chair of Afro-American studies at Brandeis later the same year. Ford Hall was demolished in August 2000 to make way for the Shapiro Campus Center, which was opened and dedicated October 3, 2002.
=== Late 20th century: Institutional crisis ===
In the late 1970s, Brandeis faced a major financial crisis as donations from American Jews decreased as they turned toward support for Israel and other causes.
Samuel O. Thier, president from 1991 to 1994, helped to restabilize the university.
In 1998, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl addressed the university as commencement speaker and dedicated the Center for German and European Studies established the previous year.
=== 21st century ===
In January 2007, former President Jimmy Carter spoke at the university against the backdrop of controversy over his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid after being invited by students despite some campus opposition. His speech was followed by a rebuttal remarks from Alan Dershowitz. Later that spring Norman Finkelstein and Daniel Pipes …
