Brandeis Alumni, Family and Friends
Relive the Brandeis classroom experience
March 10, 2026
Faculty share their expertise with alumni at events around the world, giving alums the chance to stretch their intellectual muscles.
Ask alumni what they loved most about their time at Brandeis, and they often respond with stories of favorite classes or professors. They might recall the top-notch research that infused the curriculum. Or the intellectual curiosity and lively debate that took place among classmates. Or the inspiring, supportive, and accessible professors.
To recreate the classroom experience, Brandeis brings faculty and their expertise to alumni, friends, and family around the country and the world with its Faculty in the Field series. For a few hours, alumni can stretch their intellectual muscles and connect with fellow alumni, without the stress of homework or final exams.
Alumni get to take a deep dive into all sorts of topics, from women and power in ancient Rome to the business of show business. Faculty aim to be intellectually stimulating, engaging, and even fun. For example, Don Katz, professor of psychology, has talked about his research on taste and perception, including how people know what foods they like to eat.
Events take place at a range of venues, from intimate gatherings at the homes of alumni and parents to places related to the topics at hand. For instance, Michael McGlin, assistant professor of classical and early Mediterranean studies, talked about the spectacle of sport in both the ancient and modern worlds this past December in Los Angeles. With the Olympics as a central theme, the event was held at SoFi Stadium, one of the venues for the 2028 Summer Olympics and home to the Rams and Chargers professional football teams.
Not only did the 100-plus attendees hear a fascinating and timely talk, but they also enjoyed an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium. The venue was spectacular, said McGlin, who also notes that he loves teaching alumni. “They are so engaged — the Q&A was longer than my talk!” he said.
But this didn’t really surprise McGlin, since intellectual curiosity is such a Brandeisian hallmark. “It becomes a character trait that lasts beyond their time on campus,” he said, “and bonds current students and alumni across generations.”
McGlin also was excited to show alumni what Brandeis students are learning and how faculty are expanding the notion of the classroom to include hands-on, experiential elements. “Experiential learning is so key to student engagement and success,” he says, “and it aligns with President Levine’s broader message that a liberal arts education is at its best when students have ‘one foot in the library, and one foot in the street.’”
This coming June, Jonathan D. Sarna ’75, GSAS MA’75, H’25, university professor emeritus, will give a talk related to a special exhibit marking America’s 250th anniversary at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. Sarna, a preeminent historian of the American Jewish experience, is the museum’s chief historian. Elisha Gordan ’25 was a research consultant on the exhibit as well. After the talk, attendees will tour the exhibit, which tells the story of how religious freedom, Jewish trade merchants, and antisemitism converged and impacted the trajectory of the Revolutionary War. Sarna was also the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis.