Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe and Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Marty Krauss made remarks at the May 19 faculty meeting, reflecting on their respective careers at the University by highlighting successes they each saw and by emphasizing the importance of continuing to progress. According to a March 15 Justice article, Jaffe decided to step down from his position in order "to get someone with fresh ideas," after having worked as dean since 2003.

Jaffe spoke of the changes that the College of Arts and Sciences has seen over the 8 years that he served as its dean-including a large number of new faculty, four new majors, an expansion of experiential learning and the completion of the Shapiro Science Center and the Mandel Center for the Humanities. He said that "credit for any and all of these accomplishments belongs to all of us in the faculty and administration, as we have worked together over these years."

He then spoke of the future and how he believes the Arts and Sciences should proceed. "To achieve long-run balance we are going to have to figure out ways to increase revenue," he said. Jaffe stressed the need to achieve this increase in a thought-out way, because otherwise "we will not get where we need to be."

His remarks continued as he spoke of the importance of garnering higher numbers of applicants in order to become more competitive in comparison to other liberal arts universities. He said that "what we do is effective for undergraduates" and that the University needs to articulate this more clearly. Additionally, Jaffe wants to "get the word out [about Brandeis]" in order to garner more applicants. According to Jaffe, "If we can sharpen our message and figure out how to make sure all of students have appropriate opportunities for Brandeisian experiences," then more students will apply to the University.

In closing, Jaffe remarked that analyzing the likelihood of achieving any of the University's goals "should have convinced us to forget the whole thing," but that Brandeis has thus far ignored "such sensible pessimism" and has accomplished a lot in the past 8 years during his time as dean.

Krauss served as provost during the same 8 years that Jaffe served as the dean of Arts and Sciences and, in fact, they carpooled to work together. In her speech at the meeting, she said that she has been "honored" to be the provost at this "stellar university." Krauss announced her plan to step down as provost by June 2011. In her speech, she said that she will be taking a year-long sabbatical and then returning as a member of the faculty.

She remarked that she completed many projects during her term that "have given [her] deep satisfaction," and that she wished to acknowledge the people who have helped. Among her projects were changes to the "guidelines for the recruitment, appointment, reappointment, paid leave and review" of faculty; the creation of the Office of the Arts, the Steering Committee on Diversity that gives the University "the internal capacity, skill and commitment to be better stewards of the issues facing our diverse community" and an Office of Global Affairs.

In reference to the changes to the employment policies, Krauss said that they "significantly lifted the morale and professional standards affecting how our esteemed colleagues work at Brandeis."

She also spoke of her involvement with recruiting Bruce Magid, the dean of the International Business School, and Lisa Lynch, dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Krauss said that they have "dramatically improved the teaching and intellectual contributions of the professional schools to the rest of the University" and that she "wish[es] them both all the best in the coming years."

Krauss also thanked the faculty for their support, "readiness ... to give [her] helpful advice, willingness to participate on numerous committees and for the enduring friendships [she has] developed with many of [them]."

She closed her remarks by saying that "this university is a great university because of the quality of our faculty and students and staff. We have a celebrated, accomplished and deeply dedicated faculty. That has to be recognized, protected and honored. All the rest is just business."

-Andrew Wingens contributed reporting.