At 2:00 pm on Oct. 18, the Brandeis faculty met in Rapaporte Treasure Hall for their monthly meeting. The meeting opened with Chair of the Faculty Senate Prof. Jeffrey Lenowitz (POL) giving a welcoming address, informing the staff of a change in timing of the next meeting in order to be able to accommodate an address from Interim President Arthur Levine, Ph.D. ’70. Additionally Lenowitz stated “Though leadership is changing at the University, the structural problems are not. So to this end, I want to assure you all that the senate remains dedicated to working with the administration to ensure that these are addressed in a manner that safeguards faculty interests.” He also discussed future plans to hear and address faculty concerns such as a survey and small group meetings.
The floor was then ceded to the Dean of Admissions, Jennifer Walker. Walker presented data on the new freshman class, as well as future recruitment plans. She began by providing context for the past 10 fiscal years, starting with FY’16. Following COVID-19, enrollment dropped, with 750 students joining the Brandeis community in the fall of 2021. In the past 10 years shown, the only year that had lower enrollment than that was the fall of 2024 with 738 students, a stark contrast to two years ago with a matriculating class of 980. Walker explained that following the dip in enrollment during Covid, Admissions was tasked with working on gaining larger classes for the next two years in order to round out the size of the total undergraduate population.
Walker then expressed changes in the market, meaning that trends supported the idea that public institutions were becoming more favorable than private for many students, bringing some public schools into Brandeis’ “competitor set,” which has generally been private schools in the past.
She went on to relate this to the U.S. News and World Report ranking system, which has recently changed, now utilizing an algorithm that favors public schools. At its peak, Brandeis University was ranked 35 but has dropped down to tie with many other schools for 63 following these algorithm changes. Walker also outlined that admissions teams from across the country have seen a general increase in the number of schools that high school students are applying to since the pandemic, with 28% now applying to 10 or more institutions. This increase has caused challenges when deciding who to admit, as it is harder to tell which students are the most likely to choose to attend Brandeis.
Walker then detailed the statistics of the first year class, something that has generated much conversation since the elimination of affirmative action this past year. She shared that 48% of domestic first-year students are students of color, that these students come from 36 states and 29 countries and that the majority of them attended public high schools. Walker then went on to discuss the transfer class, this year’s being the largest in the University’s history with 83 students. Her guess was that all institutions across higher education have seen “a bit of a mass reshuffling,” and explained that 83 is twice the target of 40. Walker also shared that the outgoing students were 60 students beyond what they had anticipated, with a total of 120 students leaving Brandeis following last academic year.
Walker addressed the question of whether or not these enrollment deficits are specific to just Brandeis. She answered with the phrase “no, but,” meaning that while the issue is not exclusive to the University, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t an area of concern. She addressed that the amount of students bound for college is “shrinking,” as well as the amount of college bound students in households with combined incomes of over $250,000. Walker expressed concerns about a drastic decline in applications from China over the past year. She explained that this is an issue in admissions because this applicant pool often fills many of the early decision admissions seats, as well as having a high general yield rate.
In order to solve some of these concerns, the University is creating a division of Enrollment Management. Additionally, they have shortened the information session and slightly lengthened the campus tour route to include entering more buildings. Admissions is also requesting specific cosmetic campus improvements specifically along the tour route seen by prospective students. They are working with an outside vendor regarding flexibility and prices and how Brandeis can optimize its financial aid. Budget dollars have also been relocated towards increasing digital marketing campaigns and stronger messaging regarding Brandeis’ guarantee of need-based aid will be pushed moving forward.
Additionally, Walker shared that faculty will be added back into admissions programming following their removal due to lack of participation on the weekends, without pay and without childcare incentives. Admissions is going to add back the faculty fair to admitted students days, allowing potential students to meet with faculty from each department and learn about course offerings and research opportunities. This is in addition to the current Fall for Brandeis days taught by faculty and virtual panels.
Walker also spoke to faculty regarding the need for good news and good press, calling upon them to share the positive things that are happening such as receiving grants or outstanding students. She asked everyone to “please say yes” when it comes to asks like being a part of videos, recordings and events. The ultimate goal of this positive media is to create a balance of five positive pieces of news media for every one negative, according to the new Vice President of Communications.
