. During your tenure as president, you have increased access to higher education for first-generation rural and low-income students while vastly increasing financial aid and eliminating loans from the college equation, making it possible for your students to graduate debt-free. Your intellectual and academic life dazzles in an elegant geometry of imagination in quest, principle, and purpose. For your unrelenting commitment to an academic environment where educational excellence is available to all, Brandeis is proud to award you its highest honor. Congratulations.”
Provost speaks:
“Bryan Stevenson.”
President speaks:
“Bryan Stevenson, Doctor of Laws. As a human rights attorney and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, you have asked America to talk about injustice. Your tireless efforts have guaranteed legal representation to every inmate on Alabama's death row and your groundbreaking argument before the US Supreme Court ended the death penalty for juvenile offenders across the country. In creating the nation's first memorial dedicated to the legacy of people terrorized by lynching and retro terror, you encouraged America not only to confront its past but to consider how continuing structural racism affects law enforcement and the courts. You have been fearless in calling for a cultural transformation of modern policing. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the ACLU National Medal of liberty, the Olof Palme Prize, and many other recognitions, you have used your platform to call for immediate, comprehensive change within systems of justice that have become fractured and politicized. For your work in challenging racial and economic injustice and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable Americans, Brandeis University is proud to award you its highest honor. Congratulations.”
Title reads:
“Conferring of Degrees”.
Neal Hampton speaks:
“The chair of the Board of Trustees will present the candidates for the several degrees to the President of the University.”
Transitions to Meyer G. Koplow.
He speaks:
“President Liebowitz, I have the honor to inform you that in accordance with your recommendation and that of the faculty of the university, the Board of Trustees, by virtue of the right granted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has voted to authorize you to admit these scholars to the several degrees in arts and sciences.”
Transitions to Neal Hampton on stage.
He speaks:
“I would like to introduce the Vice President of the Rab School of Continuing Studies, Lynne Rosansky.”
Transitions to Lynne Rosansky.
Her title reads:
“Lynne Rosansky
Interim Vice President of the Rabb School of Continuing Studies”.
She speaks:
“President Liebowitz, I have the honor of presenting to you the candidates for the Master of Science and the Master of Software Engineering.”
Transitions to President Ron Liebowitz on stage.
He speaks:
“By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees at Brandeis University, I confer the aforementioned degrees with all the rights, privileges, honors, and dignities pertaining there too. Congratulations.”
Transitions to Neal Hampton.
He speaks:
“Congratulations to the Rab school graduates. I would now like to introduce Dean David Weil from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.”
Transitions to David Weil.
His title reads: “David Weil
Dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management”.
He speaks:
“President Liebowitz, I have the honor of presenting to you the candidates for the degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Policy, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy.”
Transitions to President Liebowitz.
He speaks:
“By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees of Brandeis University, I confer the aforementioned degrees with all the rights, privileges, honors, and dignities pertaining there too. Congratulations.”
Transitions to Neal Hampton.
He speaks:
“Congratulations to the Heller School graduates. I would now like to introduce Dean Kathryn Graddy of the Brandeis International Business School.”
Transitions to Kathryn Graddy in full regalia with the light of reason as her virtual background.
Her title reads:
“Kathryn Graddy, Dean of the Brandeis International Business School
Fred and Rita Richman Distinguished Professor in Economics”.
She speaks:
“President Liebowitz, I have the honor of presenting to you these fantastic and extraordinary candidates with unbelievably bright futures for the degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science, Master of Science in Finance, and Doctor of Philosophy.”
Transitions to President Liebowitz.
He speaks:
“By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees at Brandeis University, I confer the aforementioned agrees with all the rights, privileges, honors and dignities pertaining there too. Congratulations.”
Transitions to Neal Hampton.
He speaks:
“Congratulations to the international business school graduates. I would now like to introduce Dean Eric Chasalow of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.”
Transitions to Eric Chasalow in full regalia in front of the light of reason virtual background.
His title reads:
“Eric Chasalow
Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Irving Fine Professor of Music”.
He speaks:
“President Liebowitz, I have the honor of presenting to you the candidates for the degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Education, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy.”
