Last day to add Module II courses
Audience: Current Students.
Monday, March 23, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Navigating Asset Management: Reflections on Leadership and the Outlook Ahead
Please join us on Wednesday, March 25th at 4:00 P.M. for an engaging fireside chat where panelists will reflect on their personal career journeys—sharing pivotal moments, lessons learned, and the experiences that shaped their paths to leadership within two of the world’s leading asset management firms.
Panelists
Steve Klar
President and Managing Partner
Wellington Management
Gary S. Shedlin
Vice Chairman
BlackRock
Moderators
Professor Philippe Wells Ain Family Professor of the Practice in Entrepreneurship
Brandeis School of Business & Economics
Katherine Hsu ‘26
President
Brandeis Investment Club.
Room: Lee Hall (Lemberg 180). Event Contact: Kim Airasian. Audience: Alumni & Friends. Current Students. Faculty. Prospective Students. Staff. Registration/Access information: https://brandeis.joinhandshake.com/events/1924043/share_preview.
Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:05 PM.
Last day for graduate students to change grading basis for semester courses to audit (instructor's permission required)
Audience: Current Students. Faculty.
Monday, March 30, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Last day to drop semester courses
Audience: Current Students.
Monday, March 30, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Last day to request a medical underload
Audience: Current Students. Faculty.
Monday, March 30, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Global Markets Investment Club (GMIC) Meeting
Event Contact: gmic@brandeis.edu. Event Host/Office: Academic Affairs and Student Experience. Audience: Current Students. Faculty. Staff.
Monday, March 30, 2026, 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM.
International Hall.
Entrepreneur's Forum: Doug Rauch, Former President of Trader Joe's
Doug Rauch Chairman, former President of Trader Joe's will be joining the Entrepreneur’s Forum to speak about his successful career in retail and entrepreneurship.
Doug spent 31 years with Trader Joe’s Company, the last 14 years as a President, helping grow the business from a small, nine-store chain in Southern California, to a nationally acclaimed retail success story. He developed their prized buying philosophy, created their unique private label food program, and wrote and executed the Business Plan for expanding Trader Joe’s nationally. He graduated from Trader Joe’s in 2008.
Doug is also the Founder/President of Daily Table, an innovative non-profit retail solution tackling the issue of hunger/obesity by utilizing the excess, high quality, nutritious food that would otherwise be wasted. Daily Table offers tasty, nutritious grab-n-go meals and groceries at affordable prices to the food insecure (49 million Americans) in our inner cities in a manner that delivers dignity and economic sustainability.
Jo…
Room: Lemberg 180 (Lee Hall). Event Contact: Kimberly Airasian. Event Host/Office: Development and Alumni Relations. Audience: Alumni & Friends. Current Students. Faculty. Prospective Students. Staff.
Tuesday, March 31, 2026, 3:55 PM – 5:00 PM.
Measuring the Carbon Footprint of the Brandeis Endowment: An Art and a Science
How do you measure the carbon footprint of an endowment? A discussion about climate change and institutional investing with members of Brandeis University’s Office of Investment Management.
Moderator:
Philippe Wells
Ain Family Professor of the Practice in Entrepreneurship
Brandeis School of Business & Economics
Panelists:
Tarek Saghir
Chief Investment Officer, Brandeis University Office of Investment Management
Emily Williams
Senior Investment Analyst, Brandeis University Office of Investment Management.
Room: Lee Hall (Lemberg 180). Event Contact: kairasian@brandeis.edu. Audience: Alumni & Friends. Current Students. Faculty. Prospective Students. Staff.
Tuesday, March 31, 2026, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM.
Lee Hall.
Passover: No university exercises
Audience: Current Students.
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 – Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Tokenization and Stablecoins: The Next Phase of Digital Finance
This panel is part of an Professor Bergstresser's Investments and Portfolio Management (FIN 205a) class.
Digital assets are becoming increasingly important in the financial system. In this panel, experts will discuss recent innovations such as tokenization, which enables real-world assets or claims on assets to be converted into digital tokens, and stablecoins, cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value.
The discussion will explore how these innovations may reshape the traditional financial system and what types of regulatory frameworks may be needed to address emerging risks and opportunities. Panelists will also examine the potential impact of the GENIUS Act and discuss how industry participants are developing strategies in response to these developments.
