Office of the President

Remembering Carl J. Shapiro, H’03

March 9, 2021

To the Brandeis Community:

It is with sadness that we share news of the death of Carl J. Shapiro, H’03, Brandeis' most generous benefactor, who had a tremendous impact on this institution, which he supported since its earliest days.

One cannot walk the campus grounds without encountering the Shapiro name — for example, on the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Campus Center, on the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Admissions Center, and on the Carl J. Shapiro Science Center.

He and his family, quite literally, have been Brandeis landmarks.

Mr. Shapiro and his late wife, Ruth, made their first gift to Brandeis — $10 — just two years after the university's founding. In the years since, Brandeis has achieved and maintained its academic excellence in no small part due to the Shapiro family's dedication to our mission.

We are grateful for and inspired by the legacy Mr. Shapiro and his family have built here at Brandeis.

We extend our condolences to daughter Ellen Jaffe and her husband, Robert; daughter Linda Waintrup and her husband, Daniel; son-in-law Michael Zinner; and the entire Shapiro family.

Sincerely,

Ron Liebowitz
President

Meyer Koplow ’72, P’02, P’05
Chair, Board of Trustees