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Distributed February 28, 2004
Contact Mark Nickel



Text
The Plan for Academic Enrichment: Goals, Objectives and Proposals

Below are the goals, objectives and proposals of the Plan for Academic Enrichment, approved by the Brown Corporation Saturday, Feb. 28, 2004. A narrative description of this outline is available through the News Service. (Return to news release 03-082.)


Areas of focus

I. Enhancing Undergraduate Education

Specific Objective 1
Expand opportunities for students to interact with faculty in academic and non-academic settings, including new courses in emerging areas of inquiry and richer offerings in more traditional areas.

Specific Objective 2
Develop additional programs and increase resources available to support undergraduate participation in meaningful research opportunities, including both individual and team-oriented research.

Specific Objective 3
Develop and implement an improved program of student advising.

Specific Objective 4
Continue to align financial aid policies with Brown’s educational mission, and seek to attract and support the most highly qualified and diverse group of students, without regard to their financial circumstances.

Specific Objective 5
Improve the quality of students’ residential and extracurricular experience, and integrate that experience more closely with academic goals. (See Strategic Goal VII.)

Proposals

  • Increase the size of the faculty and lower the overall student-faculty ratio.
  • Expand research opportunities, both through central programs and in multidisciplinary centers and with strategic partners.
  • Improve support for faculty advising and develop innovative new advising programs.
  • Improve financial aid—eliminate freshman work expectation, adopt need-blind admission, make further enhancements.
  • Improve campus life facilities. (See Strategic Goal VII and related proposals.)
II. Excellence in Graduate Education

Specific Objective 1
Attract the best students to our graduate programs and provide them with competitive levels of support.

Specific Objective 2
Consider additional innovative and distinctive new graduate programs, including programs associated with the new multidisciplinary initiatives.

Specific Objective 3
Expand the Graduate School modestly to provide critical mass in very small programs and to take advantage of new centers and partnerships.

Specific Objective 4
Initiate programs both to prepare future faculty and to prepare students for non-academic careers.

Specific Objective 5
Improve the quality of graduate students’ residential and extracurricular experience by integrating that experience more closely with academic goals. (See Strategic Goal VII.)

Proposals

  • Increase the size of the faculty to enable faculty to devote more time to research and work with graduate students.
  • Develop new doctoral programs where appropriate to take advantage of new partnerships and programs such as the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole and RISD in the digital arts.
  • Improve competitiveness of support packages for our graduate students — health insurance, stipend levels, additional dissertation fellowships and TAs.
  • Continue to develop new masters programs, including opportunities for undergraduates to take a 5th year before entering the workforce, and expand existing masters programs as appropriate.
  • Develop innovative programs to help prepare graduate students for their future careers, such as the new partnership with a neighboring liberal arts college that provides our students with valuable teaching experience.
  • Provide housing for graduate students.
  • Improve campus life facilities. (See Strategic Goal VII and related proposals.)
III. Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Research

Specific Objective 1
Recruit and retain the highest-caliber faculty for Brown.

Specific Objective 2
Provide increased support for the teaching and research activities of the faculty.

Specific Objective 3
Plan for continuing growth of the faculty on the order of 1 to 2 percent (6 to 13 positions) per year, following the addition of the 100 new faculty positions.

Proposals

  • Move quickly to increase the size of the faculty by 100 full-time equivalent positions (FTEs).
  • Plan for longer-term growth beyond the initial 100 positions.
  • Improve competitiveness of faculty salaries.
  • Increase the opportunities for faculty to take leaves for research and scholarly purposes.
  • Provide start-up funds, seed money for research, recruiting expenses, etc.
  • Provide facilities and other infrastructure support. (See Strategic Goal X and related proposals.)
IV. Leadership in Biology, Medicine, and Public Health

Specific Objective 1
Establish more effective means of integrating and coordinating strategic goals in research and education across all components of the Division of Biology and Medicine and the Brown Medical School, including the biological sciences, clinical medicine, and public health.

Specific Objective 2
Strengthen the reputation and visibility of the Division and the Brown Medical School at the national level.

Specific Objective 3
Continue to evaluate and revise the curriculum of medical education, expand the educational programs of the Medical School.

