I will be expecting a letter in protest:
"Brandeis University names its ninth president" by Laura Krantz Globe Staff December 17, 2015
Brandeis University on Thurday appointed former Middlebury College leader Ron Liebowitz as its ninth president.
Liebowitz, 58, is originally from New York City and lives in Newton with his wife, Jessica, and three children. He plans to formally take over next July. His wife, a visiting scholar at Boston College, also plans to take an active role at Brandeis, focused on the “intellectual and creative life on campus,” he said.
He joins Brandeis at a time when the campus needs a strong fund-raiser. Contributions fell under previous president, Frederick M. Lawrence, who stepped down early this year, in an era when college presidents are increasingly valued for their ability to raise money.
It's their main mi$$ion.
While Brandeis brought in about $90 million annually on average during the four years before Lawrence, contributions dropped in each of the four years under his watch, averaging about $37 million annually, financial statements show. The school raised $63.8 million in 2010, the year before he started, and $32.5 million last year, according to the statements.
Brandeis, a Jewish-sponsored, nonsectarian university, has more students and the president is paid more, but Middlebury’s endowment is larger.
There are about 3,600 undergraduates at Brandeis and 2,450 at Middlebury. The Brandeis endowment is $766 million, tax filings show, and Middlebury’s is $972 million.
Lawrence last year made $954,000 in total compensation. At Middlebury, Liebowitz was paid $561,000.
Brandeis faced criticism and protests by students, faculty, alumni and others after a Globe report in November 2013, and another in 2014, revealed that Lawrence’s predecessor, Jehuda Reinharz, had received millions of dollars from the school for part-time work since stepping down as president in 2010.
Related: Reinharz Received $5 Million From Brandeis
Who are they really $erving, kids?
In response to the controversy, Brandeis announced changes designed to set a more open and fair process for determining executive compensation.
Several Brandeis faculty members said Thursday that they are excited about Liebowitz, who rose through the ranks from an associate professor at Middlebury to president during his 31 years at the school, and they said they hope he will include them in decision-making.
The president also comes at a time when about 200 part-time and adjunct faculty are considering unionizing.
Gordon Fellman, a sociology professor, said the new president will need to understand the changing Jewish community, since many of the college’s original donors have died and younger alumni need to be courted. Fellman also said Liebowitz should not use the school as a platform to promote a personal political agenda about Israel.
Many pro-Palestinian groups on campus.
On Israel, Liebowitz said the university should provide “a forum for full discussion.”
Students also had advice for the new leader. Eric Miller, a senior from San Diego, said the concerns of some students this semester were drowned out by several protests calling for more campus diversity.
“I think that the president should focus on everyone, not just the loudest voices on campus,” Miller said.
That must be why the pre$$ covers them.
Rebecca Cohen, a freshman from New Jersey, said she chose Brandeis because the student body seemed accepting, and because it is an easy place to practice the Jewish faith.
One professor with a unique perspective is Theodore Sasson, who teaches Jewish studies at both Brandeis and Middleburg....
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Related(?): Howard Leibowitz, 63; was key aide to two Boston mayors
