Text on screen reads “Celebrating Brandeis at 75.” Brandeis flags fly in the background.
Text reads “The Power of Philanthropy.” The campus entrance is seen.
Curtis Tearte ’75, Trustee, Sachar Society, is seated in an auditorium. He says, “Brandeis changed the arc of my life.”
Bonnie Berger ’83, P’23, is seated. She says, “Brandeis was like coming home. I felt so comfortable here.”
Lisa Joffe P’23, Faculty, is seated in a room of books. She says, “I’m really moved by the mission of the university to be a place that welcomes everyone.”
Thabang Matona ’24 is shown seated in an auditorium. He says, “I would not be able to be a Brandeis student if I was not the recipient of a scholarship. It’s costly to get someone from South Africa to come to the U.S. to study and keep them here. I think I have a responsibility to pay it forward and do some meaningful work for my community, wherever in the world that might end up being.” While he speaks, he’s seen smiling, laughing, and walking around the room with people around him.
A statue is shown, followed by an aerial shot of campus.
Bonnie says, “I support Brandeis because it was instrumental in my finding my life’s career, which has been so important for me.” A news headline appears on screen reading “Bonnie Berger ’83 establishes junior professorship in mathematics.” She continues: “We decided to give the Berger-Leighton chair because we wanted to help them attract the very top junior faculty and give them an environment in which they could thrive and do really good research and also be excellent educators.”
Professors of mathematics are shown teaching in class.
Joe Perkins ’66 and Ria Roberts ’10 are shown seated in front of a piano.
Joe says, “One of the things when I was here, you saw a few Black people. But you knew there were certainly more people who could benefit from a Brandeis education. You know, I was part of a minority group. We thought, why don’t we come up with our own scholarship? That kind of started it.” Archival imagery of Black students is shown.
A photo of Joe and Ria with their arms around each is shown. Ria says, “I first met Joe because I was a recipient of the scholarship he created, the Minority Alumni Network Scholarship.” A photo of Ria from childhood is shown. She continues, “Being a recent immigrant to the country, this scholarship was very important to me, because clearly my parents could not afford a college education.” A photo of Ria in a white doctor’s coat is shown. “Now I’m an instructor at Harvard Medical School and I hold several different director positions at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and just started a geriatric clinic at Lowell Community Health Center. Sometimes I look back on my life and I’m like who am I? This is ridiculous.”
An old newspaper article is shown. The headline reads “Faculty: Vote ‘yes’ to the women’s studies program.”
Cynthia Berenson G’13, Trustee, seated in an auditorium, says, “I became involved with the women’s studies program – it was called that. Now it’s the Women and Gender Studies Department, so we have come a long way. Over the years with my husband, we gave the Fine Arts Chair. We have fellowship scholarships for students here. Why Brandeis? Because Brandeis listens to what’s going on in the country, the world, and what’s happening.”
Thabang says, “Brandeis has about 20% international students on campus. I think that’s good for our space, it’s good for diversity on campus. There’s different opinions all the time.”
Cynthia says, “It’s amazing just to see the students. We’ve changed their lives. And there’s men in it. Guess what? They’re taking the courses too.” Photos of women in classrooms are shown.
A statue on campus is shown.
Curtis says, “I believe that Brandeis is at a point where we can go to the next level. To get to that next level, we need continued, exponential support from parents, alumni, foundations, and friends.”
Thabang says, “I got awarded the Wien International Scholarship. Joining the cohort of 65 years of Wien International Scholars to me means I kind of have a responsibility to go out into this world and be great. But also, it reminds me that I need to give back.” Archival imagery of Wien scholars is shown.
Lisa says, “I think we’re really fortunate at Brandeis to have a community of supporters who not only value the work that we do, but support it with their generous, financial support. They’re committed to the ideals of Brandeis University, and to the specific topics that we seek to explore.”
Thabang, Curtis, Cynthia, and Bonnie are shown in succession.
Text reads, “Celebrating Brandeis at 75.” The Brandeis University logo is shown. Text reads, “Visit us at Brandeis.edu/75.”