Specific Objective 4
Enhance clinical education and research through greater collaboration with affiliated hospitals, the creation of centers and other programs focused on translational research, and increasing external support for such work.

Specific Objective 5
Recognize public health as a special strength of the Brown Medical School and build on that strength by increasing the visibility of the effort, investing additional resources in faculty positions and facilities, and enhancing the educational offerings.

Specific Objective 6
Enhance our capabilities in the basic biological sciences by adding faculty, improving and expanding facilities, and supporting both existing and new collaborations between faculty and students in the Division and their colleagues throughout the University and elsewhere.

Proposals

  • Strengthen the Dean’s position as strategic planner and leader.
  • Add faculty positions in key areas of the life sciences and public health.
  • Improve and expand space for teaching and research in the biological sciences and public health; develop an appropriate new facility to serve as the home of the Brown Medical School and new space for public health.
  • Provide discretionary funds for the Dean to use as seed money for strategic initiatives and to improve the overall level of support for faculty teaching and research.
  • Restructure the Medical School Curriculum Committee and move from a discipline-based curriculum to organ-based and function-based offerings.
  • Develop and implement arrangements with the affiliated hospitals that strengthen academic programs and encourage greater collaboration and more strategic planning.
  • Provide start-up funds and seed money for new faculty.
  • Increase the Division’s emphasis on biotechnology collaboration and commercialization with the State of Rhode Island and other strategic partners.
V. Fostering Multidisciplinary Initiatives

Specific Objective 1
Establish major new centers or institutes of multidisciplinary teaching and research as resources are generated to support those initiatives.

Specific Objective 2
Expand and improve existing institutional relationships and develop new partnerships in areas where the research and teaching interests and strengths of those institutions complement our own.

Specific Objective 3
Leverage resources by connecting existing centers and institutes more closely to the work of academic departments and programs.

Specific Objective 4
Develop academic support and infrastructure to serve the needs of multidisciplinary programs and centers, as well as more traditional disciplines.

Specific Objective 5
Continue to develop distinctive, nationally recognized multidisciplinary graduate and undergraduate programs.

Proposals

  • Establish and build support for new multidisciplinary initiatives as proposed by the Academic Priorities Committee in spring 2003.
  • Develop key strategic partnerships with RISD, MBL, Trinity, etc.
  • Allocate faculty positions to these initiatives and recruit new faculty to help lead them.
  • Provide start-up funds, seed money for research, recruiting expenses, etc.
  • Provide discretionary funds and support budgets.
  • Provide space and other support. (See Strategic Goal X and related proposals.)
VI. Enhancing Excellence Through Diversity

Specific Objective 1
Make diversity integral to the education of undergraduate, graduate, and medical students.

Specific Objective 2
Foster greater diversity among students, faculty, and staff.

Specific Objective 3
Address issues of diversity within the curriculum and in extracurricular programs.

Specific Objective 4
Develop and implement strategies to place diversity at the center of campus life.

Specific Objective 5
Provide support for managing diversity among students, faculty, and staff.

Proposals

  • Allocate faculty positions to the Target of Opportunity program and recruit outstanding new faculty.
  • Establish an Office of Institutional Diversity.
  • Develop innovative programs to bring diversity into the curriculum and extracurricular programs, such as the Curriculum Transformation Workshops and the Conversation Series recently initiated by the Office of Institutional Diversity.
  • Develop effective support systems and programs for individuals and groups, such as the Intergroup Dialogue and Conversations About Teaching.
VII. Building a Shared Sense of Community

Specific Objective 1
Develop the appropriate facility or facilities needed at Brown to foster a greater sense of community among students, faculty, and staff and to meet a variety of specific needs for shared space.

Specific Objective 2
Reorganize and improve existing community facilities to integrate more effectively the academic and extracurricular/co-curricular lives of students.

Specific Objective 3
Improve the quality of students’ residential experiences and provide more housing options for undergraduate, graduate, and medical students.