Panelists:
Steve Cecchetti
Rosen Family Chair in International Finance
Brandeis School of Business & Economics
Pia McCusker '92, MSF'00
Sr. Managing Director,
Global Head of Credit Research for Fixed Income Solutions
State Street Investment…
Location: Sachar International Center. Room: International Hall. Event Contact: Kimberly Airasian. Audience: Alumni & Friends. Current Students. Faculty. Prospective Students. Staff.
Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 2:20 PM – 3:40 PM.
Breaking Barriers: Networking and Career Success for Women
When former vice president Mike Pence famously remarked that he would never dine alone with
a woman other than his wife, the comment underscored how social norms can inadvertently
restrict women’s access to professional networking opportunities. Yet networking remains
essential for career advancement.
A well-known heuristic from critical mass theory suggests that members of an underrepresented
group begin to feel more comfortable and exert meaningful influence only once they reach
roughly 30% representation. However, in many areas of business, women lag far below this
threshold. For example, women comprise only about 10% of mutual fund managers and sell-side
analysts.
In this panel discussion, Brandeis alumni Pia McCusker '92, MSF'00, Senior Managing Director at State
Street Investment Management, and Deb Shufrin '93, Chief Investment Officer at Colby College,
will share practical strategies for navigating these challenges, building strong professional
networks, and advancing in industries where women conti…
Location: Shapiro Campus Center. Room: Multipurpose Room (Second Floor). Event Contact: Kimberly Airasian. Audience: Alumni & Friends. Current Students. Faculty. Prospective Students. Staff.
Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM.
Last day for graduate students to change grading option of Module II courses to audit (instructor's permission required)
Audience: Current Students. Faculty.
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Last day to drop Module II courses
Audience: Current Students. Faculty.
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Patriots Day: Classes in session, staff holiday (floating)
Audience: Faculty. Current Students.
Monday, April 20, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
2026 Asper Center for Global Entrepreneurship Award Ceremony Honoring Barry Levin, Chairman & CEO, Snak King
Please join us on Thursday, April 23, 2026 as we honor Barry Levin, Chairman & CEO, Snak King with the 2026 Asper Award for Global Entrepreneurship. Location TBA.
Tentative Schedule
4:00 P.M. - 4:15 P.M. - Asper Student Startup Prizes
4:15 P.M. - 5:15 P.M. - Asper Global Entrepreneurship Award
5:15 P.M. - 6:00 P.M. - Reception (Dessert will be served).
Location: Wasserman Cinematheque. Event Contact: Kimberly Airasian. Audience: Alumni & Friends. Current Students. Faculty. Prospective Students. Staff.
Thursday, April 23, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
Brandeis Thursday: Thursday class schedule in effect
Audience: Current Students. Faculty.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Last day of instruction. Last day to voluntarily withdraw from the term (written notification required)
Audience: Current Students. Faculty.
Wednesday, April 29, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Study day
Audience: Current Students.
Thursday, April 30, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Final examination period
Audience: Current Students.
Friday, May 1, 2026 – Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
Grades for May degree recipients due
Audience: Current Students. Faculty.
Sunday, May 10, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Department degree meetings
Audience: Faculty.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Faculty meeting
Audience: Faculty.
Thursday, May 14, 2026, 2:00 PM.
Graduate Students Commencement
Audience: Current Students. Faculty. Staff.
Sunday, May 17, 2026, 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
All other spring term grades due
Audience: Current Students. Faculty.
Thursday, May 21, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
**Shavuot
** This Jewish holiday begins at sundown of the previous evening listed, and ends at nightfall of the last day listed on the academic calendar.
Audience: Current Students. Faculty. Staff.
Friday, May 22, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Memorial Day: Staff holiday
Audience: Staff.
Monday, May 25, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Summer School: first day of instruction
Audience: Current Students. Faculty.
Monday, June 1, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
First day to apply for August graduation
Audience: Current Students.
Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
All work for spring term 2026 incompletes due to instructors
Audience: Faculty.
Monday, June 15, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Juneteenth: No university exercises, staff holiday
Audience: Staff. Faculty. Current Students.
Friday, June 19, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Grades replacing spring term 2026 incompletes due
Audience: Current Students. Faculty.
Monday, June 22, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.
Last day to apply for August graduation
Audience: Current Students.
Monday, June 22, 2026, 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM.