A Providence Journal editorial praises Brown’s decision to contribute an additional $31.5 million to the City of Providence over the next 11 years and describes the teamwork involved on the part of President Ruth J. Simmons and Mayor Angel Taveras to make it happen: “That is not only because the city can use such a generous contribution, but because of what it says about the community: Leading institutions, such as Brown, are dedicated to the well-being of Providence.”

Mark Blyth, professor of international political economy, writes a blog post about the five right questions that need to be asked before the right answers to the Euro crisis can be found. Among them, he asks whether saving the Euro is worth it. “The European union is based upon trust, building confidence, sharing the wealth, and mutual support. The new institutions designed to save the Euro are based upon seeing every possible interaction with another state as a moral hazard problem where trust should be eliminated. Designing institutions in this way undermines the capacity to generate trust. Trust is not an optional extra,” Blyth writes.

Many colleges are integrating hybrid teaching and learning – which combines in-person instructor engagement and online discussions – into their curricula. The Education Alliance at Brown uses this method in professional-development activities for teacher teams from around the country. “Having them participate online really makes it a lot easier to bring groups together,” says Stephanie Feger, program specialist. “[It] would be really impossible to get that depth of feedback and inquiry in a face-to-face meeting.”

Middle and high school students recently got the opportunity to present ideas for improving Providence to officials at the State House. The presentations were a result of a partnership between city schools and the Generation Citizen program founded in 2008 by Scott Warren, then a senior at Brown University. The middle and high school students worked with Brown students to them to analyze a problem in their community and figure out what they wanted to do about it.

A consortium of universities, including Brown, have been given a $15 million grant by the Army Research Laboratory to use computer simulations to help design materials for lighter-weight, energy-efficient devices and batteries for use by U.S. soldiers. The goal of the project is to lighten the load for soldiers of the future who will be carrying large amounts of electronic equipment, including electronic weaponry, detection devices, advanced communications systems and protection systems.