Brandeis University
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| Brandeis University | |
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| Motto: | "אמת" ("Emeθ", Hebrew for "Truth") |
| Established: | 1948 |
| Type: | Private |
| Endowment: | US $770 million |
| President: | Jehuda Reinharz |
| Faculty: | 326 full-time, 139 part-time |
| Staff: | 961 full-time, 216 part-time |
| Undergraduates: | 3,216 |
| Postgraduates: | 1,872 |
| Location: | Waltham, Massachusetts, USA |
| Campus: | Suburban, 235 acres (1.00 km²) |
| Colors: | Blue and White |
| Mascot: |
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| Athletics: | NCAA Division III UAA |
| Website: | www.brandeis.edu |
Brandeis University (pronounced: brand-ice) is a private research university with a liberal arts focus,[1] located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, nine miles (14 km) west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students.[2] It was ranked by the U.S. News and World Report as the number 31 national university in the United States.[3]
Brandeis was founded in 1948 as a coeducational institution on the site of the former Middlesex University. The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, founded in 1959, is noteworthy for its graduate programs in social policy, social work, and international development[citation needed].
The university is named for the first Jewish Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Louis Dembitz Brandeis (1856–1941).
Brandeis is also sponsor of the Wien International Scholarship for non-American students.
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[edit] About Brandeis
The schools of the University include:
- The College of Arts and Sciences
- The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- The Heller School for Social Policy and Management
- Rabb School of Summer and Continuing Studies
- Brandeis International Business School
The College of Arts and Sciences comprises 24 departments and 22 interdepartmental programs, which offer 41 majors and 46 minors. Brandeis is home to the Rose Art Museum, a museum of modern and contemporary art, widely renowned as the best modern art museum in New England.[citation needed]
The Brandeis University Press, a member of the University Press of New England, publishes books in a variety of scholarly and general interest fields.
The Goldfarb Library at Brandeis has more than 1.2 million books and 60,000 e-journals. It also has a section of monthly issues.
[edit] Presidents
The presidents of Brandeis University have been:
- Abram L. Sachar 1948-1968
- Morris B. Abram 1968-1970
- Charles I. Schottland 1970-1972
- Marver H. Bernstein 1972-1983
- Evelyn E. Handler 1983-1991
- Stuart H. Altman (interim) 1990-1991
- Samuel O. Thier, M.D. 1991-1994
- Jehuda Reinharz 1994-current
[edit] Student life
The university has an active student government, the Brandeis Student Union[1], as well as more than 270 student organizations [2]. Fraternities and sororities are officially prohibited by Brandeis University, as they are contrary to a central tenet of the university, namely, that student organizations be open to all students, with membership determined by competency or interest. "Exclusive or secret societies are inconsistent with the principles of openness to which the University is committed."[4] The university is 9 miles (14 km) west of Boston, accessible through a commuter rail on campus, a free shuttle Thursday through Sunday, or the nearby MBTA subway stations.
Brandeis has two administratively independent student newspapers, The Justice and The Hoot, and one satirical paper, The Blowfish. WBRS at 100.1 FM is the school's radio station.
Emergency medical services are provided by the Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps (BEMCo).
Escort services are provided around the campus and into Waltham by the student-run "Branvan". They run on a daily schedule from 4:00 pm to 2:30 am on weekdays and from 12:00 pm to 2:30 am on weekends.
Brandeis has eleven a cappella groups, six undergraduate-run theater companies, one sketch comedy troupe (Boris' Kitchen), and four improv-comedy groups -To Be Announced, False Advertising, Bad Grammar and Crowd Control, as well as innumerable cultural and arts clubs.
Cholmondeley's coffeehouse, commonly referred to as "Chums", is located in Brandeis' Usen Castle. Chums is a popular site for student performances and concerts, including Tracy Chapman, Joan Baez, and Genesis (notable as their first American performance)[3]. Chums is also considered to be the inspiration for "Central Perk," the coffeehouse featured on the popular television show "Friends."[citation needed]
[edit] Athletics
The Brandeis University athletic teams The Judges compete in the University Athletic Association (UAA) conference of the NCAA Division III.
