$25 million gift to Brandeis University from David and Karen Richards Sachs is the latest chapter in a multigenerational effort to widen the doors of opportunity

The largest single alumni gift in Brandeis University’s history began, as so many acts of enduring generosity do, with a family story.

For trustee Karen Richards Sachs, a $25 million commitment to her alma mater—made together with her husband, investor and philanthropist David A. Sachs—is less a headline-making transaction than the latest chapter in a multigenerational effort to widen the doors of opportunity and strengthen the communities that shaped them.

Announced during the 2026 Commencement weekend, the gift honors Karen’s late mother, Dorothy “Dot” Richards, and crystallizes a philanthropic journey spanning education, political engagement, and a deep belief in the power of institutions to heal a fractured world.

The gift will transform student life at Brandeis by creating the Dorothy Richards Campus Commons, a new gathering space affectionately known as “The Dot,” adjacent to the residence hall complex now under construction.

Conceived as an open and accessible hub for the entire student body, the Commons will provide a welcoming home for conversation, collaboration, and community—the kinds of encounters that shape undergraduates long after they leave campus.

A portion of the commitment will also establish “The Dot Experience,” expanding student programming at the Commons and across campus, from pop‑up seasonal events and carnivals to the potential launch of “Club Dot,” a campus café designed as a relaxed forum for connection and ideas.

In both name and spirit, the project reflects Karen’s determination to extend her mother’s belief in intellectual life and community into the daily rhythm of Brandeis students for generations to come.

That belief was forged long before Karen ever arrived in Waltham.

Dorothy Richards came of age at a time when antisemitic quotas and informal barriers kept talented Jewish students out of many universities, even as they longed to participate fully in American higher education.

She was captivated by the founding of Brandeis in 1948, the same year that the State of Israel was established, seeing in the new university a bold statement: that an institution founded by the Jewish community could be both proudly rooted in Jewish values and unflinchingly committed to educating those who felt “othered.”

Though financial constraints made it impossible for her to attend, Brandeis represented the kind of opportunity she wished had been within reach — and the kind of institution she wanted to see flourish.

In Los Angeles, Dorothy channeled that admiration into action as chapter president of the Brandeis National Committee, the volunteer network that raises funds and awareness for the university through education and community engagement.

Her leadership there became an early template for family philanthropy: modest in means but expansive in ambition, grounded in service and guided by a conviction that learning and inclusion could move society forward.

For Karen, watching her mother pour time and energy into the university she never attended was a formative lesson in what it means to support an institution not just with money but with heart, voice, and sustained commitment.

When Karen arrived at Brandeis as an undergraduate, those values quickly found a home. Studying politics, she immersed herself in the university’s tradition of social engagement and its emphasis on “repairing the world,” a concept that would become a touchstone in her adult life.

She credits Brandeis with shaping her vision of who she wanted to be: someone who would leave the world better than she found it, and who would see education as a central tool in that work. That orientation led her first into national politics—as a caucus field organizer for the Walter Mondale presidential campaign—and then into broadcast journalism, where she earned awards as a reporter, anchor, and producer.

Later, in public affairs roles with television icon Norman Lear and for Ted Field and The Interscope Group, she helped establish and oversee a multimillion‑dollar program of political and charitable giving, deepening her understanding of how strategic philanthropy and advocacy could combine to drive social change.

Those professional experiences honed an approach to giving that has always been about more than writing checks. Karen saw firsthand how collective action — volunteers, donors, advocates, and institutions working in concert — could multiply the impact of individual generosity.

As she and David built their family’s philanthropic life, they leaned into that insight, looking for opportunities where their support could catalyze others and strengthen the infrastructure of civic life.

Their early commitment to Brandeis took the form of the Dorothy Richards Endowed Scholarship, which supports students with the intellectual drive, but not always the financial means, to pursue an education. That scholarship has carried her mother’s belief in overlooked talent into the lives of students whose circumstances mirror, in important ways, the barriers Dorothy herself faced.

David’s own career has unfolded in the world of finance and institutional leadership, where questions of stewardship and long‑term impact are a constant preoccupation. As partner and vice chair of Los Angeles‑based Ares Management and as a board leader across several Ares‑related funds, he has helped guide complex organizations through changing markets and evolving expectations.

A graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in industrial engineering and management science, he has continued to serve his alma mater on its executive committee and board of trustees.

That pattern — build, then give back; benefit from an institution, then help sustain it — has become another strand in the Sachs family’s philanthropic DNA.

Their support for Brandeis sits alongside a broader commitment to educational and civic institutions that, in their view, anchor democratic societies and equip young people to navigate an increasingly volatile world.

The decision to deepen their engagement with Brandeis in such a visible and historic way was catalyzed by a painful contemporary moment.

In the aftermath of the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, Karen found herself asking what more she could do to confront rising antisemitism and support the institutions that embody the values she and her family hold dear.

That period of reflection led her back to Brandeis, whose founding ethos—a Jewish-rooted university committed to inclusion, critical inquiry, and justice—felt newly urgent.

The 2026 gift, in that sense, is both backward‑looking and forward‑facing: an expression of gratitude for what Brandeis gave her, a tribute to her mother’s unrealized dream, and a statement of faith in the university’s role in educating the next generation to stand against hatred and for a more just world.

In envisioning what this gift should make possible, Karen returned to the themes that have animated her family’s giving all along: intellectualism, community, and the belief that spaces matter.

She imagined a commons where students could gather for speakers and performances, organize around political and social causes, and simply spend time in one another’s company—a place where activism and reflection, debate and belonging, could coexist under one roof.

“The Dot” is designed to be that kind of space, one where students learn not only in classrooms but in conversation, where they test ideas, discover new perspectives, and begin to understand their own power to change the world in an environment that challenges and supports them in equal measure.

Brandeis President Arthur Levine has described the Sachs family’s gift as embodying “the very best of Brandeis — its love of learning, its sense of community, and its enduring belief that education can change lives.”

That assessment captures not only the impact of the new Commons and its programming but also the arc of the Sachs family’s philanthropy to date. Over decades, their giving has been marked by a consistent throughline: support the institutions that shaped them, honor the people who inspired them, and invest in experiences that help others find their voice and vocation.

From Dorothy Richards’ leadership in the Brandeis National Committee to the endowed scholarship that bears her name to this transformative investment in the future of student life, each chapter builds on the last.

For Brandeis, the gift arrives at a time when universities are being asked to do more than ever — to foster belonging, defend free inquiry, and prepare students to navigate political and social turmoil with courage and nuance.

For the Sachs family, it is a continuation of a deeply personal journey that began with a young woman in Los Angeles who once dreamed of attending a new university she could not afford and a daughter who grew up determined to open doors for others.

As “The Dot” comes to life on campus in the years ahead, the Commons will stand as a visible testament to that journey: a living, breathing embodiment of a family’s belief that philanthropy, at its best, is about creating spaces—physical, intellectual, and moral—where the next generation can imagine and build a better world.