University Archives

The University Archives serves academic research and scholarship by collecting, providing access to, and publicizing its archival collections to the University and larger research communities. Through reference assistance, classroom education, public exhibitions, and community outreach, the Archives promotes the importance of its collections in documenting and facilitating research on the unique history and mission of Brandeis University.

The University Archives is named for the late Robert D. Farber (1948-1995). Farber received his bachelor's degree in studio arts from Brandeis University in 1970 and became a successful painter. Two of Farber's paintings are on permanent exhibit at the Archives.

The Unique History of Brandeis University

Brandeis University (est. 1948) is the first and only Jewish-sponsored, nonsectarian institution of higher learning in the United States. Its founders embraced a firm commitment to social justice and renounced discrimination based on race, creed, or ethnic origin. Though a relatively young university, Brandeis has a rich and noteworthy history. For this reason, in addition to serving internal information needs, our collections are utilized by researchers interested in a great array of subjects.

From its inception, Brandeis University has attracted many leading scholars, intellectuals, creative artists, and innovators to its doors. The first master plan was designed by Eero Saarinen, and the second by Max Abramovitz. These renowned architects transformed a bucolic campus, with a horse stable for a library, into a distinctive modernist landscape. Early faculty members included Leonard Bernstein, Irving Howe, Max Lerner, Herbert Marcuse, Abraham Maslow, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Guest speakers such as Angela Davis (class of 1965), Robert Frost, Martha Graham, David Ben-Gurion, Martin Luther King, Jr., Margaret Mead, and the Dalai Lama have visited the campus.