Following Walker’s presentation, University Provost Carol Fierke began her presentation by acknowledging the large amount of change that has taken place over the last year. She also spoke on the financial challenges currently being faced by the University, stating that the University has “taken a number of measures to cut costs.” Fierke explained that it would not be appropriate to lay out any concrete plans in the middle of this leadership transition.
Fierke called on the faculty for help regarding increasing revenue, stating that the most helpful thing they can do is to “recruit or retain one student.” Fierke explained that what is known to be the strongest part of Brandeis is the faculty and the academic offerings. She then highlighted the weaknesses of the University, stating “our campus infrastructure, physically, facilities are not competitive with peer institutions.” Fierke also explained that many students find the campus lacking in social options.
Fierke echoed Walker’s sentiment, explaining that Brandeis has not spent a lot of money on marketing, explaining that soon to be President Levine will lead a division of Enrollment Marketing that he plans to establish. She highlighted the joint marketing campaign that all graduate programs have worked on together in addition to the increase in undergraduate marketing.
Fierke discussed potential remedies for the issues previously discussed, including the plans for a new residence hall and general reorganization of residential life. This discussion also included the possibility of living learning communities, something that faculty would be involved in. Additionally, Fierke mentioned that the building of a new air conditioned residential building could lead to an increase in summer programming, which would increase revenue.
Parents have called for more career services for students, an area Fierke hopes to improve upon as well as increasing marketing regarding the Hiatt Career Center. She adds that she has had conversations with Dean of Arts and Sciences Jeffrey Shoulson regarding what a potential cooperative education program at Brandeis would look like.
During her address, Fierke discussed the potential of adding first year seminars back into the core curriculum, in order to encourage meaningful relationships for students with tenure and tenure track faculty. Fierke shared that there were higher yields in last year’s admissions cycle for students who were involved in the Quantitative Biology Research Community and Humanities fellowship programs, and divisions such as the creative arts and business are considering implementing similar programs.
Following Fierke, Shoulson and Senior Assistant Provost Joel Christensen discuss faculty hiring and contracts. Shoulsen explained that due to limitations such as tenured faculty, the primary way to comply with budget restrictions is to review contracts once they are up for renewal and decide if the positions are still necessary or if they can be eliminated “in order to meet those budget expectations.”
Christensen shared that this year there were 25 OTS contracts up for renewal, and each of these positions were closely examined. “We didn’t find very many places that we could eliminate without significantly damaging undergraduate programming that we offer to our students, ”Shoulson explained. He adds that while he was not eager, they decided not to renew the contracts of the Lydian faculty, stating that it is “a savings of around $275,000 a year annually, and in order to reach that savings we would have to eliminate two to three OTS positions in some of the other programs.”
Christensen then explained that the process required all faculty who are not being renewed to be notified by Oct. 1, and explained that they have been working on figuring out how to comply with these new budget guidelines since February. This process includes looking at everything, from contracted hires to projected retirement plans. He explained that this is an ongoing process over multiple years, but stated “if anyone is up for reappointment now, you’re fine.”
The floor was then opened for questions, and multiple faculty members stepped forward in order to express their dissatisfaction regarding the elimination of the Lydian String Quartet. Head of the Music Department Prof. Yu-Hui Chang (MUS) took to the stand to express her anger as “a quarter” of her current faculty will be gone next year. She stated “I have to publicly question the wisdom of this kind of decision making,” following up by expressing that “[she feels] like this administration has greatly underestimated the value of the music department and what the department has done for Brandeis.”
Chang went on to describe what she believes is the purpose of the music department: “We are here to group everybody together. We are also a very public facing department. So what we do is be seen by hundreds and thousands of people.” She then discussed the prior presentations of the day, highlighting the importance that was placed on admissions. She explained that if members of the administration are so concerned about the Brandeis reputation, they should “stop making decisions that damage our reputation.”
The Lydian String Quartet was founded in 1980, becoming a staple of the Brandeis music program for the past 44 years. The current members are Prof. Joshua Gordon (MUS) who plays the cello, Prof. Julia Glenn (MUS) and Prof. Clara Lyon (MUS) who play the violin and Prof. Mark Berger (MUS) who plays the viola. Many artists have played with the quartet since its formation, with Lyon, a three-time Grammy nominated artist and the newest member, joining the group in September of 2024, less than a month prior to the announcement that the quartet will be dissolved.
