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Five speakers, Professor Steven Wilson (POL), Paul Jankowski (HIST), Renanah Joyce (POL), Kerry Chase (POL), and Chandler Rosenberger (IGS) offered their historical, political and sociological insights into the conflict.
The Crown Center for Middle Eastern Studies hosted ‘Making the Gulf: Regulating Movements and Politics’ over Zoom last Wednesday. New York University professors Natasha Iskander and Arang Keshavarzian discussed the politics behind the treatment of foreign workers in the Gulf.
In a Dec. 2 email to the Brandeis community, President Ron Leibowitz announced the release of a revised version of the University’s anti-racism plans. The website for this revision compiles the individual plans for each academic and administrative department along with a general overview of the University’s process in creating the plans and what the University hopes to accomplish. Liebowitz explained that this revision to the ani-racism plan was prompted by the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. Citing a November 2020 report, he explained that 130 universities are currently undergoing a review of best approaches for addressing institutionalized racism in academia.
A Model United Nations club has started up at Brandeis after a period of dormancy and is welcoming new members. The president is Oona Wood ’23, the treasurer is Tavorr Vaxman-Magid ’25, the communications director is Lauren Rifas ’24 and the vice president is Risley.
Last week, Brandeis culture clubs and academic groups hosted a series of events as part of Brandeis’ “I am Global Week,” an offshoot of the U.S. State Department-sponsored International Education Week. According to Brandeis’ website, “I Am Global Week” seeks to “highlight and celebrate global efforts and achievements across campus, promote integration between domestic and international students and scholars, and showcase our global community.”
Jytte Klausen (POL), Professor of International Cooperation, discussed her newest work: “Western Jihadism: A Thirty Year History.” The book was published in October by Oxford University Press. Klausen described the main insights she gained from her research and responded to questions from Prof. Sabine von Mering (CGES) and the audience.
TAMID Group at Brandeis, a “business organization that develops professional skills through hands-on interaction with the Israeli economy” as described on the club’s website, virtually hosted a guest speaker, Assaf Feldman, on Oct. 4. Feldman is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Israeli security company Riskified. Feldman talked about his life and the circumstances that prompted him to found the company, lending insight into the realities of the Israeli entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The History of Ideas minor program hosted a discussion about the U.S. Constitution on Monday Sept. 13, four days before the Sept. 17 anniversary of the Constitution’s ratification. The event, “Just Read It! A Dialogue About the US Constitution,” featured a series of short lectures from four professor panelists and six students about sections or aspects of the Constitution that they found particularly striking. Prof. David Katz (HIST), director of the History of Ideas Program, moderated the discussion.
Brandeis is continuing the search for a new Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion after Mark Brimhall-Vargas stepped down in July 2021. Until the new diversity officer is appointed, David Fryson has been chosen to fill the role.
Ellen Gordon '65
The Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center hosted a panel discussion last Friday about transformative justice, its implementation in higher education and the ways it can benefit the Brandeis community. PARC invited Brown University alumnus Camilla Pelsinger, Brown senior Izzy Acevado and social justice organizer Dara Bayer to speak about their experiences implementing the first formal transformative justice program in a U.S. institution of higher education.
The University is in the process of replacing its student information system, Sage, with Workday Student. As with Sage, faculty, students and staff will use Workday Student to access and manage student information regarding class enrollment, grades and more. Workday Student is launching in phases: the Workday platforms of Human Resources, Finance and Payroll launched in summer 2019; the basic structure for Workday Student launched in fall 2020; class registration and advising will be made available in April and May; financial information will be available this summer and all remaining features will go live in fall 2021. As of April 20, Workday Student is available for students to use to manage their personal information. Student information will remain in Sage up to the 2021 summer semester, so students will access Sage to look up spring 2021 course grades and access Workday Student to apply for fall 2021 classes. By fall 2021, the University will have fully transitioned to Workday Student, and Sage will no longer be necessary.
The Center for German and European Studies hosted a panel discussion about predictions for how the COVID-19 pandemic will end. Anja Martini, a science journalist for the German radio and TV news program Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), and Prof. Elanah Uretsky (IGS) spoke at the event, with CGES Director Prof. Sabine von Mering (GER) moderating.
The Schusterman Center for Israel Studies hosted a Zoom conversation on Feb. 28 with Israeli judo world champion Sagi Muki. With Keren Schneidinger ’22 moderating the event, Muki talked about his career as a judo player, or judoka, with particular emphasis on how his experiences shaped his commitment toward using sports to promote empathy between countries with fractious relationships.
The Heller School for Social Policy and Management moderated a panel discussion last Tuesday, Oct. 27 about the nature of democratic participation and civic engagement in 2020. The panelists were Prof. Anita Hill (Heller), University of California, Los Angeles Professor of Social Welfare and Public Policy Fernando Torres-Gil Ph.D. ’76 and Prof. Dan Kryder, the Louis Stelberg Chair in Law and Politics. The discussion, titled “The Act of Democracy,” referenced an op-ed written by Former United States Representative John Lewis, which he wrote a few days before his death, stating that “democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part.”
This year, the Brandeis Mutual Aid Fund has emerged as a valuable resource for students in need of financial aid. The Fund is a student-run group created in March when the spread of COVID-19 forced students to leave their dorms and quickly transition to online learning.
The International Center of Ethics, Justice and Public Life hosted a panel, “Voting and Democracy in 2020 and Beyond,” on Monday, March 9 in Rapaporte Treasure Hall. The panelists were Boston city councilor Lydia Edwards, Massachusetts State Sen. Becca Rausch ’01 and Ethics Center Board chair John Shattuck. Scheduled panelist and mayor of Framingham Yvonne Spicer was unable to attend due to complications relating to COVID-19. Former Rep. Jay Kaufman ’68, MA ’73 (D-MA) moderated the event.
The University’s Board of Trustees held a retreat on Nov. 18 and 19 to discuss ongoing plans for Brandeis’ future. According to a December email to the community from Brandeis President Ron Liebowitz, the main topics the Board discussed were infrastructure improvements, Brandeis’ brand positioning among other higher education institutions and how the University has responded to the negative results of the recently administered Campus Climate Survey.
The Crown Center for Middle East Studies on Wednesday hosted Gary Grappo, a former diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Oman between 2006 and 2009. Grappo discussed Oman’s leader, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who was instrumental in modernizing the country, and he analyzed current and upcoming challenges that Oman faces looking forward.
City University of New York Professor of Anthropology Katherine Verdery gave a talk on Friday about her discovery of a Romanian secret police case file about her years of anthropological fieldwork in 1970s Romania. She has written about these experiences in a recent book titled “My Life as a Spy: Investigations in a Secret Police File.”