Transitions to President Liebowitz.
He speaks:
“By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees at Brandeis University, I confer the aforementioned agrees with all the rights, privileges, honors and dignities pertaining there too. Congratulations.”
Transitions to Neal Hampton.
He speaks:
“Congratulations to the master and doctoral degree candidates. I would now like to introduce Dean Dorothy Hodgson from the School of Arts and Sciences.”
Transitions to Dorothy Hodgson in full regalia in front of the light of reason virtual background.
Her title reads:
“Dorothy Hodgson
Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Anthropology”.
She speaks:
“President Liebowitz, I have the honor of presenting to you the candidates for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Sciences.”
Transitions to President Liebowitz.
He speaks:
“By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees of Brandeis University, I confer upon you the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science with all the rights, privileges, honors and dignities pertaining there too. Congratulations.”
Title reads: “Undergraduate Student Addresses”.
Transitions to Neal Hampton.
Hampton speaks:
“Congratulations to the bachelor degree recipients. Kwesi Jones Brandeis Class of 2021 will deliver the undergraduate student address.”
Kwesi Jones '21, appears in a cap and gown in front of background of the green Shapiro Campus Center with purple flowers. The Brandeis logo appears in the top left corner and the lower third says "Kwesi Jones '21, Undergraduate Student Address."
He speaks:
If this year's taught me anything, it will be to never start talking before you check to see if you're on mute.
Greetings, Class of 2021. We've made it. We're here.
Now, to be quite honest with you, I'm not really sure where here is.
The here should be in a large auditorium full of the smiling faces of our classmates, family, friends, faculty, and staff, but instead, we found ourselves distant from each other. Celebrating our big moment through the virtual walls of a computer or phone screen.
I could've never guessed that my senior year, I would be taking my classes, having graduation and binge-watch on WandaVision all on the same device, but here we are.
Like many of us, I had grand visions of where I saw myself my senior year. I figured I would have grown from 5'6 to at least six feet. I would have a full beard, a six-figure job lined up for me right after graduation and I will be best friends with Beyoncé.
I imagine we all had our dreams or aspirations of what our senior year will be like no matter how unrealistic. But I bet that none of them included a global pandemic, impending ecological collapse, content social upheaval, and our professors asking if they're sharing their screens every five seconds.
But here we are.
This is our day of celebration in Class of 2021. If no one else deserve to celebrate, we certainly do.
Not only have we survived to at least 15 major historical events since 2020 alone, but we have also survived four long, grueling, exciting, tiring, inspiring, tear-jerking, humbling, rewarding years of our undergraduate experience.
We have triumphed over barriers that we often thought we would never get past, ones that we brave together or alone. But today I want you all to rejoice in the fact that your triumph over whatever, how big or how small waves in your way. Even if it feels like we may have crawled instead of sprinted across the finish line, we've made it.
I'm so proud of each and every one of you. It's scary the staleness precipice with one foot in the world we knew and one dangling off the edge of an uncertain future.
I know that many of us yearn for the normalcy we felt should have been granted to us in our senior year. The normalcy of Springfest and The Stein and the Boston shuttle and big cultural events and Midnight Buffet and dorm parties and everything else we thought we should have been granted our senior year.
I know many of us just want normal again.
But Class of 2021, I'm here to tell you today that we cannot return to normal. Not just because we're graduating but because we must envision a new world better than the one we call normal.
As Brandeisians, we're taught to seek the truth even unto its innermost parts, and if we have learned anything in that years at Brandeis, it will be the sad truth that our normal world is in dire need of replacement.
Yes, we mourn the loss of the world we knew but the world we knew is also a world in which hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives by pandemic that should have been preventable.
That's not the world I wish to return to. A normal world is a world in which the lives of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and Elijah McClain and Ahmaud Arbery and Atatiana Jefferson and too many more are stolen by the vicious hand of anti-black violence?
That is not a world I wish to return to.
A normal world is a world in which six Asian women can be in their place of work when they are slaughtered by a terrorist whom police say was just having a bad day?
