"What can-and should-Brandeis University be? What will this institution look like a decade from now, when we celebrate our 75th anniversary?"

These are the questions that the recently released "work in progress" draft of the strategic plan starts with. The answer that the plan produces, however, is not a forecast of the coming years, but rather how we can follow the path that has already been laid out for us by the very founders of the University.
In order to fully appreciate the strategic plan for what it accomplishes-and it accomplishes plenty-we must first define the goals of the strategic plan. In his email to the Brandeis community upon the release of the original framework, the first step of the strategic planning process, Provost Steve Goldstein '78 stated "The framework seeks to ensure that Brandeis University remains a clear first choice for exceptional students, faculty, and staff committed to making a difference in the world." The focus of the entire strategic planning process is to further the model of the University that makes Brandeis so attractive. The goal is to "remain a clear first choice," not become one.

Therefore, excessive and costly maneuvers such as creating a Brandeis law or medical school were never in the cards. The mission of Brandeis was never vocational; rather the mission was always to facilitate students and professors to positively influence the world, something commonly referred to in both Jewish liturgy and the strategic plan as "Tikkun Olam."

So how does Brandeis fulfill that mission? Or, a better question to ask is, why does Brandeis need a strategic plan to accomplish that mission? Why can't we simply continue on the course that we have been navigating since 1948? What changed that forced the administration to re-evaluate everything from the physical aesthetics of buildings to decreasing the admission rate of students? Only once we answer these fundamental questions can we then in fact see what exactly the strategic plan achieves.

The answer lies in an interview conducted by New York Magazine with now infamous ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, published on Feb. 27, 2011. Madoff states the following about his "friend" Carl Shapiro: "Let's put it this way: Shapiro probably built more hospitals in Boston and put more buildings in Brandeis University than you can imagine" with money Madoff says he earned.

According to both Business Insider and the Boston Globe, the Carl and Ruth Shapiro family foundation lost 145 million dollars in the ponzi scheme. Who knows how much money Brandeis' largest and most famous donor lost from his own wallet.

The financial hit to both the Shapiros and many other donors to the school left the University in a financial pickle with then President Jehuda Reinharz stating in an email to the Brandeis community in 2009, "Brandeis is feeling the effects of the global financial downturn. The value of our endowment has fallen, the forecast for fundraising is unclear, and student financial-aid needs have grown."

He goes on to say "the Brandeis endowment is down about 25 percent from its peak of more than $700 million." Obviously, all of these quotes and numbers are from 2009, the heart of the economic recession. However, according to a recent article published by the Justice, the endowment is currently around 700 million. Only now are we financially back to where we were pre- Madoff, pre- 2009, pre- changeover in the presidency of the University.

The fact remains that Brandeis needs new donors. We need funds to allow Brandeis to "remain" a top-tier research University with a focus in the liberal arts. And that is precisely what the goal of the strategic plan is, a pitch to donors. The institution of Brandeis needed to quantify in writing for what the potential donor's funds would be used. The University needed to give potential donors a reason to sign on the bottom line.

With that lens, the entire strategic plan becomes clear. Why were so many pages devoted to recounting the history of Brandeis? Simple: we must sell the mission statement of Brandeis to the greater world. The morals, ethics and social justice agendas of the University are precisely what are ingrained in this campus and that is what we so desperately want to continue to accomplish in the future. Social justice and impacting the world are precisely why Brandeis must continue to be a flourishing University. These are goals that potential donors can get behind.

However there still must be content; something concrete that donors know their money is going toward. Why were some of the few things quantified in budget amounts the continued remodeling and extending of buildings including the Heller School and the International Business School? Simple. Those are dollar amounts that can easily be pitched. We, Brandeis University, need money to accomplish this and that (whatever this and that may be). Quantifiable objects are a much easier sell, with a higher success rate, than simply asking for blank checks.

Look at professor's salaries. The strategic plan states: "Brandeis must also compete for faculty-and this will become increasingly important as a large proportion of our faculty approaches and reaches traditional retirement age." A professor or student might wonder why this seemingly obvious point needs to be included in the plan. To a donor, hiring new faculty to replace those retiring is a concrete aspect of university operations that requires funds. In layman's terms, "we need your money to hire top tier faculty."

Is the plan perfect? Far from it. Why virtually no mention of the social sciences or humanities, including pillar departments like Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, exists is beyond me. The social sciences are just as integral to Brandeis as is the call for social justice, and hopefully those are concerns that will be raised and addressed in the feedback sessions.
However, the success of the strategic plan will always be dependent on the strength of the endowment and the increase in donations in the years to come. As the saying goes, "money talks."
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