Faculty and staff gathered in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall for the meeting as Chair of the Faculty Senate, Prof. Jeffrey Lenowitz (POL), opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and outlining the day’s agenda. He also noted that a special faculty meeting will be scheduled in the near future to address the implications of recent executive orders on the University which impact federal funding and international student enrollment. Lenowitz then turned the floor over to University President, Arthur Levine ’70.

Levine began his speech by explaining why he has now assumed the role of University President, despite his original appointment being temporary. According to Levine, as the Board of Trustees began to recruit his successor, they struggled to find an adequate candidate. His continued leadership came with a condition: that the Board allocate funding for improvements in three areas: enrollment, development and marketing. By funneling resources into these priorities, Levine hopes to generate revenue that can be reinvested into research, faculty and graduate programs. 

He also took a moment to highlight the University’s accomplishments during his time as interim president, stating that what had been achieved “requires many years at most universities, if they are able to accomplish it at all.” Looking ahead, Levine expressed a desire to build on that momentum in the coming year, with one step being the appointment of Professor Lenowitz to a liaison role between the faculty and the administration.

Among these accomplishments, Levine also mentioned the recent restructuring of the University’s academic programs into four schools: Arts, Humanities, and Culture; Business and Economics; Science, Engineering, and Technology and Social Sciences and Social Policy. To Levine, this reorganization gives the founding deans of each school a chance to “take this year and dream,” something that “does not happen often in academia.” Notably, Levine shared that he will not make any staff changes until the deans have outlined their long-term plans. 

Levine then addressed the ongoing academic reorganization in connection with a review of the Brandeis Core Requirements. He questioned whether the education Brandeis students walk away with is relevant to the “global digital economy” they are entering. 

Finally, he expressed the need to make the liberal arts valuable again to the real world. He outlined this both from the perspective of curricular revisions and in creating a transcript that would emphasize career-aligned competencies gained at Brandeis, and provide students with a practical record they could rely on throughout their professional lives. With these structural and curricular changes, Levine concluded his speech saying he hopes to position Brandeis as a "prototype for higher education.” 

Following his address, faculty members had the opportunity to ask Levine questions. Prof. Sabine von Mering (WGS) came to the microphone first, expressing her concerns about Brandeis not having a Sustainability Manager. To her, Levine’s vision of excellence is not possible without sustainability efforts. Levine agreed with von Mering, but noted that the change cannot happen without funding. 

Prof. Aldo Musacchio (BUS) then asked if Lenowitz’s new role as liaison poses any conflicts of interest with his current position as Chair of the Faculty Senate. Lenowitz and Levine both answered this question, explaining that Lenowitz’s new role is an advancement of his current position, designed to bring the senate and faculty into Board deliberations. 

The final question to Levine came from Prof. Bernadette Brooten (WGS/REL), who asked about the recent erasure of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the creation of  the Office of Access and Excellence. Brooten expressed disappointment in the University’s decision, saying it appeared to bow to pressure from the Trump administration and was made without consulting faculty. Upon follow up, she shared with The Justice that, “Many of us worked for years to bring racial equity to Brandeis, including by urging the creation of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion … the University leadership got rid of that office and introduced the Office of Access and Excellence without even consulting the full faculty.” According to Brooten, the Brandeis leadership laid off Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives Dr. Charles Chip McNeal and project manager Llewellen Murphy, stating, “Those initiatives could have greatly helped in creating an innovative curriculum accompanying Brandeis's new structure. Without a racially diverse faculty, we are unable to prepare students adequately to live and work as equals in a multi-ethnic world.” 

Levine responded that the change was in wording only, not in commitments, and that it was made to preserve federal funding for the University. He emphasized that Brandeis has always been dedicated to supporting underrepresented groups in higher education. Levine also referenced his forthcoming book, to be released by Johns Hopkins in January 2026, noting that “DEI as a term is a lightning rod — let’s change it.” According to him, the programs and their outcomes would remain the same, with only the language and framing altered.

Brooten, however, countered that in all her 30+ years at the University, she has not seen a significant increase in faculty diversity. In a follow-up with The Justice, she said , “I would like to add my hope that Brandeis reverses this decision and restores the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion." 

In response, Levine said that the diversity of faculty was not an administrative issue. Brooten attempted to add an additional comment, but Lenowitz moved the meeting forward stating that these are the issues that will be discussed at the future special faculty meeting. 

Next came an address by Provost Carol A. Fierke '84. Fierke highlighted the efforts of the University to complete the reconstruction of the academic institution, and now offer further developments in the form of microcredentials and a skills based transcript starting January 2026. 

When the floor was opened for questions, Brooten revisited her earlier remarks, stressing that a DEI office is essential to prepare students to enter a racially diverse world. Fierke responded by imploring the faculty to look at all the available talent while hiring. However, that answer was not sufficient for some members of the faculty. Prof. Robin Feuer Miller (RUS) echoed Brooten’s sentiment that the faculty should have been consulted before any changes were made to Brandeis’ DEI office. She stated that given Brandeis’ unique nonsectarian identity, the University had an opportunity to honor its founding values and take a stand for diversity and inclusion against the Trump administration. 

Fierke reinforced that renaming the Office of Access and Excellence does not alter the central goal –-- access has always been important to Brandeis. Miller countered that “words are important too.”

Following the Provost address came an update on the progress of the construction of the new residence hall. As of now, the concrete foundations for the buildings have been laid and construction is set to be complete by summer 2027. 

Last of the administrative updates came from admissions. The new initiatives to foster growth in Brandeis’ undergraduate schools are centered around digital marketing. The Office of Admissions shared that they have become more intentional and selective with where Brandeis marketing is sent, in the United States and abroad. Financial aid packages are also being presented differently. First, Brandeis provided full tuition scholarships for students coming from community colleges. This change brought 10 enrollments from community college graduates, compared to an average of four in previous years. 

Additionally, the Brandeis Commitment was outlined in spring 2025. While the monetary aid provided by this package is not dissimilar from Brandeis’ previous financial aid package, it is outlined in a more accessible manner so more households understand how they may be able to afford a Brandeis education.

Finally, admissions statistics showed that while enrollment was challenging this year, the Class of 2029 is larger than the Class of 2028. Brandeis also welcomed 58 transfer students and saw an increase in the number of first-generation students. The percentage of applicants submitting standardized test scores rose in the most recent admissions cycle. At the same time, the University reported a decline in international student enrollment, attributed both to fewer applications from abroad and to increased difficulty in obtaining visas.

Ultimately, the current initiatives around undergraduate admissions are to amplify the Brandeis’ message through marketing, convert prospective student interest into  matriculation to the school, partially through introducing early applications alongside early decision, and the employment of a committee of high school faculty to advise on student interest. 

In terms of graduate admissions, Brandeis previously had multiple offices of enrollment for the different graduate programs. These have now all been consolidated into one role taken up by Colleen Hynes as the Dean of Graduate Admissions. The goal amongst all the graduate programs is to standardize data management and create a unified brand so that every recruiter can talk at a high level about every graduate program at Brandeis. 

The faculty meeting adjourned with a celebration of faculty, honoring promotions and new hires across the undergraduate schools.