On June 9, Board of Trustees Chair Lisa Kranc ’75 sent an email to the Brandeis community to announce the start of the search for Brandeis’ next president. The process will consist of a Presidential Search Committee and a Presidential Search Advisory Council. The Presidential Search Committee is chaired by trustee Cynthia Shapira and vice chaired by trustee Adam Rifkin ’97. The Presidential Search Committee consists primarily of trustees, with some faculty members as well. President Arthur Levine will serve as a special advisor to the Presidential Search Committee. The Presidential Search Advisory Council provides members of the Brandeis community with a chance to provide input on the presidential search process and consists of alumni, staff, and students. The committee will also be assisted by Heidrich & Struggles, an executive search firm.
Brandeis has published a position specification for the role of president, which is available on the Brandeis website. According to that position specification, “Brandeis University seeks a decisive, forward-looking President to lead the institution at a defining moment for higher education. Building on renewed momentum and the Brandeis Plan to Reinvent the Liberal Arts, the next President will advance a clear institutional vision that strengthens Brandeis as a leading research university committed to academic excellence while honoring its founding by the American Jewish community.” The salary for the next president is expected to exceed one million dollars annually.
Current President Arthur Levine stepped into the role on an interim basis in November 2024 following the resignation of former President Ron Liebowitz. In July 2025, the Board of Trustees voted to remove the interim designation and extend Levine’s term as president through July 2027. Levine was officially inducted as president during a September 2025 ceremony. During Levine’s term as president, he has developed a plan to reinvent liberal arts education. This has included creating four undergraduate colleges modeled after the university’s graduate program, the introduction of microcredentials, and guiding Brandeis into the age of artificial intelligence.