That is not a world I wish to return to.
As Brandeisians, we must leave the world better than we found it, and the world that we found ourselves in does not just need a makeover or renovation but a complete restructuring. They're not just a few bad apples in batch of our society. We have to understand that the apple tree itself is rotten from its root, and so let's plant a new.
Class of 2021, we all have dreams and aspirations of what the groundwork of our lives will be once we leave Brandeis, but I ask that you join me as I take on my new profession as a gardener.
Let's walk into the scorched fields of the world we knew and replace the brittle dirt of society with the fresh soil of possibility and imagination.
Let's pull back our sleeves of inhibition and plant deep within the Earth seeds born from our collective ingenuity, seeds of knowledge and truth, seeds of community, and love seeds of change.
While the sky may be clouded with the uncertainty of our future, let's tend our garden until the sun comes out and our new world blossoms in blooms with everything we have planted.
In 2019, I got the chance to meet Brandeis Alumni and Revolutionary Activist Dr. Angela Davis at the 50th Anniversary of the Brandeis Department of African and African American Studies.
After taking a picture with her, which is now my most prized possession. I asked her, how can I be a revolutionary in my daily life? She looked at me and said, "You will have to make your own way to be revolutionary through whatever you're passionate about."
Brandeis Class of 2021, each of us will carve out our own paths to be revolutionary. We will need the artists, and the scientists, and the lawyers, and the activist, and the mathematicians, and the filmmakers, and the scholars to tear down the old rusty pillars of inequity that form the world we knew and replace them with a new material.
The mix of values of liberty and justice for all, not just aspirational, but universal and unconditional. We would take with us the seeds and towards we have picked up from our community along the way.
I'll be taking with me the intellectual tools I've gained from the Brandeis African and African American Studies Department, the community I gain from the Brandeis Black and African student organizations and from my Posse, the advocacy of the Intercultural Center and the everlasting support of my family, my friends, and my ancestors whose hands guide me every step of the way.
Class of 2021, whichever direction the winds of life shall blow you, all I ask is that you remember your garden. When this world seems unfit for the vastness of your imagination, remember the seeds you hold, and remember that you can plant them and watch the world grow and grow and grow until it encapsulates the fullness of your dreams. Thank you.
Title reads:
“Graduate Student Address”.
Eric Chasalow speaks:
“Jainaba Gaye, Master of Arts, Class of 2021 will deliver the graduate student address.”
Jainaba Gaye, MA'21, appears in a cap and gown in front of background of the green Shapiro Campus Center with purple flowers. The Brandeis logo appears in the top left corner and the lower third says "Jainaba Gaye, MA '21, Graduate Student Address."
She speaks:
To the class of 2021.
As we celebrate this incredible milestone, I want to commend each and every one of you for the efforts that you've put in to get here. It has certainly not been the easiest journey, but I'm positive that it has been extremely worthwhile.
And to Dean Weil, President Liebowitz, Provost Fierke, distinguished guests, faculty, family, friends, and fellow graduates, it is my honor to welcome you as I speak on behalf of the graduating class of 2021. We are greatly appreciative of your support, which has undoubtedly helped us get here.
Believe it or not, this speech almost never written. But as I looked back at my time at Brandeis, I felt compelled to relay this message to you.
As fellow Brandeis alumna and social justice activist Angela Davis greatly put it, "I try not to take myself for granted as somebody who should be out there speaking. Rather I'm doing it only becauseI feel there's something important that needs to be conveyed."
When I completed my undergraduate program in the fall of 2018, I had absolutely no idea that I would be enrolled at the Heller School the following year. Perhaps, unlike many of my peers, my journey to graduate school was not planned out for years or even months before.
I had always known what I wanted to do. I just did not imagine that this wish would eventually land me at Brandeis, and so soon at that. So, when I stumbled upon the opportunity, I felt nervous, unprepared, but excited at the same time.
Arriving in Boston with very little knowledge of what was awaiting me, I slowly navigated through the foreign new inner terrain in Brandeis. As the weeks went by, I met people from all walks of life with different backgrounds and experiences,but one thing was for certain; we all have one overarching goal which was to positively impact lives.
