Message to the Brandeis Community
September 25, 2024
Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, and Families,
By now you have received the message from Chair of the Board of Trustees Lisa Kranc ’75 about my decision to resign as president of Brandeis University. I have done so with mixed emotions because this is an exceptional institution, which carries great meaning, especially at this time, due to the reason for its founding. At the same time, this is a valuable moment for me and for Jessica to build on our experiences to create new pathways for innovation and reform in higher education, and I resign knowing that the university will be in good hands.
It has been gratifying to advance the university’s unusual mission of providing an undergraduate liberal arts education of excellence along with first-rate doctoral programs and world class scientific research. I often say that Brandeis is an “N of 1” because of this dual mission, which requires both faculty and staff to stretch beyond the normal roles one finds at either small liberal arts colleges or large research universities, and which in turn creates an extraordinary environment for learning.
This commitment to learning became clear from my and Jessica’s first weekly small-group lunch we hosted in the president’s office beginning in the fall of 2016. These weekly lunches ran for three-plus years until Covid intervened. All told, more than 1300 students, faculty, and staff participated in these lunches. Jessica and I were the beneficiaries of a rich tutorial about Brandeis by listening to members of the community provide their understanding of and aspirations for the university. Aside from the wealth of information of Brandeis history and culture we received from those lunches, we also learned about the oft-stated Brandeisian characteristic of being willing to enter the fray, with erudition and with wit, and to speak one’s mind. Many a lunch included vigorous debates, always done in a civil and constructive way.
One lunch stands out as an example of our faculty’s commitment to teaching and our students’ commitment to learning. When Jessica asked an assembled group of eleven faculty members what about Brandeis was meaningfully distinguishing for them, a senior member of the faculty said the following: “My husband and I have taken academic leaves at among the finest universities in the country and each time taught a course during those leaves. I can say without hesitation that the greatest distinguishing characteristic of Brandeis is that our students still come to learn, to be educated, to be intellectually challenged, and to find their own paths of conviction as a result. I cannot say that for the other prestigious places we have taught.” And as she finished those words, she leaned across the table, pointing her finger at me, and said, “and don’t you change that.”
That exchange sums up for me the brightness of the university’s future, despite the challenges facing higher education in general and Brandeis in particular. The university’s accomplishments are numerous and remarkable for such a relatively young university, and there is no reason to believe it will not find the right path in the coming years. Jessica and I wish you all nothing but success.
Sincerely,
Ron Liebowitz