On April 17, Brandeis faculty convened in Rapaporte Treasure Hall for their monthly meeting, which was called to order at 2 p.m. The meeting began with brief remarks by President Arthur Levine ’70, who outlined pertinent issues that the administration plans on addressing. These include evaluating the faculty retention plan, figuring out how to deal with declining enrollment in Master’s programs and concluding the capital campaign. Additionally, Levine announced that the “long-delayed” presidential search will be announced sometime after this year’s commencement. 

Levine opened the floor for questions. Prof. Sabine von Mering (CGES, WGS) mentioned Wesleyan University’s Democracy Summer 2026 program, which calls on other colleges to join their mission to train students to protect the upcoming November elections. Levine responded that he believes the midterm elections will be the most important thing to happen this calendar year, but he will need to review the program before approving Brandeis to join. 

Following Levine’s remarks, Lewis Brooks ’80, the founder of the Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts, gave an update on Brandeis’ career-focused changes. He started by reviewing the results of the five pilot microcredentials that were offered this spring. According to his presentation, 156 students registered for the five available microcredentials. 64 of whom are seniors, and 44 of them are qualified to be assessed in order to receive the microcredential. For next semester, 25 microcredential proposals were submitted, with around 25% of them being returned for follow-up. Brooks stated that he hopes for five or more classroom-based microcredentials to be added in fall 2026, which represent the University’s four schools and may be multi-departmental if possible. 

Additionally, Brooks spoke about the addition of a second transcript meant to reflect a student’s career-adjacent experiences and accomplishments. According to his presentation, the second transcript will complement the traditional academic transcript and will include microcredentials, experiential learning opportunities such as research, internships and more. It will be available when students request an academic transcript and will also be on the Suitable app. Students who qualify for microcredentials this semester will have them reflected on their secondary academic transcript. 

The last topic Brooks covered was the consolidation of all four career centers on campus. This change is to provide standardized service to undergraduate students, graduate students, undecided students, alumni and learners from the Rabb School of Continuing Studies. As a part of this consolidation, he anticipates hiring around a dozen career counselors, but those plans are not finalized yet. 

Deputy Chief Information Officer and Associate Vice President of Information Technology Services Anne Marando spoke on the upcoming accreditation process. The University will be evaluated by the New England Commission of Higher Education in October 2026. Accreditation by NECHE is what makes the University eligible for federal funding, including Title IV federal funding and federal research grants. The University hopes to take advantage of the upcoming accreditation process to self-evaluate and make improvements where they are needed. Detailed timelines of this process can be found on the Brandeis website, and participants were encouraged to email accreditation@brandeis.edu with any questions. 

The remainder of the meeting was devoted to presenting faculty teaching and service awards. Many of the nominations for these awards came directly from student voting, and each award was followed by student-submitted accounts detailing the strengths of the awardee. 

The first account was the Nahum Glatzer Teaching Scholar Award, which was presented by Prof. John Plotz (ENG). The award, which consists of a $10,000 reward and a commemorative medal, was split between Prof. Stephen Dowden (CGES) and Prof. Elizabeth Ferry (ANTH). 

Next, Vice Provost Shoulson presented the Undergraduate Teaching and Service Awards. The Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching went to Prof. Chandler Rosenberger (IGS). The Michael L. Walzer ’56 Award for Teaching went to Prof. Katherine Shulenberger (CHEM). Angela Guthcess (PSYC) was awarded the Lerman-Neubauer Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring. The Professor Mark A. Ratner Distinguished Teaching Awards went to Prof. Cameron Anderson (THA) and Prof. Darlene Brooks Hedstrom (NEJS) and the Faculty Service Award was given to Prof. Rosalind E.W. Kabrhel (LGLS). 

The graduate awards were then presented. Prof. Brian Horton (ANTH) and Prof. Umrao Sethi (PHIL) were awarded the 2026 Graduate Mentoring Award. Prof. Gizem Nemutlu (BUS) and Prof. Ahmad Namini (BUS) were awarded Brandeis Business Awards and it was noted that all of their nominations came from students. 

Dean of Sciences and Social Policy Sarah Shostack presented the next teaching awards, the first of which was Prof. Michael Doonan (HELLER), who won the Heller Teaching Award. Prof. Joseph Caldwell (HELLER) was awarded the Heller Mentoring Award and Prof. Jennifer Wicks was awarded the Early Career Research Award. 

Assistant Dean Stanley then presented the Rabb Outstanding Teaching Award, which was given to Prof. Anna Shebanow, who teaches data analysis classes within the Rabb School of Continuing Studies. 

The remainder of the awards, which included recipients of endowed chairs and distinguished professorships, were presented by Provost Carol Fierke. Prof. Elizabeth Derderian (ANTH) was awarded the title of Renee and Lester Crown Assistant Professor of Modern Middle East Studies. Prof. Peter Petri (BUS) was made the Carl Shapiro Professor of International Finance and the Sol Chick and Rosalind B. Chaikin Endowed Fellowship was awarded to Prof. Rajesh Sampath (PHIL). The Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Chair in Human Development was awarded to Prof. David Weil (ECON). The Richmond Family Foundation Assistant Professor in Politics title was awarded to Prof. Alejandro Trelles (POL). Finally, Prof. Dmitri Troyanovsky (THA) was named the Blance Barbara and Irving Laura Professor of Performing Arts, with the most recent chair being the late Prof. Arthur Holmberg (THA). 

The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m.