Over the past academic year, at least 15 administrators and department heads have left their positions or have announced that they will be leaving soon to pursue work elsewhere. 

Vice President of Student Affairs Raymond Ou announced in an email on April 2, 2021 that Dean of Students Jamele Adams would be leaving the University after 15 years at Brandeis and eight years as dean. Adams now serves as the first Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Scituate School District in Scituate, Massachusetts. 

On May 3, 2021, students received an email from President Ron Leibowitz that Brandeis’ first Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mark Brimhall-Vargas would be leaving his position to accept a job at Fenway Health, an LGBTQIA+ healthcare provider and research center, as the organization’s first Executive Vice President for Racial Equity and Social Justice. 

In a June 3, 2021 letter, Brandeis community members were notified that Dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management David Weil would be leaving his post at Brandeis to accept President Joe Biden’s nomination of Weil to resume his post as the administrator of the Wage and Hour Division in the U.S. Department of Labor, a role he served under President Obama. 

The latest announcement came from Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Carol Fierke on April 13, 2022. Fierke announced that the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Dorothy Hodgson would not be renewing her appointment as dean after the coming academic year. Fierke wrote that Hodgson would be staying with Brandeis for AY 2022-2023 to “ensure a smooth transition” for her successor, followed by a sabbatical leave in AY 2023-2024. 

Though not officially communicated to the entire student body via email, other Brandeis staff have been leaving as well. 

In early October, former Director of Student Activities Dennis Hicks left his position and was replaced by Matt Galewski in Jan. 2022. Though she stayed for fall 2021 orientation, former Director of orientation Jenny Abdou vacated her position in the Division of Student Affairs Office. On their website, the position is still listed as “vacant.”

On the same webpage, it lists Scott Berozi as the associate director of community living and orientation. In spring 2022, Berozi left the University to be the program director of the Dynamy Internship Year at YOU, Inc. Melody Smith, the former associate director of community living alongside Berozi worked for four years at Bentley University before joining Brandeis in Feb. 2020. She has left Brandeis to work at Bentley again as an academic advisor. Former Assistant Director of Community Living Maira Pantoja had already left in fall 2021 to work as the new director of residence life at her alma mater, Elms College. 

The Division of Student Affairs also oversees the Prevention, Advocacy, and Resource Center. PARC’s former director, Sarah Berg, came to Brandeis in 2018 and left this year to work at TJX, the parent organization of retailer TJMaxx. In a Dec. 8 email to a Justice editor, Julie Le, the department coordinator for the Gender and Sexuality Center and the Intercultural Center, said she had resigned at the GSC the week prior and would be working at the ICC until the end of the fall semester, and resigning from the University after that. 

Sonia Jurado, Brandeis’ inaugural director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, came to Brandeis in March 2019 and will leave the University to begin working as the vice president for access and equity and Title IX coordinator for Emerson College beginning May 9. 

Sebastian Chai-Onn, the budget analyst in the Dean of Students Office, who approves budgets and spending for clubs on campus, will also leave as the semester’s classes come to a close. 

Waltham Group coordinators received word from Director of Community Service Lucas Malo on April 29 that he will be leaving to work in the non-profit arm of “Life is Good” apparel company on May 20. He has worked for Brandeis’ Waltham Group since 2008. 

Further, Colby Sim, who joined the University’s Department of Community Service in spring 2019, will be leaving May 5 to work in Boston University’s Center for Career Development and Educational Resource Center, according to an April 29 email she sent to Waltham Group coordinators. 

On May 3, students received an email from President Liebowitz announcing that Raymond Ou, vice president of student affairs, will be resigning from his position at the end of June. He is "eager to complete his doctoral dissertation given an upcoming deadline this summer, and he feels that now is the time to focus on that work," Leibowitz wrote. Andrea Dine will take over as interim vice president of Student Affairs. 

-This article was updated on Tuesday, May 4, to include newly-received information about vie president of Student Affairs Raymond Lu-Ming Ou.