were invited to speak on campus by separate student groups.
In December 2007 former President Bill Clinton spoke on campus and launched the Eli J. Segal Leadership program.
In 2009, the university faced fundraising challenges in part due to donors affected by the Madoff investment scandal and the 2008 financial crisis, leading to the January 2009 announcement that it planned to close the Rose Art Museum and sell the artwork. A university committee later recommended that the museum stay open and the university then said in 2010 it would seek to raise money by lending out the art, and eventually settled a related lawsuit in June 2011 with the museum remaining open.
In 2014, Brandeis announced it would offer an honorary doctorate to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, "a staunch supporter of women's rights", and an outspoken campaigner against female genital mutilation, honor killing and Islamic extremism in general. After complaints from the Council on American–Islamic Relations and internal consultation with faculty and students, …