Proposals

  • Develop and implement a plan for a campus center or comparable facility.
  • Plan and build a new fitness/wellness center.
  • Renovate Sharpe Refectory to meet modern needs and standards for undergraduate dining.
  • Improve facilities within the Rockefeller and Science Libraries to meet more effectively the needs of students for group study space and information access.
  • Increase the number and range of housing options available for undergraduate, graduate, and medical students.
  • Institute a program of regular rehabilitation of residence halls based on a 30-35 year cycle.
VIII. Diversifying and Expanding the University’s Sources of Revenue

Specific Objective 1
Double the level of giving to the Brown Annual Fund and significantly increase current use giving for financial aid, athletics, and other priorities of the Academic Enrichment Initiatives, all as part of a comprehensive campaign.

Specific Objective 2
Raise more than $750 million in capital gifts and pledges in the campaign, including at least $200 million for capital construction projects and the remainder for new endowment.

Specific Objective 3
Significantly increase the level of external support for sponsored research.

Specific Objective 4
Establish new professional graduate programs and other revenue-generating continuing education programs.

Proposals

  • Undertake a major comprehensive campaign over the next 6-8 years, with a goal significantly above $1 billion. Refocus and increase staff and other resources in order to engage, cultivate, and solicit alumni, parents, and other friends of the University more effectively.
  • Expand and enhance research facilities, augment support for research administration, target start-up and seed funding to promising research faculty.
  • Develop new professional masters programs in areas of demonstrated need and capacity and explore new opportunities for continuing and executive education.
IX. Collaborating with the Local Community on Issues of Mutual Interest and Benefit

Specific Objective 1
Develop closer and more collaborative ties with neighbors and neighboring institutions.

Specific Objective 2
Contribute to the educational, cultural, and economic life of the City of Providence and the State of Rhode Island more effectively and with greater impact.

Specific Objective 3
Work with the local community to develop more effective and collaborative approaches to quality of life issues such as safety, parking, and transportation.

Proposals

  • Collaborate with the City and area colleges on the implementation of an equitable and sustainable PILOT program.
  • Work with neighboring institutions and with the City and State on identifying ways to enhance educational, cultural, and economic opportunities for both the institutions and the broader community.
  • Work with neighboring institutions and with the City and State to improve safety and security in this area.
  • In collaboration with the City and State, develop improved parking and transportation facilities and systems.
  • Work with other educational institutions to make better use of our collective resources through consortia or other collaborative arrangements.
  • Develop processes and communications channels to keep neighbors and neighboring institutions informed about and involved in ongoing planning efforts.
X. Enhancing the Quality of our Facilities, Infrastructure, and Administrative Support

Specific Objective 1
Attract and retain the best possible staff and provide adequate staffing and other resources to support the work of faculty and students.

Specific Objective 2
Ensure robust internal and external communications to advance the University’s position locally, nationally, and internationally.

Specific Objective 3
Provide appropriate library support for faculty and students in all fields of study, with particular focus on ensuring resources for new fields of study. Make libraries more accessible and more responsive to students’ needs for varying types of space for study and collaborative work.

Specific Objective 4
Expand support for the use of technology in the academic and administrative work of the University. Provide classrooms, labs, and computer clusters in which digital and multimedia applications can be developed and used easily and effectively.

Specific Objective 5
Invest in the physical infrastructure of the campus, including new and renewed academic, administrative, and campus life buildings, utilities systems, technology infrastructure, parking and transportation facilities and systems, and campus landscaping.

Proposals

  • Ensure competitive staff salaries and benefits. Enhance and target staff training and development.
  • Ensure appropriate level of staff support in academic and administrative departments.
  • Increase support for library acquisitions, operations, and facilities.
  • Increase support for technology, with the goal of providing ongoing funding for the regular replacement and upgrade of desktop hardware and software and planned funding for major system and network upgrades.
  • Increase the number of digital classrooms and provide ongoing funding for the renewal of existing digital classrooms.
  • Develop systematic programs of facilities and infrastructure renewal and rehabilitation for buildings, utilities, and other infrastructure.
  • Invest in new facilities and campus infrastructure—academic space, campus life, utilities, and parking/landscaping/walkways/etc.
  • Invest in positioning Brown for long-term expansion of facilities off College Hill.

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