The University has launched a new series of meetings and updates to promote transparency regarding the Board of Trustees and the University finances, University President Ron Liebowitz announced in a Friday email to students, faculty and staff.

In his email, Liebowitz wrote that he will be sharing with the community a summary of topics discussed and resolutions passed following each meeting of the Board of Trustees. He added that he will also periodically propose open meetings with students and staff to share specific information and engage in dialogue on issues related to Board actions.

In their most recent meetings last Tuesday and Wednesday, the Board’s Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees as a whole examined the University’s financial health and structure. According to Liebowitz’s email, economist and former Vice President for Financial Strategy at the University of Chicago Kermit Daniel has been collecting and compiling financial data on campus since April. Liebowitz wrote that Daniel used the data — collected from over 40 staff members and administrators — to explain the historical and ongoing challenges the University faces as both a research university and a liberal arts college.

Daniel’s report highlighted the University’s strength in meeting its dual educational research mission, yet it also noted the perpetual financial stresses that result from the University’s aspirations and its disproportionate resource base, Liebowitz wrote.

He added that these findings are a step toward better informing administrators and community members about the University’s current financial situation. “We, as a community, need to better understand how the university is financed and then begin a process for addressing, over time, the financial stresses we have faced if we are to ensure the long-term health of the institution,” he wrote.

“Brandeis is not alone in recognizing the financial challenges within the higher education ‘business model,’” Liebowitz added, citing competing priorities for investments in people and programs across the University, including staff compensation, financial aid, inclusive environments, up-to-date infrastructure and internship opportunities.

Liebowitz also announced in his email that he, Executive Vice President Stew Uretsky and Provost Lisa Lynch will be hosting three open meetings in the coming weeks to discuss the University’s finances. During this meeting, he added, Daniel will present his findings, and he and the three administrators will field questions. The first meeting will take place on Thursday.

Liebowitz also touched on the Board’s other topics of discussion. He wrote that he relayed his first impressions of the University to the Board, explaining that he “felt confident in describing what I have experienced thus far: a vibrant campus, with, as advertised, a faculty who is fully committed to excellent undergraduate and graduate teaching, and to producing high-level research and artistic work.”

The trustees also heard a report from the special task force on Board governance that was appointed in June by Board Chair Larry Kanarek ’76. The Board members discussed and voted on proposed changes to the Board’s committee structure and composition, which will allow trustees to best address the challenges facing higher education, according to Liebowitz’s email.

The Board also heard an update from consultant Mark Neustadt, who has been meeting with and interviewing internal and external University constituencies, as well as conducting surveys of alumni and potential students.

Neustadt just conducted his last three focus groups last week, but he provided the Board with the major themes he has heard from the groups he has met with.

“Mark explained the importance and challenge of creating a unifying and clear narrative for Brandeis that both recognizes its unique founding by the American Jewish community and contemporizes the values embedded in the university’s founding given the changes in the world and our environment since then,” Liebowitz explained.

Emily Conrad ’17 and Will Jones ’18, the student representatives to the Board of Trustees, did not return requests for comment as of press time.