This goal bound us together. Even though we may have disagreed or still may disagree on some
approaches to achieving this, we were still respectful of one another and helpful in ways that we knew how. Brandeis became a home away from home for us as we tried to find solace within and outside of its walls.
During my time at Brandeis, I was inflicted with great grief and loss, and this is when the true sense of community of Brandeis really shone through.The selflessness, care, compassion, and empathy displayed by the students and faculty were astounding and served as a great antidote.
I'm sure that most of us can relate to this somehow. From being away from home, some of us for the very first time, to keeping up with schoolwork, surviving the harsh dark New England winter, and caring for ourselves. Grad school definitely came with its hurdles.
Last year also brought in a lot of unprecedented challenges globally. As we physically closed our doors in March of 2020, the spirit of community still kept us connected and hopeful.
I remember always seeing this quote by Anita Desai anytime I would go to the Graduate Student Center, and it read, "Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow."
And I'm sure that all of us will attest to this, that Brandeis has definitely become a part of us.
Now, I'm almost certain that all of you must have heard this by now, but I'll say it again, and this time, I hope that you listen to it with much keener ear.
Never underestimate what you can do, whose lives you can impact, and never question your belonging. Life is not accidental, you are where you are for a reason. You came to Brandeis for a reason, and every person that you crossed paths with was there for a reason.
The fuel that you need to succeed is already within you, and today could not be a much clearer manifestation of that. Our journeys may be different, our stories even more contrasting. But as we celebrate today, one thing is for sure, we are more alike than we may think. And while preparation is extremely important for any venture in life, the feeling of unpreparedness should never stop you from taking leaps.
It is great to dream, to imagine great outcomes, but dreams not acted upon, no matter how vivid or promising they may be, is just wishful thinking.
I will leave you with two more quotes from my fellow Brandeisian, Angela Davis. She said, and I quote, "You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world and you have to do it all the time, and sometimes we have to do the work, even though we do not yet see a glimmer on the horizon, that it is actually going to be possible."
This is what I have learned from Brandeis and the Heller School. That change, no matter how impossible or far away it may seem, is possible, and has the potential to impact lives. The effects of which can and will be felt and will ripple through like waves.
So when when things get difficult, I hope you're able to look within and connect with yourselves as well as with those around you. I hope that you are able to lend a helping hand when possible as well as accept one.
I hope that today and beyond, that you will always remember that you're worthy of celebration and that you continue to do so for yourselves, even for seemingly minute milestones.
Thank you and congratulations.
Title reads:
“Induction of Alumni”.
Neal Hampton speaks:
“Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the Brandeis University Alumni Association, Mr. Lewis Brooks, class of 1980.”
Transitions to Lewis Brooks.
His title reads: “Lewis Brooks ‘80 P’16
President Brandeis University Alumni Association”.
He speaks:
“It's been said that bold people stand out from the crowd, and given the right circumstances, many will take action to better the world around them. Nothing can be more true about the class of 2021, but here at Brandeis, bold means one more thing. Brandeis of the last decade, you are the newest members of the Alumni Association and it is my honor to welcome you to our global community of over 60,000 members. It's no secret that the class of 2021 had a very unique Brandeis journey, your senior year and a good chunk of your junior year had you masked, distanced, go into class and a rectangle, eating from a box, and sitting in a circle. Not only did you get a degree, you also did it through the most challenging time in a century, but you went to Brandeis, you can do both.
As we continue to return to normal and you travel or relocate wherever you go in the world, you will likely meet someone from Brandeis. I can tell you there are Brandeisians everywhere, in over a 160 countries and we all share something special, a unique bond that is Brandeis. You will find these Brandeis connections everywhere, and I urge you to make and keep them throughout your life. When you can, help introduce Brandeis to prospective students and act as mentors to existing students. Help another alumni when asked, ask your alumni network for help when you need it, and give back when you can. You may be all in your homes right now, but you're also part of our house.
Congratulations to the Class of 2021. I hope you'll keep Brandeis in your hearts and minds forever.”
