On April 18, Brandeis President Ron Liebowitz sent out an email to the Brandeis community, detailing the results of the April Board of Trustees meeting. In this email, Liebowitz revealed that student tuition, room and board will be raised for the 2025 fiscal year.
According to Liebowitz, the current forecasts for the 2024 fiscal year include an operational deficit of $2 million. Therefore, the board of trustees approved “an increase in the endowment spend rate and the tuition, room and board rates (4.25%)” for 2025. Liebowitz stated that “With that budgetary guidance, the university can consider how to address its revenue projections.”
The unviersity’s website states that the price of the current total fees paid by students, including tuition, room and board, is $89,824. A 4.25% increase in this value is $93,641, an increase of $3,817. The website also gives the predicted cost of living off campus at $83,193, which under the new budget would be $86,728.
Plans for the construction of a new residence hall, which had been discussed at previous Board of Trustees meetings and in previous email updates, were also elaborated on. According to Liebowitz, this hall is planned to be the largest ever constructed on Brandeis. The university is currently “identifying an architect and construction manager, with a selection committee headed by Vice President for Campus Planning and Operations Lois Stanley and Vice President of Student Affairs Andrea Dine”. Liebowitz announced that the construction phase is expected to last two years and the residence hall will be finished in fall 2027. Liebowitz continued, “As part of this discussion, the Board approved the debt financing sufficient to pay for the building construction.“
Liebowitz stated that “Provost Carol Fierke and I spoke at length with the Board about changes to our administrative and organizational structure to address such challenges. For example, we discussed the initial success of the Provost’s Finance Office and the Provost’s Advisory Council.” The Provost’s Finance Office, according to Liebowitz, “brings together senior financial managers from across the entire Academy into a single, unified team – demonstrating how important decision-making efficiencies can be realized while continuing to provide needed support to the schools by bringing together staff.”
Also, Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid Jennifer Walker “provided information about trends in application volume at public vs private institutions, noting that public institutions have experienced the greatest application growth. She also shared information about market data pertaining to international applications and standardized tests.”
Liebowitz also announced that “we are on target to exceed this year’s fundraising goal, set last spring. Brandeis has received three new endowed professorships, and achieved a four-year high for unrestricted cash giving, excluding Giving DEIS Day, which was postponed in October due to the October 7th attack on Israel. The comprehensive Campaign quiet phase is proceeding on schedule and fundraising is on track with projections to meet our goals.”
Four Brandeis faculty members were promoted during the board meetings. Sarah Mayorga from the Sociology department and Raphael Scholne from the Economics department were promoted to Professor with Tenure, and Sheida Soleimani from Fine Arts and Hannah Snyder from Psychology were promoted to Assistant Professor with Tenure.
