In an email sent on Sept. 2, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Carol Fierke announced the creation of the Office of Access and Excellence. The new office “will focus on recruitment, support, and retention of students, faculty, and staff.” Additional goals of the office refer to coordinating resources to “remove barriers and create pathways for success.” Collaborations between Student Affairs, Academic Affairs and Human Resources will ensure a tangible administrative process for students and staff. Notably, the Gender and Sexuality Center and the Intercultural Center, formerly part of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Education & Learning Initiatives (ODEI), have been moved to the new office. The still named ODEI website now takes viewers to information regarding the Office of Access and Excellence. The website provides resources to the Alumni of Color Network, the Brandeis Faculty and Staff Pride Alliance and the Staff-Faculty Accessibility Group. Also highlighted are information about all-gender restrooms and a “know your rights” section linking to the Brandeis Counseling Center and Hiatt Career Center. It remains unclear if the Office of Access and Excellence is a remodeling or renaming of the ODEI, and much of the language on the website still refers to “diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging [within] the Brandeis Community.” The new director of the office will be Lee Bitsóí, who previously served as Brandeis’ Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Associate Vice President for Diversity Affairs and Special Advisor to the President for Indigenous Affairs at Fort Lewis College. His address to the University in the aforementioned email with Fierke concluded, “Our commitment to our founding values remains unwavering as we implement this university-wide approach to strengthening a sense of belonging for all in our community.”