Title reads:
“Brandeis Alma Mater”.
Neil Hampton speaks:
“Please join the members of the Brandeis Chamber Choir, University choirs, and alumni in singing Alma Mater.”
Slide with the Brandeis University Logo, screen text says “Commencement 2021”, “Alma Mater”, “Performed by the Brandeis Chamber Singers, University Chorus, and Alumni”, “Robert Duff, Conductor”.
Opens to a sweeping view on the Louis Brandeis statue with a springtime campus in foreground surrounded by twenty of the The Brandeis Chamber Singers on Zoom who can be heard singing, “To thee, Alma Mater.”
Singing:
“We'll always be true.
Singing continues, but the inner video is replaced by more choir singers in the center singing in-person, wearing masks and social distancing. Camera moves towards the right showing more students singing on the right side before zooming in on two of the students and then moving back left.
"All hail to thy standard
the white and the blue.”
Music continues.
Shot zooms out to show the Chamber singers from above. Camera moves around to show other students.
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.”
Transitions to an aerial view to show all of the masked, in-person singers, with the zoom singers still framing the inner video.
Transitions to sweeping view of the Louis Brandeis statue in the foreground with trees and the Shapiro Campus Center in the background.
Fades to black.
Series of slides appear with white background and text in Brandeis blue, each with a header on top reading “Brandeis University”, “Brandeis Chamber Singers, University Chorus and Alumni”.
Transitions to first slide: “Conductor”
“Robert Duff”
Transitions to next slide with the heading: “Soprano” and the names spanned across two columns:
“Lauren Reis Barkley, 2024
Emma Leopre Calson, 2024
Christina Chen, 2019
Avery Dowd, 2018
Mercedes Elizabeth Helm, 2021
Elizabeth Grace Hilliard, 2022
Bethy Louise Huebner, 2023
Liana R Perlman, 2023
Emilia Poma, 2023
Sarah Salinger-Mullen, 2019
Rosie Rose Sentman, 2022
Sarah Elisabeth Shingle, 2022
Irina Znamirowski, 2024”
Transitions to next slide with the heading: “Alto” and the names spanned across two columns:
“Tess Elizabeth Aalto, 2022
Amber Sarah Bartlett, 2022
Aditi Bhattacharya, 2023
Aviva Ruth Davis, 2021
Tamar Forman-Gejrot, 2016
Rachel Geller, 2018
Davina Louise Goodman, 2023
Dina Gorelik, 2024
Ashley Nicole Kamal, 2022
Elana Kennedy, 2021
Alyssa N Knudsen, 2024
Hannah Lee, 2019
Sarah Lipitz, 2017
Adina Sarah Kalish Scheinberg, 2021
Aarthi Sivasankar, 2022
Katie Stenhouse, 2019
Kaylee Wallace, 2019”
Transitions to the next slide divided into two columns.
First column with heading: “Tenor” with names under it:
“Chriss Hillard Martin, 2024
Milo Rosengard, 2022
Alexander Port Ross, 2022”
Second column with heading: “Bass” with names under it:
“Quinn Lucian Bonnyman, 2023
Henri Choi, 2020
Steven Hoffman, 2016
Andrew Larson, 2019
Benjamin Emanuel Maffa, 2021
Micah Pickus, 2020
Matt Connor Robin, 2022”.
Transitions to the next slide with text saying “Filmed and Produced by Brandeis Media Technology Services with special thanks to Brandeis Maker Lab”.
Transitions to next slide with bold and enlarged text reading “Congratulations Class of 2021!!!”.
Fades to black.
Title reads: “Benediction”.
Neal Hampton speaks:
“I would like to introduce Lara Ericson, Assistant Director of Spiritual Life, to pronounce the benediction.”
Transitions to Lara Ericson.
Her title reads: “Lara Ericson
Assistant Director, Center for Spiritual Life”.
She speaks:
“In my Christian tradition, today is the holiday of Pentecost. One of the significant themes of this holiday is that of being gathered and sent forth with a sense of purpose. While this is a holiday that is observed by only some members of the Brandeis community, its themes resonate for me today because today Brandeis sends graduates forth. I hope that as you go forward, you will carry a sense of purpose, of mission with you, informed by the commitment to service and justice that the Brandeis community holds dear.
