Brandeis Alumni, Family and Friends

Donor Stories

March 7, 2024

Bruce Litwer ‘61 and his wife Vicki want to create a ripple of new opportunities for students who need financial aid.

April 12, 2023

Richard Rosenberg, former CEO of Bank of America and benefactor to the International Business School, is remembered.

February 3, 2023

In this second installment from his book "Overruled Mr. Bernstein! Sometimes Down But Never Out," Jules Bernstein ’57 remembers a few of the great minds at Brandeis who influenced his life.

February 3, 2023

Elizabeth Alexander ’67 gives back in honor of cherished faculty mentor.

December 31, 2022

Jules Bernstein ’57 cements his Brandeis legacy with a new bequest. And in a new collection of personal essays, the labor lawyer reflects on Brandeis’ early years, and his own.

November 29, 2022

This Brandeisian lineage has deep roots.

November 2, 2022

Members of the Coburn family, whose allegiance to Brandeis is seven alumni strong, share what Brandeis means to them and why they give back.

October 14, 2022

New gathering space on campus honors the memory of Barbra Barth Feldman ’86.

July 19, 2022

Civil rights attorney Laura Wolf ’08 is giving Brandeis students opportunities her grandmother didn't have.

April 14, 2022

How the efforts of the Brandeis National Committee are evolving to meet the current needs of the university.

April 14, 2022

The story behind the founding and purpose of the Brandeis National Committee in the 1940s.

April 14, 2022

Behind the notorious trial of Leo Frank in 1915 and the letters and archives held by Brandeis that help to tell his story.

March 3, 2022

Retired businessman Bob Mallet established the Robert and Toni Mallet Endowed Scholarship with a $1 million gift. The scholarship provides financial assistance to undergraduate business students who have a commitment to the Jewish community.

December 21, 2021

Since his time at Brandeis, Donald Soffer ’54 has realized his business vision and inspired students that have come after him.

November 15, 2021

For scholarship recipient Peter Agaba, MA’20, a lifelong passion for learning led him to Brandeis. Now he’s giving back to his home village in Uganda by supporting the next generation of students

November 15, 2021

Klodeta Janaqi’s childhood dream of studying in the U.S. was out of reach. Then the Peter Petri Global Fellowship changed everything. “Donors should know they are making many people’s dreams come true,” says the MBA’21 graduate.

October 7, 2021

The late Professor Robert Stevenson “was pivotal in my life,” says Elaine Yamaguchi ’71. She hopes the fund will provide career guidance as well as support for research.

September 17, 2021

Classically-trained pianist Benjamin Schore ’56 had success in real estate and a long-standing commitment to the arts.

September 17, 2021

Angela Self ’22 is researching why so many young Americans are leaving Christianity behind.

September 14, 2021

Matthew Ginsburg and Joanna Fung, parents of Anna Ginsburg ’21, honor her grandparents and their reverence for education with a gift to Brandeis.

July 27, 2021

Proud alumni Ira and Nancy Shapiro, both Class of 1969, support Brandeis to honor all that makes the university great.

June 9, 2021

Former Traquina Scholar Shekeyla Caldwell Sandore ’14 turned her childhood experience into a children's book to promote diversity and inclusion.

April 27, 2021

Exceptional graduates of Waltham High School express gratitude to the Stroum Family Foundation for the opportunity to attend Brandeis with full scholarships

April 2, 2021

The alumni of the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program hail the impact it had on their lives.

January 21, 2021

How a chance book recommendation triggered a guilty reminder of an interaction that Mike Leiderman ’66 had with a Brandeis benefactor half a century ago.

December 10, 2020

Sixteen years after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 took her husband’s life, Ariele Cohen ’99 says the friendships they made through Brandeis have helped keep his memory alive.

November 13, 2020

Political scientist Sandy Lakoff ’53, a member of Brandeis’ second graduating class, says he established a charitable gift annuity to help the university flourish.

July 21, 2020

Brandeis parent Sharon Himeno of Honolulu, Hawaii, shares why she's proud to have two daughters carrying on the Brandeis tradition.

July 15, 2020

The Edelstein Family Foundation continues to fulfill the mission of its founders - to offer the gift of an education to deserving students.

July 1, 2020

Stephen J. Cloobeck ’83 says his Brandeis studies in neuroscience and psychology helped lead to his remarkable business achievements. Now the former CEO and chairman of Diamond Resorts International is donating $1 million that will aid Brandeisians’ efforts to shed light on human intelligence.

September 18, 2019

Bonded by the shared experience of the campus unrest of the 1960s, the Class of 1969 wanted their 50th Reunion class gift to support social justice efforts.

March 11, 2019

The philanthropist, humanitarian and noted photographer delivered a talk at Brandeis to mark the publication of her new photobook, ”Beyond the Shadows: The Holocaust and the Danish Exception."

November 7, 2018

Whether serving as a leader in the Brandeis National Committee or joining the Sachar Legacy Society by including the university in her estate plans, Dr. Susan Eisenberg Jay ’71 has been deeply committed to supporting Brandeis for decades.

September 17, 2018

By taking advantage of her employer's matching program, Yoanna (Freedman) Rofeh ’11 doubles the impact of her giving to Brandeis while honoring her personal religious philosophy.

February 27, 2018

Seymour S. (“Sy”) Bluestone carried a calling card that included his name, contact information and two words: “One World.”

December 14, 2017

Michael Rosen ’59 looks back on his Brandeis acceptance as a pivotal turning point in his life.

April 1, 2017

Over 40 years after his graduation, Rabbi Herb Tobin ’75, P’16 and his wife amended their wills to further support the fund they established more than a decade ago.

April 1, 2017

Many universities claim that their students have unsurpassed access to leading faculty members, both in and out of the classroom. Mark Friedman, P’14, can attest that at Brandeis the assertion is not mere promotional fluff.

January 20, 2017

It took time for Tom Watanabe ’73 to fully comprehend how much the gift of a Wien scholarship had changed his life.

June 23, 2016

Inspired by program founder Lawrence Wien, Tom Watanabe ’73 makes generous gift to Brandeis.

April 29, 2016

Retired gaming industry executive establishes endowed scholarship.

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