Brandeis has 10 varsity teams for both men and women, and 1 coed varsity team. The varsity teams are in:
Brandeis also has more than 18 club sports, including rugby union, ultimate, crew, lacrosse and martial arts.
Brandeis has had an impressive list of coaches for its athletic teams. Bud Collins coached the men's tennis team in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Chris Ford (2001-03) was the third former Boston Celtics player to become head coach at Brandeis, following K.C. Jones (1967-70) and Bob Brannum (1970-86). Benny Friedman, who was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, served as athletic director from 1949 to 1961 and head football coach from 1951 to 1959, when the football team was disbanded due to high costs. Pete Varney, a former Major League Baseball player for the Chicago White Sox and Atlanta Braves is the current head coach of the baseball team.
Nelson Figueroa, currently a starting pitcher for the New York Mets , is the only Brandeis alum to play in Major League Baseball.
Brandeis graduate Tim Morehouse ('00) is the school's first and only Olympian so far. He will compete in the 2008 Olympics in Men's Saber in Beijing China. He was also an alternate on the US Olympic Men's Saber team sent to Athens in 2004. Tim is a five-time US national team member and has been ranked as high as 11th in the world and 1st in the US. The Brandeis Judges consistently send many fencers to the New England Regional NCAA championships, often with several continuing on to the NCAA National Championships.
The Brandeis Men's Soccer team won the ECAC Championship in the 2006/2007 season. The Women's Soccer team followed up in the 2007/2008 season with their first ECAC Championship since the program started.
[edit] History of Brandeis
[edit] Founders
Names associated with the conception of Brandeis include Israel Goldstein, George Alpert, C. Ruggles Smith, Albert Einstein, and Abram L. Sachar.
C. Ruggles Smith was the son of Dr. John Hall Smith, founder of Middlesex University, who had died in 1944. In 1946, the university was on the brink of financial collapse. At the time, it was one of the few medical schools in the U. S. that did not impose a Jewish quota; but it had never been able to secure AMA accreditation—in part, its founder believed, due to institutional antisemitism in the AMA[5]—and, as a result, Massachusetts had all but shut it down.
Israel Goldstein was a prominent rabbi in New York from 1918 until 1960 (when he immigrated to Israel), and an influential Zionist. Before 1946, he had headed the New York Board of Rabbis, the Jewish National Fund, and the Zionist Organization of America, and helped found the National Conference of Christians and Jews. On his eightieth birthday, in Israel, Yitzhak Rabin and other leaders of the government, the parliament, and the Zionist movement assembled at his house to pay him tribute.[6] But among all his accomplishments, the one chosen by the New York Times to headline his obituary was: "Rabbi Israel Goldstein, A Founder of Brandeis."[7]
C. Ruggles Smith, desperate for a way to save something of Middlesex University, learned of a New York committee headed by Goldstein that was seeking a campus to establish a Jewish-sponsored secular university, and approached Goldstein with a proposal to give the Middlesex campus and charter to Goldstein's committee, in the hope that his committee might "possess the apparent ability to reestablish the School of Medicine on an approved basis." Goldstein was concerned about being saddled with a failing medical school, but excited about the opportunity to secure a 100-acre (0.40 km²) "campus not far from New York, the premier Jewish community in the world, and only 10 miles (16 km) from Boston, one of the important Jewish population centers."[5] Goldstein agreed to accept Smith's offer.
Goldstein then proceeded to recruit George Alpert, a Boston lawyer with fund-raising experience as national vice president of the United Jewish Appeal.