Some of you might have a clear and specific sense of mission at this point, but many, probably most of you, do not. You have a sense of what you value, a sense of what you want to stand for, and a lot of questions about what this will mean for the rest of your life. Continue to ask these questions and as you do so, lean on each other and place yourself in spaces and with people who challenge you. In that spirit, I'd like to close us with the following blessing written by Jan Richardson.
Here’s one thing
you must understand
about this blessing:
it is not
for you alone.
It is stubborn
about this.
Do not even try
to lay hold of it
if you are by yourself,
thinking you can carry it
on your own.
To bear this blessing,
you must first take yourself
to a place where everyone
does not look like you
or think like you,
a place where they do not
believe precisely as you believe,
where their thoughts
and ideas and gestures
are not exact echoes
of your own.
Bring your sorrow.
Bring your grief.
Bring your fear.
Bring your weariness,
your pain,
your disgust at how broken
the world is,
how fractured,
how fragmented
by its fighting,
its wars,
its hungers,
its penchant for power,
its ceaseless repetition
of the history it refuses
to rise above.
I will not tell you
this blessing will fix all that.
But in the place
where you have gathered,
wait.
Watch.
Listen.
Lay aside your inability
to be surprised,
your resistance to what you
do not understand.
See then whether this blessing
turns to flame on your tongue,
sets you to speaking
what you cannot fathom
or opens your ear
to a language
beyond your imagining
that comes as a knowing
in your bones,
a clarity
in your heart
that tells you
this is the reason
we were made:
for this ache
that finally opens us,
for this struggle,
this grace
that scorches us
toward one another
and into
the blazing day.
Allow me to again offer congratulations to the Class of 2021.”
Title reads: “Congratulations to the Class of 2021”.
Transitions to Neal Hampton.
Hampton speaks:
“Ladies and gentlemen, I declare the 2021 commencement exercises closed.”
Transitions to a slide with black background with the Brandeis University logo and the title “Commencement 2021”.
Fades to black.
Logotype for Brandeis University next to Brandeis seal with text appears on black screen. Commencement 2021 fades on and then fades off.
Moving piano music begins to play. Someone helping a student in a mask put on a black graduation gown appears on the screen. A student in a gown and cap fixes their hair in a closeup. Someone helps a student with their cap and tassel.
A voice begins to speak over the clips: "So I remember the first day I came to campus. I met people from more nationalities than I had in my entire life."
Someone helps a student put on a cap in front of the mirror while another student looks on. Both students are in their black gowns with blue and white hoods. The same student is shown in a close-up as someone helps pin the cap to their head with a bobby pin.
A student in a suit and mask sitting against a blue background speaks: "I didn't even know if I could achieve my goals. I felt like I was just coming to Brandeis because that's what you do. You just go to school."
Several clips of students studying or working play in quick succession. These clips are from before the pandemic and students are not wearing masks.
Another student speaks but they do not appear in the video: "Me four years ago, I wasn't that strong. I didn't have a lot of motivation." While they are speaking, someone helps a graduate adjust their cap and gown in a close up.
The scene changes to a closeup of Ron Liebowitz's hands passing a blue diploma holder to a graduate in a black robe on a podium.
A student in a mask in front of a blue background speaks: "I've made some of the best friends here and I'm really going to miss them."
A quick succession of clips of students hanging out with groups of friends outside plays. Five students sit at a picnic table chatting while working on their laptops. Three more students wearing backpacks walk down a path in springtime.
Screen briefly fades to black and more fast-paced, uplifting pop music plays.
A graduate speaks but is not seen speaking: "Brandeis really helped me find myself and find confidence in myself." While they are speaking, a quick succession of candid closeups of students play. First, there are closeups of three students smiling and laughing separately on campus. Then there are three students with their arms around each other walking outside, a student pointing to another student on a laptop, and three students sitting on the steps outside next to Louis Brandeis statue. We see a group of five different students also sitting next to statue with green Shapiro Campus Center in background.
