"Truth, even unto its innermost parts."
The
motto of Brandeis University, written in
Hebrew as well as
English on the school
seal, aptly represents the research goals of this notable young college as well as its traditional Jewish cultural background. Brandeis is, in fact, the only nonsectarian
Jewish-sponsored
college or
university in the
United States, and about 50% of its students are
Jewish. However, the student body is rather diverse, representing 46
states and 101
countries (figures from the 2001-2002 school year).
Brandeis is also one of the finest
research universities in America. Having joined Association of American Universities (a group that represents 59 of the United States and Canada's top research universities) in 1985, Brandeis has since been compared to
Johns Hopkins when it comes to the quality of research performed by
professors, researchers, graduate students, and even undergraduates. Some notable institutions on
campus include the Volen Center for Complex Studies (focusing on
neuroscience,
computer science and
AI, and related subjects), the Heller School for Social Policy and Management (ranked among the nation's top ten schools for social policy by U.S. News & World Report), The Hadassah International Research Institute on Jewish Women (the only academic research center of its kind in the world), the Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation
Laboratory (home to one of two existing rotating rooms used to study the effects of
space travel for
NASA), and many others.
Brandeis was founded in 1948, named after
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. The university is now home away from home to approximately 3,000
undergraduates and 1,300
graduate students who are pursuing
degrees in the 34
fields of concentration and 19 interdisciplinary programs as well as, perhaps, one of the 22
minors offered by the university. Some of the most popular fields of study are
biology and
economics, though the school is extremely strong in all the natural sciences, as well as the humanities (especially the
Near Eastern and Judaic Studies program... not too surprising, eh?).
Brandeis students tend toward
liberal political activism, with groups like the Prison Reform Action Committee,
Students for Environmental Action, and Brandeis Students Against the
Death Penalty flourishing alongside the typical
a cappella groups and
sports clubs. Brandeis sports teams compete as the Brandeis Judges, by the way, dressed in the school colors of navy and white and led by the mascot, an
owl creatively named "Ollie." There are also plenty of
service clubs (a notable one being the Waltham Group) and student publications (the largest being
The Justice, a campus
newspaper) for those who like to get involved with their
community.
The 235 acre campus is located in
Waltham, Massachusetts, a
suburb of the greater
Boston metropolitan area that sits about a 25 minute
commuter rail ride from destinations in Boston or
Cambridge. The university also provides a free shuttle service to
Harvard Square and Beacon St. / Mass. Ave. on weekends for all students. Student hangouts on campus include the Usdan Student Center, the brand new Shapiro Campus Center, and student-run coffeehouse Cholmondeley's (rumored to be the basis of Central Perk in the sitcom "
Friends" -- creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane both went to Brandeis).
Famous Brandeis
alumni include activist
Abbie Hoffman, 2003
Nobel laureate in
Chemistry Roderick MacKinnon,
Playboy CEO Christie Hefner, actress
Debra Messing, as well as countless doctors, lawyers, professionals, and even university presidents (like Eugene Tobin, president of
Hamilton College, who studied History of American Civilization at Brandeis for both his M.A. and his Ph.D.).
Information gathered from http://www.brandeis.edu/ and special guest informant Inkoate.