Setting the stage for reflection, renewal, and global perspective

by Provost David Kertzer '69

As a student, alumnus, parent, and faculty member, I have had the opportunity to see Brown from many perspectives, all of which will, in one way or another, inform my work as provost in the coming months and years. Few moments in Brown's past can compare with today as a time of great opportunity to strengthen and transform the University in both its teaching and research missions. I would like to mention here just a couple of areas that should be receiving special attention this year.

Having been at Brown during the creation of the New Curriculum, I can testify that it is no longer "new." Nearly four decades after its adoption it remains, however, a vital part of our identity as an institution and defines some of the bedrock principles of our pedagogical philosophy. The open curriculum helps us to attract outstanding students, gives them opportunities for independence, exploration, and discovery that few of their peers enjoy, and produces graduates who are entrepreneurial critical thinkers, who have, by and large, used their freedom at Brown to shape a liberal education that is both broad and deep.

Within the framework of the open curriculum I expect in the coming year – working closely with Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron – to engage faculty and students in a critical examination of various aspects of the undergraduate academic experience. How well, for example, are students served by our academic advising structure, both in their first semesters at Brown and later through their concentrations? What steps might we take to introduce our students more effectively to the study of rapidly changing fields of science, and to encourage more of them to pursue scientific study and research? How well do the more than 100 concentrations serve our students in defining bodies of knowledge and methods of inquiry that prepare them for postgraduate study, careers, and lives well lived? Are the expectations that we have for student academic performance up to the standards that our extraordinary students deserve? These are some of the questions that I expect us to consider in the months ahead, with the hope of renewing the open curriculum for the coming generation.

A second area that will engage our attention this year, and beyond, is how we can become more of a world university, how we can further promote international education and research. It is imperative that we prepare all of our students to live and to lead in an interdependent world; that we effectively compete on a global stage for the best faculty and students. We must also bring our incredible talents and resources to bear on the world's urgent problems, such as economic development, health, human rights, and environmental change. With President Simmons, faculty and students, and the Corporation, I hope to assess our current strengths, identify areas of weakness, and to shape new approaches both on campus and far beyond College Hill. Building on our long tradition of innovation and collaboration, our dedication to innovative teaching and cutting-edge research, these will help establish our status as a preeminent world university.

These are only two of the areas that will require our attention and our action in the year ahead. I look forward to working with the entire Brown community to address these and others that deserve our attention as we move ever more ambitiously ahead with the Plan for Academic Enrichment.