A graduate begins speaking with clips of faculty members teaching in background before speaker appears in front of a blue background: "The fact that my professor would remember my first name and everyone would know me, that made me feel like this is just my community."
A different student in a mask and suit jacket speaks: "Brandeis classmates are the kindest people I have ever met." As they speak, clips of students dancing at orientation outside appear.
A new graduate in a mask in front of a blue background begins speaking, before the scene shifts to a succession of clips of students engaging in the dining halls and drawing in an art studio: "Brandeis is filled with the most creative and smart and amazing people I've ever met."
A student in a cap and gown crosses stage toward President Ron Liebowitz to receive their diploma. The same student pauses on stage to hold up their diploma and have their photo taken. The music speeds up and gets a little louder, adding to the energy being depicted.
Three students in masks in a classroom laugh while talking to each other. Then two students in masks walking on campus outside on a bright sunny day wave at camera.
As these clips play, another graduate who is not does not appear says: "Everyone has been really kind and considerate of others. I really felt really welcomed."
Another student who does not appear speaks as scenes from the past year of students on campus wearing masks but still being together appear. These students are in groups of four sitting outside with books and laptops. "There's just a sense of togetherness that can't be replaced."
Another student speaks while wearing a mask and sitting in front a blue background: "I think Brandeis overall kind of creates this tight-knit circle that you're able to keep with the future for the rest of your life." Footage from a play with one actor being lifted on four others' shoulders fades in. All of the actors are wearing floral crowns.
A student in a mask sitting in front of a blue background speaks: "One of the biggest changes that has taken place is just knowing that I am capable of doing the impossible." Several quick clips of student musicians playing the cello and hands moving on a turntable board scroll by.
The scene shifts back to the Walk the Stage event where a student in a cap and gown receives their diploma.
A student in a mask wearing a black cap with a blue and white tassel speaks: "I've definitely expanded my horizons a ton from when I first came here." As the graduate finishes speaking, the scene shifts to them walking across the stage to receive their diploma and then pausing for photos.
A student in a mask, suit and tie in front of a blue background speaks: "Now I feel like I have a goal, a direction, something that I want to do."
Three students are quickly displayed in caps and gowns receiving their blue diploma folders. The scene transitions to a photo shoot. One student in a cap and gown and blue mask throws confetti in the air, and then the shot goes into slow motion as the confetti falls.
The next shot is zoomed out to show the set-up of the previous blue background shots with person sitting on chair while camera is in front of them. They speak: "I've become more responsible. I've become more confident, more brave."
A group of four students toss gold confetti in the air in front of white background with back of camera in foreground.
A graduate who is not on screen says: "I'm so inspired every single day by my classmates, my peers, my professors and all of the students that work so hard to make Brandeis what it truly is." As they speak, the shot shows a close up of a student in a cap and gown smiling, a student in a white dress having their photo taken by a photographer in a mask, a group of three friends laughing and smiling for camera, a student in a cap and gown waving hands in air, a student having their photo taken, and a group of six students in caps and gowns throwing gold confetti while jumping in air.
A boomerang shot of a student throwing confetti while wearing a cap and gown goes back and forth on screen. A closeup of a cap shows that it is decorated with the text, "It's not legendary unless your friends are there to see it" next to an Ollie the Owl.
A student who is not displayed says: "So, thank you Brandeis for teaching me something new about myself."
Scene switches to a montage of students holding up blue diploma folder or walking across stage toward President Ron Liebowitz under blue Brandeis University banner.
Student in mask in front of blue background says: "I couldn't be more thankful."
Montage of scenes from Walk the Stage continue.
Voice not seen says, "Thank you so much, Brandeis and congratulations to the graduating class of 2021. Congrats, Class of 2021."
Student in black coat and mask says, "Congratulations to the Class of 2021."
Graduate in cap and gown shouts, "We made it!" as they raise arms in the air.
Panning upward shot of stage with podium, white flowers, blue tablecloth on a table, and Brandeis University banner in background. Shot then pans across banner.
Music and shot quickly fades out.