George Alpert (1898-September 11, 1988) was a Boston lawyer who had worked his way through Boston University School of Law and cofounded the firm of Alpert and Alpert. His firm had a long association with the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad, of which he was to become president from 1956 to 1961[8][9] (He is best known today as the father of Richard Alpert (Baba Ram Dass)[4]). He was influential in Boston's Jewish community. His Judaism "tended to be social rather than spiritual."[10] He was involved in assisting children displaced from Germany.[11]. Alpert was to be chairman of Brandeis from 1946 to 1954, and a director from 1946 until his death.[8]
Goldstein also recruited Albert Einstein, whose involvement, while stormy and short-lived, was extremely important, as it drew national attention to the nascent university. The founding organization was named "The Albert Einstein Foundation for Higher Learning, Inc." and early press accounts emphasized his involvement.
[edit] The Einstein incident
The origin of what was to become Brandeis was closely associated with the name of Albert Einstein from February 5, 1946,[12] when he agreed to the establishment of the Albert Einstein Foundation for Higher Learning, Inc., until June 22, 1947, when he withdrew his support.[13]
The trustees offered to name the university after Einstein in the summer of 1946, but Einstein declined, and on July 16, 1946 the board decided the university would be named after Louis Brandeis.[14]
On August 19, the plans for the new university were announced by prominent rabbi and Zionist Israel Goldstein, president of the Albert Einstein Foundation. Goldstein said that the planned university was to be supported by contributions from Jewish organizations and individuals, and stressed the point that the institution was to be without quotas and open to all "regardless of race, color, or creed." The institution was to be "deeply conscious both of the Hebraic tradition of Torah looking upon culture as a birthright, and of the American ideal of an educated democracy."[15] In later stories the New York Times' capsule characterization of Brandeis was "a Jewish-supported non-quota university."[13]
Einstein and Goldstein clashed almost immediately. Einstein objected to what he thought was excessively expansive promotion, and to Goldstein's sounding out Abram L. Sachar as a possible president without consulting Einstein. Einstein took great offense at Goldstein's having invited Cardinal Spellman to participate in a fundraising event. Einstein resigned on September 2, 1946. Believing the venture could not succeed without Einstein, Goldstein quickly agreed to resign himself, and Einstein returned; his brief departure was publicly denied.[16][13]
The Foundation acquired the campus of the Middlesex University in Waltham, which was almost defunct except for the Middlesex Veterinary and Medical College. The charter of this small and marginal operation was transferred to the Foundation along with the campus. The Foundation had pledged to continue operating it, but began to feel that it would never be more than third-rate, while its operating costs were burdensome at a time when the Foundation was trying to raise funds. Disputes arose whether to try to improve it—as Einstein wished[17]—or to terminate it.[16] Einstein also became alarmed by press announcements that exaggerated the school's success at fundraising, and on June 22, 1947 he made a final break with the enterprise. The veterinary school was closed, despite "indignant and well-publicized protests and demonstrations by the disappointed students and their parents".[16] George Alpert, a lawyer responsible for much of the organizational effort, gave another reason for the break: Einstein's desire to offer the presidency of the school to left-wing scholar Harold J. Laski. Alpert characterized Laski as "a man utterly alien to American principles of democracy, tarred with the Communist brush."[12] He said, "I can compromise on any subject but one: that one is Americanism."[16].
Six years later, Einstein would decline the offer of an honorary degree from Brandeis, writing to Brandeis president Abram L. Sachar that "what happened in the stage of preparation of Brandeis University was not at all caused by a misunderstanding and cannot be made good any more."[12]
Historians Slater and Slater commented that "plagued by infighting, Brandeis in early 1948 seemed a project in serious trouble. Nonetheless, the school opened in the fall with 107 students." They list the opening of Brandeis as one of their "Great Moments in Jewish History."[18]
In 1954 Brandeis inaugurated a graduate program and became fully accredited.[18]
[edit] Other incidents
[edit] The student takeover of Ford Hall
From January 8-18, 1969 about 70 students captured and held then-student-center, Ford Hall.[19] The student protesters renamed the school "Malcolm X University" for the duration of the siege (distributing buttons with the new name and logo) and issued a list of ten demands for better minority representation on campus.[20] Most of these demands were subsequently met. Ford Hall was demolished in August 2000 to make way for a new student center, the Shapiro Center which had its groundbreaking October 25, 2000, and was opened and dedicated October 3, 2002.
