Frederick Lawrence speaks at faculty meeting
President-elect Frederick Lawrence addressed the faculty at the Sept. 2 faculty meeting, during which he expressed excitement about his new role within the Brandeis community. Lawrence's address to the faculty at the meeting, the first of the semester, marked the first time he had addressed the faculty since he was confirmed by the Board of Trustees on July 8.
In his address, Lawrence said he was "humbled" after listening to the descriptions of the accomplishments of the new faculty that were introduced at the meeting, claiming, "It is an extraordinary group of new people and visitors coming here. For someone coming in from the outside, it is quite breathtaking and impressive."
In an interview with the Justice after the meeting, Lawrence expressed excitement about interacting with the faculty on a more intimate level.
"Having met many of them in big settings, I am now looking to meet them on a departmental level and talk about their work and their scholarship, which I am very interested to engage in," he said.
In the address, Lawrence also spoke about his plans to be present on campus in the upcoming months, explaining that he would be present "on and off" for the rest of September and will then visit again in October, November and December.
Lawrence also emphasized to the faculty his excitement to begin his term as president, explaining that the role fused his passions into one job.
"I am thrilled to be the next president, it's true. It is a dream job. There is no other position in the United States of America that can so pull together all the threads of my life," he said.
Lawrence additionally thanked both current University President Jehuda Reinharz and Reinharz's wife, Prof. Shula Reinharz (SOC), for easing the presidential transition and for their "hospitality and graciousness."
Introducing Lawrence before his address, Reinharz also said the transition was going smoothly, saying that "I am pleased that my successor is a good friend of mine."
Reinharz expanded on the smoothness of the transition in an interview with the Justice after the meeting.
"We are working extremely well together. We have known each other for a long time. We like each other; it seems to be a smooth transition, and I've given him complete leeway to do whatever he wants to do and get adjusted. It's worked very well," he said.
When asked about the role Lawrence would play in the upcoming faculty meetings this semester, Reinharz said that he would still monitor the meetings but that Lawrence would attend based on his availability.
"I don't think he's going to have a role in the next faculty meetings unless there is a specific reason, but he may come; he may attend. He's curious about what is happening, but it depends on his time limitation; [he] still has to spend time at [George Washington University]," he said.
In an interview with the Justice, Lawrence said that several of his visits to campus did happen to overlap with faculty meetings.
Lawrence also expressed optimism in his interview about the faculty meeting, praising the cohesiveness of the faculty.
"I thought that it was great. It was a great sense of community. One of the most interesting and useful parts is the introduction of new faculty, because you get to see the breadth of what everyone is doing," he said.
Prof. Len Saxe (Heller), who served on the Presidential Search Committee, praised Lawrence's remarks in an interview with the Justice, claiming that he "expressed a realistic view."
"He didn't shy away from the challenges ahead of us, but he also exuded optimism and confidence and made clear that he was going to work night and day to make sure that Brandeis fulfills its aspirations," said Saxe.
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