Mathematics Department wins GAANN grant
The Brandeis mathematics department won a $533,000 GAANN (Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need) grant from the Department of Education. The grant was awarded to the mathematics department for three years, and is designed to support four graduate students per year. “The grant has a very defined purpose,” Professor Daniel Ruberman (MATH) said. “It […]
New Chabad house opens
With nearly 2,000 Jewish students on campus, and an active Hillel and lively Chabad house, Brandeis is already a hotbed of Jewish life. Chabad, however, seeks to expand and enrich its presence even further by opening a second house. This new program marks the beginning of the “Bat Mitzvah Year” for Chabad at Brandeis. They […]
Heller PhD candidate founds camp for transgender children
Nicholas Teich, a social worker and doctoral candidate at Brandeis’ Heller School, has founded nonprofit Camp Aranu’tiq, the U.S.’s first and only camp for transgender and gender-variant children aged eight through 15. Teich, who is a transgender male, founded Camp Aranu’tiq in 2010 after making it known that he had decided to begin the gender […]
After tragedy, campus continues to look for answers
Nearly two weeks after Akshay Venkatesh took his own life on campus, just days after classes began, his professors, friends and family said they are still questioning what went wrong with such a passionate and intelligent student, returning to school for his junior year. “I don’t know who reached out to him and who didn’t, […]
Obituary: Venkatesh ’14, driven neuro student, dies at 21
Akshay Venkatesh ’14, a driven and gifted Neuroscience student, died Labor Day weekend; university officials said he appears to have taken his own life. He was 21. He leaves behind his devoted parents, as well as friends who will remember him as intelligent with a wide array of interests. He had just begun his Neuroscience […]
Internship gives student research opportunity
Priyasha Chadha ’15 interned at the North Shore LIJ Health System, both at North Shore University Hospital and LIJ. Alongside other undergraduate, graduate, and even high school students, Chadha was involved in research regarding the emergency room care. She describes the medical topics she explored as an intern, including palliative care, and the psychological effects […]
Graduate students move to historic Waltham Watch Factory
This fall, university officials found a small, yet clever solution to the growing housing crisis by offering eight graduate students housing in Waltham’s historic Watch Factory. These eight graduate students have the unusual luck of being neighbors with university President Frederick Lawrence, who also lives in The Watch Factory, according to a university press release. […]
Waltham man pleads guilty to teen murder
Elhadji Malick Ndiaye, 18, of Waltham, was stabbed to death in a parking lot at Regis College in Weston, Mass., in 2010. This past week, Ndiaye’s murderer, Robenson Daniel, 22, of Boston, pleaded guilty before the Middlesex Superior Court on charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. According to The […]
Second embezzler indicted for condo scheme
A Middlesex County grand jury has indicted a second person for embezzling from Waltham’s Glenmeadow Condominium Association. It is alleged that in 2010 condominium member Lesley Correa stole $350,000 in condominium funds for her personal use. Her ex-husband, Preston Correa of Fitchburg, was indicted this week in connection with the scheme to steal from the […]
Harry Potter Alliance Strives to Apply Literary Values in Real World
The “Harry Potter” books by J.K. Rowling are now being used to perform concrete social justice projects throughout the United States and the world. In an effort to make social justice real for readers everywhere, Brandeis alumnus Andrew Slack ’02 created the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA), a group “that seeks to change the world through […]
First year seminar explores Mafia and social justice
As a new implementation to the curriculum, FYS 48a, “Voicing the Outrage of Silence: Social Justice and the Mafia” explores the glorified image of the mafia created in popular media while bringing to light issues of social justice as the political and violent turmoil associated with organized crime are exposed. The course, which is to […]
Venkatesh found dead in dorm from apparent suicide
Responding to a wellness check requested by his parents, Brandeis police found Akshay Venkatesh ’14 dead from an apparent suicide in his Ziv Quad dorm room Monday morning, university officials said.
News Analysis: Second suicide in two years shocks campus
State police, district attorney staff and medical examiners responding to an apparent suicide filled Brandeis dorm rooms for the second time in less than two years Monday. Junior Akshay Venkatesh’s death rattled the campus community on Labor Day, sending painful reminders to administrators and students in the class of 2014, who lost Kat Sommers ’14 […]
International students’ orientation prepares class of 2016
Brandeis hosts an orientation for new undergraduate international students two days prior to the arrival of domestic students. Run by the Brandeis International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) and the Department of Orientation and the Core Committee, the international student orientation offers students from around the globe a chance to get acclimated with their new […]
Castle to undergo overdue renovation
As students return to Brandeis, they will notice a number of improvements around campus: new sidewalks between the Castle and East, and a new entry floor in the Shapiro Admissions Center. More than 23 bathrooms in East Quad were renovated, and new steam pipes were installed in North Quad. Buildings were made more energy efficient, […]
Brandeis Briefs
Police: Boyfriend attempted murder A 31-year-old Waltham man has been arrested for attempting to murder his girlfriend, police said. Authorities took Brett Savage, of Adams Street, into custody Aug. 22. Savage was engaged in an argument with his partner when he placed his hand over her mouth and nose and punched her in the stomach, […]
Waltham waters alive, swimmers beware
For the majority of the summer, Newton’s Crystal Lake has not been so crystalline. Cyanobacteria, a kind of algae bloom, was detected in the Charles River in Waltham and Weston at the end of July. In addition, two mosquitos were discovered with cases of West Nile Virus in Crystal Lake. Both are dangerous to humans. […]
Improvements ahead for LTS
An extra half a million dollars has been allotted to LTS each year, which should help them recover from the large budget cuts of the economic downturn. John Unsworth, Vice Provost for Library & Technology Services, explained that LTS plans to use the extra funds for continued improvement and library development. A number of projects […]
Former VP Peter French paid 3.2 mil upon leaving
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French received more than $3.2 million in reportable compensation in 2010, in large part because illness forced him to retire earlier than expected, a university spokesman said. His total reportable compensation is listed at $3,225,538 on the university’s 990 form, part of its federal tax filings […]
Sarna discusses Jewish voting on WGBH
There has been a lot of talk of religion during this election cycle, Kara Miller noted on WGBH on Monday. From Mitt Romney’s Mormonism to the evangelical right, theories and predictions have permeated the media. She spoke about the role of Jewish voters in 2012 with Professor Jonathan Sarna (NEJS), a professor of American Jewish […]