[edit] Notable alumni, faculty and staff
[edit] Publications
- The Justice, which was founded in 1949 (one year after the university's inception) is an administratively independent weekly newspaper distributed every Tuesday during term.
- The Brandeis Hoot, founded in 2005, is an independent weekly newspaper published on Fridays.
- The Blowfish, a satirical newspaper which was founded in February 2006 is published every other Thursday. The first issue appeared inside The Hoot and every issue since then has been published independently.
- The Louis Lunatic, founded in the winter of 2005, is a student-run sports magazine released each semester, discussing Brandeis and national sports.
- Archon, the yearbook
- Gravity, a humor magazine founded in 1990.
- In 2007, Gravity launched a web project at LaughterHouse.org
- Laurel Moon, a literary magazine launched in 1991.
- Where the Children Play, a literature and arts magazine
- Louis Magazine, a defunct journal of intellectual discourse, 1999–2002.
- The Barrister News Ltd, a politically neutral broadside weekly newspaper with nationally syndicated features. 1985–1991.[5]
- Under the Robe, an arts and entertainment social tabloid published by The Barrister 1985-1988
- The Brandeis Scope , reports on research that is occurring on the Brandeis University campus and affiliated laboratories in the areas of Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Physics and Psychology. The magazine is meant to educate students with an interest in science about the cutting-edge research occurring on campus, as well as inform them of their opportunities to become involved in such research.
[edit] In popular culture
- In the 90's sitcom Ned and Stacey, Stacey has a degree from Brandeis University. Debra Messing, who played Stacey, is a Brandeis alumna (1990).
- In the 2007 movie Music and Lyrics, Drew Barrymore wears a Brandeis sweatshirt.
- In The Simpsons episode "Today, I am a Clown", Lisa tells about her imaginary friend named Rachel Cohen "who just got into Brandeis."
- In the film Hannah and Her Sisters, Dianne Wiest's character ponders:
Where did April come up with that stuff about Adolph Loos and terms like "organic form"?
Well, naturally. She went to Brandeis.
- In the 1977 Woody Allen movie Annie Hall, Allen accuses Carol Kane of being "like New York, Jewish, left-wing, liberal, intellectual, Central Park West, Brandeis University, the socialist summer camps and the, the father with the Ben Shahn drawings, right, and the really, y'know, strike-oriented kind of, red diaper, stop me before I make a complete imbecile of myself."
- In Angel, Wesley gets excited when he thinks he's meeting an archaeologist from Brandeis.
- In Gilmore Girls, Paris suggests to Rory that she should go to Brandeis instead of Harvard.
- In the 1998 movie Free Enterprise, one of the characters (who is based on writer Mark Altman) wears a Brandeis sweatshirt. Altman also attended Brandeis.
- In the 1980s series Twin Peaks, deputy Hawks' girlfriend was a Ph.D. from Brandeis.
