Welcome to Brandeis' 75th Anniversary Year
Aug. 29, 2023
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
I'd like to welcome everyone to campus in this, Brandeis' 75th anniversary year. I'm very much looking forward to the start of classes later this week as we begin another semester of teaching and learning, research and spending time with each other in community.
I'm especially happy to welcome our newest students. I encourage you to seek out your professors and staff members in your pursuit of knowledge and in finding ways to settle in as a member of our tightly-knit family. I am confident that our gifted and empathetic staff and faculty will challenge and support you as they have generation after generation of Brandeisians.
Throughout our university's 75-year history, we have remained a community rooted in purpose, guided by our founding Jewish values of openness and inclusivity, a reverence for learning, an emphasis on critical thinking and a commitment to repairing the world.
These are values associated with our namesake Justice Louis Brandeis. Throughout this anniversary year, I hope we can all take some time to reflect on his legacy and what it means to be a Brandeisian.
Early in his career in Boston, Justice Brandeis was known as "the people’s attorney" for giving generously of his time and his resources to those who had less than he did. When he ascended to the Supreme Court, he left his mark supporting the rights of workers, the protection of privacy and beliefs, and free speech.
Justice Brandeis once said that, "If we would guide by the light of reason, we must let our minds be bold." At Brandeis, our motto is to seek "truth, even unto its innermost parts." This calls for us to challenge ourselves, to be seekers, doers and innovators not afraid of failure as we pursue truth through facts. It calls for us to be courageous, as our namesake was before us, in pursuit ultimately of a better world.
So go out, as we start another semester, seeking truth and devoted to finding ways to make your own life goals support the communities in which you live and work, too.
And take some time to celebrate Justice Brandeis' legacy, and our university's place in this legacy, at events throughout our 75th anniversary year. Make sure to register for the main event, which will take place Oct. 13-15.
Again, welcome back to campus. I am very excited about this 75th anniversary year and so glad that each of you are here to be a part of it.
Sincerely,
Ron Liebowitz