According to the Lydian website, at the formation of the group, “the quartet studied repertoire with Robert Koff, a founding member of the Juilliard String Quartet who had joined the Brandeis faculty in 1958.” The group has gone on to perform all over the United States and in many different countries abroad in addition to performances at Brandeis. According to their website, “From the acknowledged masterpieces of the classical, romantic, and modern eras to the remarkable compositions written by today’s cutting edge composers, the quartet approaches music-making with a sense of exploration and personal expression that is timeless.”
In addition to the quartet, the Lydian faculty work with Brandeis students. Chang spoke with The Justice on Oct. 19, detailing how her department will be affected by this loss. She began her statement by detailing “On 9/30, I was informed that both the Lydian and another member of my department will not have their contracts renewed next year, and that they planned to notify them the next day. I was asked not to discuss the matter with these faculty beforehand. As this is a 25% faculty reduction to our department (or more than 33% if you count the number of faculty), it means my department is disproportionately shouldering the school’s financial burden when the upper administrators’ goal was to reduce the faculty by 8% campus-wide.”
Chang then continued on to discuss the state of the music department in general, explaining “this is not to mention all the other losses we’ve had to deal with, including the freeze of our doctoral programs, and the loss of our concert production staff that we desperately need to function. At this moment the department still doesn’t know how we can handle the aftermath of this cut, as the Lydian is an integral part of our department’s programs and much more.” The Lydian plays a large part in the marketing of the Brandeis music department. Chang concluded her statement by saying “Given the Lydian’s national reputation, we dread the negative impact this will bring to Brandeis’ already tarnished public image.”
In a statement shared with The Justice on Oct. 21, members of the quartet shared the sentiment that this was as unexpected to them as Chang. Their statement began “On September 30 we were given 24 hours’ notice of a zoom meeting with Provost Carol A. Fierke and Senior Assistant Provost Joel Christensen, where we were informed that Brandeis University will not be renewing the contracts for the Lydian String Quartet. We are shocked and saddened by this decision, which will have a devastating impact on the arts culture of Brandeis and the quality of arts education for students.”
The quartet also chose to emphasize the impact that they have on the Brandeis community, stating “For more than 40 years, the Lydian Quartet has been the core music performance faculty at Brandeis, but our impact on the students reaches far beyond the lessons and chamber music coachings we provide.” In addition to class time, the Lydian has a larger reach in the department. They explained “As faculty members of the music department, we provide music major track advising, oversight of the Leonard Bernstein Fellows, administration of major gifts to the university (the Henri Lazarof Living Legacy, the Irving Fine Tribute Concert fund, the Lydian Quartet Commission Prize), and professional performances of Brandeis student compositions, as well as music major required course offerings and electives.”
Emphasizing Chang’s statement regarding the overall struggles of the music department and other additional losses, they stated “In this most recent round of cuts, which we were told are for purely budgetary reasons and had nothing to do with our performance or contributions to the university, the music department is being disproportionately gutted, eliminating 25% of the music faculty with no plans for replacement.” The quartet then went on to explain “This follows one year after the attempt to eliminate our PhD programs in musicology and composition, and continues a trend from a previous administration’s notorious attempt to sell off the Rose Art Museum’s collection.”
The members of the group emphasized to The Justice that their group has an integral role in the history of the University. They stated “The Lydian Quartet is intimately tied up in the storied history of Brandeis, and we have embraced our role as artistic ambassadors with gusto, performing concerts around the globe, publishing over 30 studio albums, performing masterclasses and outreach wherever we travel, and making Brandeis a cultural destination for the Boston area music scene through our concert series on campus.” The members then went on to explain the effect that this decision will have on the overall music department, stating “The Lydian Quartet is a cultural jewel for Brandeis, a unique partnership that sets our university apart from other institutions. This decision to end the legacy of the Lydian Quartet is a huge blow to the culture and history of Brandeis, and will have devastating ramifications for the music department, whose rich history stretches back to the beginning when Leonard Bernstein and Irving Fine were faculty members.”
The quartet then concluded their statement with a call to action to members of the University community, stating “We hope the greater Brandeis community of students, faculty, alumni, award recipients, donors, and other friends and supporters will call upon the Brandeis administration to reverse this shortsighted decision.”
The faculty meeting concluded following statements of unhappiness and uncertainty from the faculty following these four speakers. The financial state of the University is still up in the air following the recent announcement regarding leadership transitions.
