In the ever-growing metaphorical forest of Brandeis family trees, there may not be one that stands any taller than Erlich-Rosen-Fried.

After all, William and Mary Erlich’s three children are Brandeis graduates (two of whom married fellow students) and five of their grandchildren either graduated from or currently attend the University. That’s a total of 10 Brandeisians in just two generations.

So when Cheryl (Erlich) ’81 and Richard Rosen ’80, P ’10 made a generous gift to endow a scholarship at their alma mater, there was little doubt about what to name the fund; the William and Mary Erlich, P ’75, P ’78, P ’81, G ’07, G ’09, G ’10, G ’10, G ’12 Endowed Scholarship Fund was born.

“My parents are Holocaust survivors who lost everything and were denied an education,” Cheryl said. “Upon coming to this country, the most important thing to them was all of us getting a great education. So many members of our family have gotten so much from Brandeis that it just seemed like the right thing to do to honor my parents with a living legacy.”

• Brief video highlighting the importance of scholarship support.

“These are unbelievable people who sacrificed everything for their children,” Richard said of his in-laws. “We always had in the back of our minds that we wanted to recognize their generosity, hard work, and dedication in some way.”

Mutual friends introduced Cheryl (an American studies major) and Richard (economics) to each other during the spring of 1979. They started dating that fall and were married in 1983. To this day, they stay in close contact with their Brandeis friends.

“For both of us, our dearest lifelong friends are people we met at Brandeis,” Cheryl said. “Brandeis has always been about the people.”

Through the experiences of their son Adam, a Brandeis senior, the Rosens have discovered that the values that make Brandeis unique have changed little since they were students.

“The culture of Brandeis is the same,” said Richard, a portfolio manager at Seligman Investments. “You receive an education with a moral and religious grounding that prepares you for the real world. You walk away with a set of values of decency and fairness. At Brandeis, everybody matters and everybody counts. After four years of that, it stays with you for the rest of your life.”

Adam, a sociology major, has followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming involved with WBRS. Adam serves as the sports director of the campus radio station and, just as Richard did, he is an announcer for WBRS baseball and basketball broadcasts.

“The clubs are welcoming, open, and non-judgmental,” Richard said. “They give you a chance to do what you want to do and be who you want to be.”

The Rosens, who consistently make gifts to the Annual Fund, understand that alumni support of the University is crucial for its continued success.

“Giving to Brandeis is not about the size of the gift, it’s about giving back,” Richard said. “You don’t have to give $5 million or $10 million. If all alumni gave what they could, it would really benefit the University.”

“It’s great to be able to depend on the big donors, but the bottom line is that when times are tough and you can afford it, you have to step up to the plate,” Cheryl said.