Chancellor Stephen Robert has pledged a $5-million gift to the University and, in the course of three weeks, has secured verbal commitments from other friends of Brown that total $30 million, gifts that Robert has characterized as "a sign of confidence" in the University and its core priorities.
The announcement, made by President Sheila Blumstein at the March 7 faculty meeting, was met with prolonged applause and a unanimous vote of appreciation for Robert's efforts.
The faculty meeting was the first chaired by Blumstein in her new role as interim president. She took the opportunity to thank the faculty for their confidence and support, and gave credit to the faculty and the senior administration for what she termed a "smooth transition."
Transitions were the theme of a report presented by Luiz Valente, vice chairman of the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) and associate professor of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies. He characterized as "very uncomfortable" a meeting the FEC leadership had on Feb. 16 with former President Gee, then reported on a Feb. 24 meeting held with Robert and Vice Chancellor Marie Langlois concerning the search for Brown's 18th president. At that meeting, Robert "assured us that ...he wants the faculty to participate actively and fully" in the search process, Valente said.
Later in the meeting, John Hermance, professor of geological science and chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee on Computers (FACC), presented the results of an informal survey of faculty opinion about Brown's computing and information services. "A broad segment of the community could benefit" from upgraded services, he said. Student expectations about the computational environment are "highly sophisticated," but Brown has lost its cutting-edge advantage in this area. "It is your obligation to request high-quality service from Brown in the name of students," he told the faculty. "Don Wolfe [vice president of computing and information services] needs a push from the faculty that this area is important."
Along those lines, a faculty forum on distance learning will be held April 18. The forum is sponsored by the FACC and by Wolfe.
In other business, the faculty approved an amendment to the Faculty Rules and Regulations that will broaden the membership to the FACC, and voted its approval for establishing a Program in Fetal Medicine. The proposal for the program will be forwarded to the Academic Council.