Executive Director of Hillel Larry Sternberg M.A. '78 is leaving his position "with deep regret" after spending more than 30 years here as a student, faculty member and staff member.

The announcement of Sternberg's departure first came on Friday in an email from Louis Benjamin '78 and Harry Waizer, co-presidents of the Hillel Board of Directors.

Later that evening, Sternberg sent out an email of his own, confirming the announcement.

"I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues and the most from my students," Sternberg wrote, quoting Talmud.

In an interview with the Justice, Waizer did not comment on the reasons for Sternberg leaving, saying "we are all sorry to see him go."

Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel said in an interview that the Hillel Board is autonomous when it comes to decisions like this one.

"I'm confident that whatever decisions that Larry and the Hillel Board [of Directors] reached ... with the best interests of the University and the student body in mind," he said.

Waizer said that "the change in leadership is a time to re-examine, so that's one of the things we are doing. The constants are to ensure that we are serving the Brandeis student population, to promote Jewish pluralism, to support Israel in all the various ways people may feel it appropriate to support Israel."

"What Hillel should be specifically at Brandeis is a question that we are constantly asking ourselves, and will be asking in a different way as we move into a new generation of leadership," he continued.

While at Brandeis, Sternberg also served as director of the Nathan Perlmutter Institute for Jewish Advocacy, associate director of the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and an adjunct member of the faculty of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program, according to the Brandeis website.

In his email to the community, Sternberg cited the tripling of the number of students who participate in Birthright trips and "serving as a model campus in nurturing unity ... and promoting constructive conversations on campus" as his proudest accomplishments.

At the conclusion of his email, Sternberg thanked the many people who he worked with while at Brandeis.

"My many relationships with students, colleagues, and teachers have nurtured me and given me the opportunity to feel that I was a contributor to the growth of others," he wrote. "Over the course of more than thirty years as a student, faculty and staff member at Brandeis, I have treasured these relationships. I look forward to continuing connections to the Brandeis community I love."

Moving forward, Waizer said the Hillel Board is reaching out to stakeholders to "start a discussion about what kind of person is the best kind of person for this particular community."
Flagel said he "look[s] forward to discussing with the Board about their next steps ... to involve the University. Typically the University is engaged in those searches to some degree, but we have not yet had any requests or decisions." 

Sternberg could not be reached for comment by press time. Hillel Student President Rachel Mayo '14 declined to comment on Sternberg's departure.

-Tate Herbert contributed reporting