Additional Brandeis Sites: www.brandeis.edu www.brandeis.edu/now/ www.brandeis.edu/bnc/ Jewish Experience 
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Brandeis University News and Updates:BRANDEIS CHAPTER INFORMATION OFFICER (CIO) 2025-2026Phyllis Wilner pbwilner@gmail.com March 2026 Reading the winter issue of Brandeis Stories was exciting. There was more than one article I wanted to share with you. What really impressed me however, was the passion that came through these articles. How lucky are those who study under people who love what they are doing! I learned something new with each article. Did you know that the placenta is one massive cell? Did you know that the placenta is made by the fetus and not the mother so there are male placentas and female placenta. If unlayered and spread out a placenta is as large as a California king sheet. In a different article I learned how both professors and students are using state-of-the-art light microscopy to examine biological processes once shrouded in mystery. Andy Stone has been the manager of the Brandeis Light Microscopy Core Facility since 2023 He has equipped it with different types of "microscopes" and it has become one of the best equipped in the area. But also to quote him, “ Every instrument here represents good natured altruistic sharing of resources and expertise among its users. The facility has been a game changer in neuroscience says one the professors using it. He is studying the mouse brain in far greater clarity than before.The researchers are able to see exactly how certain neurons are connected which is leading to an understanding of how memories are made. Professor Seth Fraden is studying the structure of proteins and how they are made and assembled. Before these instruments were available scientists were looking through a hazy cloud. You knew something was there but not the details. "When you can act see clearly, you find structure where you didn’t suspect any structure. you get all kinds of surprises.," says Fraden. The numerous experiments have resulted in a deluge of data that is far too much for the average computer to handle. So , Andy Stone, recently installed a computer the size of a chest freezer connected to four high powered graphic which allows the researchers to not only capture stunning images but work with them. For a more in depth explanation I urge you to read the winter issue of Brandeis Stories. February 2026 The winter issue of Brandeis Stories feature the research projects of two professors and the research being done by several graduate students. Associate Professor of biology, Stephen Van Hooser, is exploring vision development in premature births. He is studying the impact of too early visual development. His study indicates that premature vision can interfere with how the brain sets up sight. His study "..could inform future conversations about protecting vision in premature babies." The research he has done on infant ferrets, suggests that during the third trimester important connections and pathways in the visual cortex are created. It is after a full term birth that newborns are exposed to visual scenes for the first time. Premies miss the development of those pathways. Chemistry professor Hao Xu has found a new way to build a critical surgical drug, heparin. Heparin is created from the intestines of millions of slaughtered pig. Global demand is high But there are potential dangerous side effects from using animals. He is attempting to build a chemically pure version. Currently relatively rare metals are used but he is developing a way to use different iron catalysts. Iron catalysts are far more common and therefore less expensive to use to manufacture different drugs. January 2026 ...Recently I have talked about the changing landscape of the curriculum at Brandeis . As you all are aware we are raising money to help integrate Engineering students and thinking into the Liberal Arts classrooms. Professor Michael McGlin recently put the two together in his course on Ancient Greek vocabulary and grammar while connecting language to historical events, key figures and cultural values. How did he connect this study to students in the Engineering program? Utilizing tools from the Makerlab the students had to design and build a board game to reinforce their learning. To quote Dr. McGlin, "They may be more used to spaces like a book-filled library, but this project intended to make them feel equally at home(like a STEM student)in an engineering space surrounded by lab equipment and machinery." Professor McGlin's aim was to change what in the past was a strictly cognitive project to a collaborative activity. The first in a two-semester sequence, the class provides students with an opportunity to explore ancient Greek vocabulary and grammar while connecting language to historical events, cultural values, and key figures. In collaboration with the MakerLab and utilizing tools from the recently established Engineering classroom, students design and build their own board games to reinforce their learning. "I think the most important component of this collaboration is that this project introduces humanities and CEMS students to different academic spaces that spur creativity and learning" McGlin shared, "They may be more used to spaces like a book-filled library, but this project intended to make them feel equally at home (like a STEM student) in an engineering space surrounded by lab equipment and machinery." December 2025 As part of Brandeies' reimagining Liberal Arts four new majors have been introduced. At its new Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts students will be matched with an academic and career advisor. They will be required to complete an internship or an apprenticeship plus being encouraged to take advantage of AI powered tools to identify unusual connections between academics and career possibilities. Beginning Fall '26 will see the introduction of an Engineering Science Major which will provide hands on project based courses with a strong foundation in math and sciences enriched by the liberal arts core curriculum. This will prepare for careers with cross-functional applications where there will be collaboration between engineers and non-engineers. The new Communication and Media Studies major will prepare students for work in array of fields, from arts and entertainment to marketing and public relations, and advocacy and policy work. The Philosophy, Politics and Economics major will provide for advanced study in ,law, , public policy, consulting, and finance. These are fields where both analytical insight and persuasive reasoning are central. Finally, the major in Quantitative Economics is designed for students who wish to combine their study of economics with more advanced data analysis and modeling skills. It will prepare them with the necessary training to pursue rigorous programs toward a master's degree and doctoral programs in economics, finance and statistics. In other news Brandeis University has received a $450,000 grant from Santander Bank U.S. for financial aid for undergraduates. This is a 2 year grant which will help Brandeis to fulfill its commitment to provide full tuition for students whose families annual income is less than $75,000 and half tuition for those whose families making under $200,000. Driving Mrs. Roosevelt  Photo/Courtesy of the Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department, Brandeis Eleanor Roosevelt, a founding Brandeis Trustee, speaks with a student in 1951 as Brandeis' founding president, Abram Sachar, looks on. Story By Allen Secher '56 For five days in 1955, I was in the driver's seat and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt sat by my side. This unlikely pairing was due to Brandeis, of course. One of my student jobs was working as a campus guide in the Public Relations Department. During graduation week, my responsibilities expanded to serving as a chauffeur for visiting dignitaries. A member of the university's Board of Trustees, Mrs. R, would be coming to campus for the Commencement festivities and a board meeting. As graduation approached, I begged, pleaded with and cajoled the PR director to let me be the one to drive her. With some hesitancy, he gave in. Day one arrived... ( TO READ FULL STORE - CLICK HERE!)
