February 14, 2003

Brandeis U. Provost Quits; Nobelist to Lead Rockefeller U.; Florida Atlantic U. Hires State's Lieutenant Governor as President

By SCOTT SMALLWOOD and MEGAN ROONEY

QUICK EXIT: Three months after becoming provost of Brandeis University, in 2001, Melvin Bernstein was praised by the president because he "quickly fit in." But little more than a year later, he is suddenly leaving -- with just two days' notice -- and the only explanation is, essentially, that he no longer fits.

The news caught the campus off-guard last month, when President Jehuda Reinharz announced by e-mail that Mr. Bernstein would step down. The statement was brief and