- In the 90's sitcom Friends, the Central Perk coffeehouse is reputedly based on Cholmondeley's, a coffee shop and lounge in Usen Castle.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ Fast Facts. Brandeis University. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
- ^ Schools and Enrollment. Brandeis University. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
- ^ "America's Best Colleges 2008: National Universities: Top Schools", U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
- ^ 2007-2008 Rights & Responsibilities Handbook, Appendix B: University Policy on Fraternities and Sororities. Brandeis University. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
- ^ a b Reis, Arthur H., Jr. The Founding. Brandeis Review, 50th Anniversary Edition. Retrieved on 2006-05-17., pp. 42-3: founder's son C. Ruggles Smith quoted: "From its inception, Middlesex was ruthlessly attacked by the American Medical Association, which at that time was dedicated to restricting the production of physicians, and to maintaining an inflexible policy of discrimination in the admission of medical students. Middlesex, alone among medical schools, selected its students on the basis of merit, and refused to establish any racial quotas"
- ^ "Israeli Officials Honor Longtime Zionist Leader," The New York Times, June 28, 1976, p. 14
- ^ "Rabbi Israel Goldstein, A Founder of Brandeis", The New York Times, April 13, 1986, p. 40"
- ^ a b George Alpert, 90; was a Founder and First Chairman of Brandeis; The Boston Globe, September 13, 1988, p. 82
- ^ Lyall, Sarah (1988): "George Alpert, 90, Ex-President Of New Haven Line and a Lawyer," The New York Times, September 13, 1988, pp. D26
- ^ Stevens, Jay (1988). Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream. Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3587-0.p. 152
- ^ Lattin, Don (2004). Following Our Bliss: How the Spiritual Ideals of the Sixties Shape Our Lives Today. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-073063-3. p. 161
- ^ a b c Reis, Arthur H. Jr, The Albert Einstein Involvement. Brandeis Publications 50th review (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-05-04., pp. 60-61: Source for Einstein agreeing to establishment of the foundation Feb. 5th, 1946, foundation incorporated Feb. 25; for Alpert quotation, "a man utterly alien to American principles of democracy, tarred with the Communist brush;" for Einstein's refusal to accept an honorary degree in 1953.
- ^ a b c "Goldstein Quits Einstein Agency; Rabbi Resigns Presidency of Foundation that Plans to Build a University." The New York Times, September 26, 1946, p. 27. "Goldstein issued a statement to correct an erroneous item in a Jewish weekly newspaper printed on Boston. This said Dr. Einstein was withdrawing from the foundation." Goldstein cited "differences on matters of public relations and faculty selection." A foundation director is quoted as saying "Professor Einstein's devotion to and enthusiasm for our purposes are now and always have been strong and unswerving." A board member who "withheld use of his name" is reported as saying Goldstein and Einstein differed "over plans for a major fund-raising meeting for the new university to be held here in November. He indicated that differences over Zionism were also a factor." NYT characterized the university as "a Jewish-supported non-quota university."
- ^ Reis, Arthur H., Jr. Naming the University. Brandeis Review, 50th Anniversary Edition. Retrieved on 2006-05-03., pp. 66-7
- ^ "New Jewish Unit Plans University," The New York Times, August 20, 1946, p. 10.
- ^ a b c d Sachar, Abram L. (1995). Brandeis University: A Host at Last. Brandeis University Press, distributed by University Press of New England. ISBN 0-87451-585-8. pp. 18-22: Einstein-Goldstein clashes, Einstein's objections to Cardinal Spellman; conflict over veterinary school; conflict over Harold Laski; Alpert quotation, "I can compromise on any subject but one: that one is Americanism."
- ^ "Dr. Einstein Quits University Plan; Withdraws Support of Brandeis and Bars Use of His Name By Einstein Foundation." The New York Times, June 22, 1947: "These disputes centered mainly on the operation of the veterinarian school of Middlesex University... S. Ralph Lazrus... withdrew as president of the foundation. Dr. Lazrus said he and his associates had been critical of both the manner in which the present limited facilities of the school have been operated and of the policies contemplated for the future."
- ^ a b Slater, Elinor; Robert Slater (1999). Great Moments in Jewish History. Jonathan David Company, Inc.. ISBN 0-8246-0408-3. pp. 121-3, "Brandeis University Founded"
- ^ The Student Occupation of Ford Hall, January 1969. Brandeis University Archives, Remembering Ford & Sydeman Halls. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
- ^ The Ten Demands. Brandeis University Archives, Remembering Ford & Sydeman Halls. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
[edit] External links
- Brandeis University
- Heller School for Social Policy and Management
- Brandeis International Business School
- Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory
- The Volen National Center for Complex Systems
- The Rose Art Museum
- Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts
- SunDeis Film Festival
- Brandeis Special Collections Spotlight
- Brandeis University is at coordinates Coordinates:
[edit] See also
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