Arthur Levine Installed as Brandeis University President

Nationally Respected Higher Ed Leader Unveiled New Liberal Arts Model Focusing on Career Development

WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Brandeis University on Sept. 16 installed Arthur Levine as its permanent president during a ceremony at the school's Gorman Athletic and Convocation Center.

The installation came days after Levine, as interim president, unveiled a new type of liberal arts education during a forum with higher education and policy leaders at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Levine's "Brandeis Plan to Reinvent the Liberal Arts," which was developed in partnership with the university's faculty, integrates career preparation into every stage of a student's education.

Nationally recognized as a transformational leader in higher education, Levine previously led Columbia University's Teachers College and Bradford College, and chaired the Higher Education Graduate Program and the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. He is a widely respected education researcher whose groundbreaking examinations of preparatory programs for teachers, principals, and superintendents sparked a re-evaluation of training and support methods.

The Brandeis Plan – the redesign of academic structures and degree programs announced by Levine last week -- will include required internships or apprenticeships for students, sustained career counseling, and a core curriculum built around skills that employers value most. The plan also seeks to make teaching more experiential and practical and introduces new ways to measure student learning over time.

"We are living through a time of extraordinary change across technology, the economy, and society," Levine said. "Today's students need more than knowledge. They need the skills, experiences, and confidence to lead in a world we cannot yet predict. We are advancing a new model. We need reinvention. And that is exactly what Brandeis is establishing."

Brandeis's trustees, who were present for Levine's installation as president, are investing $25 million to expand internships and career opportunities, support faculty in redesigned programs, and launch a Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts. The center will drive innovation across the Brandeis curriculum to prepare students for the seismic technological, economic, and societal changes underway globally.

Brandeis is partnering with ETS, a global education and talent solution organization, to support students from career education to job placement. Notably, the collaboration will support the creation of a "second transcript" for students highlighting and verifying their achievements and competencies.

Levine was named interim president at Brandeis in November 2024. A 1970 Brandeis graduate, he has dedicated his career to advancing higher education and helping institutions fulfill their mission.

As president of Teachers College, Columbia University, from 1994 to 2006, Levine reoriented the school's mission with a focus on closing the equity gap in American education and launched what became the Center for Educational Equity. He oversaw the largest and most successful capital campaign conducted by a school of education to date, as well as significant investments in the campus, a reorganization of the academic departments, and faculty growth.

As President of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (now the Institute for Citizens & Scholars) from 2006 to 2019, Levine greatly expanded the organization's reach and impact. Under his leadership, the Foundation launched a fellowship program that collaborated with 31 universities in six states to recruit and prepare STEM teachers for careers in high-need schools.

He is the author of 13 books, most recently co-authoring "The Great Upheaval: Higher Education's Past, Present, and Uncertain Future" with University of Pennsylvania researcher Scott Van Pelt. Levine has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Politico, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Inside Higher Education.

Levine earned his PhD in sociology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Among other honors, Levine has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and been awarded fellowships by the Carnegie, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and Rockefeller Foundations. He has received honorary doctorate degrees from 26 universities.

SOURCE Brandeis University