The Board of Trustees elected Perry Traquina '78 as chair at a meeting on March 21, to replace Malcolm Sherman, who has served in the position since 2007, according to a BrandeisNOW release. Traquina, chairman and chief executive officer of Wellington Management Company LLP, will serve a three-year term.

Traquina, a chartered financial analyst, was first elected to the board in 2002. He served on the executive committee and as co-chair of the investment committee, according to the release.

Traquina will assume leadership of a board which includes four new members, who were elected last Wednesday. Each trustee is elected for a four-year term and can serve for up to three terms, as stated in the bylaws of the Board of Trustees.

The new members include Cynthia Shapira, Olaf Olafsson '85, Jeffrey Flier and Ron Kaiserman '63.

Shapira is the secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America and development chair for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, among other board positions.

Olafsson is the executive vice president for international and corporate strategy at Time Warner and author of three bestselling novels, including his latest, Restoration.

Flier, an endocrinologist and dean of the faculty of medicine at Harvard University Medical School, will also start his first term this year.

Kaiserman is a partner of the real estate management firm Kaiserman Co. and is the founder and president of the affiliated real estate firm, Shiramax.

Kaiserman's parents were "among the visionaries who helped found Brandeis," according to BrandeisNOW.

The trustees will now be part of the governing body of the University. "This includes things like approval of faculty and administrative appointments, approval of the annual budget, awarding of degrees and honorary degrees, and advising the University on policies and procedures," Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff David Bunis wrote in an email to the Justice.

"Trustees also help with fundraising by supporting the University themselves, encouraging others to do so, and facilitating the University's fundraising efforts," Bunis wrote.

Traquina and the four trustees will begin their terms after commencement on May 19.
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