Brandeis Alumni, Family and Friends

Celebrating the Legacy of the Brandeis National Committee

February 7, 2025

How the Group That Stocked Brandeis’ First Library Continues to Thrive

In 1948, when Brandeis opened its first library in a converted horse stable, a group of women established the Brandeis National Women’s Committee to raise funds to acquire books and fund library operations. Brandeis didn’t have any alumni yet, and these women were eager to support the university's mission and founding Jewish values. That group, now known as the Brandeis National Committee (BNC), continues to thrive and support the university today.

When the Committee was first established, volunteers formed chapters across the country. They held book sales – both informally and through brick-and-mortar bookstores – to raise money for Brandeis. The organization kept pace with the library’s needs, helping to digitize the card catalog and establishing an endowment in 1982 to upgrade infrastructure and provide networked computing. In 1996, BNC donated the library’s one millionth book, a rare first edition of the first English Bible published for the American Jewish community.  

More recently, BNC’s philanthropy has supported faculty research and undergraduate scholarships.  The multiyear Sustaining the Mind campaign raised more than $3 million for neuroscience research. A new campaign, Engineering the Future, aims to endow a professorship in engineering science.

Over seven decades, the organization has raised nearly $150 million in support of Brandeis. Today, in 31 chapters across the country, the BNC continues its support of the university it helped found in 1948.

In addition to raising funds for Brandeis, BNC members hold social and lifelong learning events for members. For example, they meet in homes, public libraries, and community centers to study a broad range of topics, from Shakespeare to American Jewish humor, often using study guides created by Brandeis faculty. 

Along with Brandeis, the BNC enjoyed its 75th anniversary in October 2024. Boston-area members and National Board members gathered at the Goldfarb Library on campus, where a glass installation etched with the names of thousands of BNC supporters wraps around a cozy study space.

Merle Merle Carrus P’12, current president of the BNC National Board and ex officio member of the Brandeis Board of Trustees, says, "No other college or university in the United States has an organization like ours. Our mission for more than 75 years has been crystal clear: to support the university, its library, its research, and its students."

To learn more about the Brandeis National Committee, visit www.brandeis.edu/bnc.