In an email to the Brandeis community Friday afternoon, President Frederick M. Lawrence announced he would be stepping down as the university’s president at the end of this academic year. After serving as president for five years, Lawrence stated he will be taking a position teaching as a senior research scholar at Yale Law School. Lisa Lynch, the current provost and the former dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis, has been named interim president, effective July 1, 2015, according to a press release from Bill Schaller, executive director of integrated media. This week’s issue of The Brandeis Hoot will feature an article on Lawrence’s departure.