Increasingly, colleges and universities around the country are embracing community service as an integral part of the college experience, according to the Campus Compact, a national coalition of 975 college and university presidents based at Brown University that promotes public and community service.

Methamphetamine taken during pregnancy can lead to underweight babies, according to a paper published by Barry Lester, professor of psychiatry and human behavior. "We are very concerned about the developmental implications,” he said. “Children who are born underweight tend to have behaviour problems, such as hyperactivity or short attention span, as well as learning difficulties." This article appeared on the BBC Web site. A similar article was published by United Press International.

Professor of Biology Christine Janis speculates why ancestral ruminants lost their top cutting teeth.

Brown University began its 243rd academic year Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006, with its largest faculty ever. Dean of the Faculty Rajiv Vohra reported a roster of regular faculty that stood at 658. Brief profiles of Brown’s new faculty are available, grouped according to discipline:
Arts/Humanities: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2006-07/06-016.ah.html
Life Sciences: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2006-07/06-016.ls.html
Physical Sciences: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2006-07/06-016.ps.html
Social Sciences: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2006-07/06-016.ss.html

Web sites maintained by state health departments have progressed to offer more services and information over the last five years. But according to a report by Brown University researchers Darrell West and Edward Alan Miller, many sites still fall short of providing fair and equitable accessibility for all Americans. (The Health Behavior News Service published an articlce about this study on August 31.)

In the wake of the hurricanes that devastated the Gulf Coast in the fall of 2005, higher education responded not only quickly but on a grand scale. Colleges and universities across the country raised millions of dollars in relief aid and opened their doors to tens of thousands of displaced college students and residents from storm-ravaged areas. One year later, these efforts are still going strong. The press release notes the creation of Brown University’s $5-million hurricane relief fund through the generosity of Sidney Frank ’42.

Wendy Schiller, associate professor of political science, discusses a new Web site produced by the Democratic Party that hopes to reach voters with a faith-based appeal.