Tikkun Olam A pansecterian University that one day will embrace the concept of a school of law and social justice. Visit the University Website www.brandeis.edu If you would like to see what the beautiful Brandeis University campus looks like, please CLICK HERE ! Here's a link to the campus drone tour. https://youtu.be/aiiCRA3G5e0 The Brandeis Beginnings Tidbits: Brandeis University is the youngest private research university in the United States
and is the only nonsectarian college or university in the nation founded by the American Jewish Community Albert Einstein was one of the original planners of Brandeis University Eleanor Roosevelt was a member of the faculty, teaching a course on international
affairs that drew on her experience as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She was also the first Commencement speaker, for the class of 1952 The University's first professor of music and director of the School of Creative
Arts was composer Leonard Bernstein. While at Brandeis, Bernstein debuted Trouble in Tahiti on June 12, 1952 as part of the first Creative Arts Festival Notable alumni: Tony Goldwyn '82 actor, director, producer, starred in such
cinematic hits as: Ghost, Tarzan, The Pelican Brief and Kiss the Girls. His directorial works include:: Someone like you and A Walk on the Moon. Brandeis University counts among its alumni five Pulitzer Prize winners,
a Nobel laureate and several Emmy Award-winning actors, broadcasters and producers.
Located in Waltham, Massachusetts, Brandeis University is ranked in the top tier of universities in the country.
Founded in 1948 and named for the late Justice Louis Dembitz Brandeis of the U.S. Supreme Court, it is the only
nonsectarian, Jewish-founded university in the country, known for its academic excellence and ideals of social justice.
At the same time as Brandeis' founding, eight women from Boston, all leaders in the community, were asked to help in
supporting this new university. They were given the task of building on the collection of 2,000 books in the Library,
which was housed in a converted horse stable. The dedication and perseverance of these women, who now called themselves
the National Women's Committee continues today, sixty years later, as the Brandeis National Committee. With over 70
chapters nationwide and over 39,000 members, BNC is one of the largest and most successful "friends of a library"
organizations in the world. Over the years, we have placed over one million books in the
FUN FACTS ~~ Brandeis was founded in 1948 as a non-sectarian, coeducational institution sponsored by the Jewish community. ~~ Brandeis was established on the site of the former Middlesex University. ~~ Brandeis University was named for Justice Louis D. Brandeis, who was the first Jewish Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ~~ Brandeis First President - Abram L. Sachar -1948-1968 ~~ Famous Professors who taught at Brandeis - Eleanor Roosevelt, Leonard Bernstein, Anita Hill ~~ Brandeis Motto - In Hebrew - Emet - In English it means - Truth even unto its innermost parts ~~ Brandeis Colors - Blue and White ~~ Nickname - Judges ~~ Mascot - Ollie the Owl - named for Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Justice Louis D. Brandeis - "Our government teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy." |
Brandeis libraries, and raised over $100 million for Brandeis University and its libraries, scholarship and research.
Brandeis University has become one of the youngest private research universities, with ground-breaking exploration
in neurodegenerative and age-related diseases. 
It would be an extraordinary task to create a library that could barely compete, let alone compete well,
with the "old ivies" in New England. Brandeis was determined to be first rate. Remarkably,
eight women would answer this challenge. Their loyalty to this unproven university came from
a different breed of faith: both to the Jewish community at large, and to education itself.
They called themselves the National Women's Committee, and what they would work to achieve was no less than amazing.