Biography
2016 to 2024
President Liebowitz became the ninth president of Brandeis University in July 2016. Prior to that he was president of Middlebury College for 11 years. Liebowitz is a political geographer who earned a BA in economics and geography from Bucknell University, and a doctorate in geography from Columbia University. His scholarship has focused on fiscal federalism, intraregional economic relations, the nationality question in the former Soviet Union, and higher education.
Under President Liebowitz’s leadership, Brandeis has focused on strengthening its dual mission as a major research university with a strong residential undergraduate liberal arts program. Since his arrival at Brandeis, he has emphasized the importance of the university’s founding by the American Jewish community in 1948. This has included the launching of initiatives to counter the impact of antisemitism on college and university campuses and to strengthen ties to Israeli institutions of higher education.