The great-nephew of a donor whose bequest funded the Kalman Science Building filed an injunction in Suffolk Probate Court May 7 to prevent Brandeis from tearing down the building due to disrepair, saying that such a move would violate his great-uncle's will. According to the will quoted in a copy of the injunction provided to the Justice by Sumner Kalman, the great-nephew of Julius Kalman, Julius made a bequest of approximately $1.8 million to Brandeis "to be used by the trustees of said University for the purpose of erecting a building, buildings or a portion of a building, to be known as the 'Julius Kalman Memorial'" in 1956. The injunction goes on to state that "the testamentary intent of Julius Kalman, as with most donors to Brandeis, was that his gift to the school would carry on in perpetuity." If the building were destroyed, according to the injunction, "there no longer will be a 'building, buildings, or portion of a building' named after Julius Kalman, as is required in his Last Will and Testament."

The Kalman building is scheduled to be razed by this winter as part of Phase 1 of the Science Complex Renewal Project, which also includes the completion of the Carl J. Shapiro Science Center, according to the Web site of the Office of Capital Projects.

In a May 2007 memo to the Brandeis community, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French wrote that Phase 2 "will involve the creation of a new building more or less on the footprint of Kalman."

According to a PowerPoint presentation from a 2006 community forum on the project, Phases 1 and 2 were scheduled to be completed by late 2010 or early 2011. Vice President of Capital Projects Dan Feldman told the Justice this February that Phase 2 had been indefinitely postponed.

"It's one thing to say that the building has got to be torn down because they need the space for a new building, [but it's] a little different when they don't have any money to build a new building, but they're going to tear down the [Kalman] building anyway," Kalman said. "Brandeis' position was that they weren't going to really recognize my uncle in the way we felt the testamentary intent was reflected in the will; ... that's what brought us to court."

University General Council Judith Sizer wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that the "Kalman Science Center is one of the oldest, most heavily used buildings on campus, and needs to be replaced." Sizer also wrote that "the Kalman family was assured, over a year ago, that the University has every intention of continuing its memorial to Julius Kalman, a generous early donor to Brandeis." Sizer wrote that the University received notice of the lawsuit May 11, 2009 and intends to work with the family to resolve the matter.

The motion for the injunction states that Brandeis gave its assurance of a future commemoration "without providing specifics."

Kalman said he began raising concerns about the building last year by getting in touch with Brandeis and the Massachusetts Attorney General's office when he heard about the plans on the Internet. According to the complaint, Kalman received a response letter from Reinharz about the matter.

Emily La Grassa, director of communications for the Massachusetts attorney general's office, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that after receiving a complaint in May 2008, "after carefully reviewing the will of Julius Kalman, we determined that nothing contained in the will imposed on Brandeis an obligation to maintain a building, or a portion thereof, in the name of Julius Kalman beyond the building's useful life." She wrote, "Moreover, the University has pledged that when and if it elects to demolish and replace the building, it will commemorate, with a plaque and a ceremony in his honor, Kalman's contribution." She wrote that the attorney general's office saw no reason to take any action.

Kalman said that discussions about the case were underway but he could not comment on specifics as the case was ongoing. When asked how the University should respond to concerns that the building is technologically outdated, he said, "They've got to talk to the Kalman family, just like they're talking to the Rose family." He said he was not pleased with the University's reaction so far.

Kalman told the Justice last Friday that he was awaiting the scheduling of a hearing on the motion for the preliminary injunction. "If we're successful in the probate court, then that's as far as we need to go," he said. "Now how [the intent is] honored, whether it's by this building or some proposal that satisfies the terms of his will, that is a question.