Members of the Faculty,

Three years ago, as I began my role as provost, I wrote to the faculty to convey my priorities in carrying out our strategic plan, Building on Distinction. These included a commitment to enhancing academic excellence, building community, and ensuring financial sustainability. Working closely with faculty, staff, students, and colleagues in the senior administration, I have sought to remain steadfast in this focus. Earlier today, at the first faculty meeting of the year, I reported on some of the recent work that we’ve been doing to support these priorities. As we begin the next academic year, I write to share these updates and to amplify a few points that President Paxson articulated in her letter of August 29.

Ensuring Operational Excellence

As President Paxson’s letter noted, we are at the mid-point of implementing Building on Distinction, the University’s strategic plan. Given this milestone, and the substantial progress made since the plan’s inception, I devoted much of the summer working with academic and administrative colleagues to review, reconsider and refine the Operational Plan for Building Brown’s Excellence, which outlines the concrete steps and concomitant resources needed to achieve our vision and aspirations. This was a highly collaborative and data-driven process designed to assess progress made toward the original goals outlined in the operational plan; make any adjustments based on new strategic priorities and major updates within each area of the plan; and to sharpen strategic and fundraising goals for the remainder of the BrownTogether campaign.  

This updated version, which can be reviewed here, outlines the strategic investments needed to continue the momentum that we have enjoyed over the last several years. It positions the University to maximize its distinctive approach to teaching and research, and to advance knowledge through rigorous scholarship; prepare creative, capable and nimble global leaders; and continue to cultivate a culture of curiosity and collaboration that is central to developing solutions to the world’s great challenges.  

I hope that you will take the time to read the plan, which both guides and reflects so much of what transpires across the campus and in the field. In the year ahead, we will take advantage of our lecture series and other programming opportunities to highlight faculty and scholarship that are emblematic of Building on Distinction’s integrative themes. We will write in the very near future with the full calendar of events.  

New Faculty

Central to achieving our greatest aspirations and to addressing many of society’s most pressing issues is Brown’s capacity to attract and retain exceptional faculty, students and staff.  We have had another strong year recruiting faculty, and it was a pleasure to meet many of them as they were introduced at today’s faculty meeting. These talented and diverse scholars, practitioners and clinicians offer new ideas, perspectives and opportunities for collaboration. Please take a moment to read this news release about the 53 newest members of the Brown community.

Graduate Student Unionization

Support for graduate students and graduate education is essential to enhancing academic excellence and promoting a vibrant community. You will recall that in August 2016, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that graduate research and teaching assistants at private universities could be classified as both students and employees and thus decide for themselves whether or not to form unions and engage in collective bargaining. Since that decision, Brown University has indicated that we would comply with this change if students so choose, and work to promote an environment that supports open, fair and fact-based discussion and debate on the issue of unionization.

To be clear, the University’s position on the role of graduate students remains unchanged since the NLRB’s 2004 decision, which dismissed a petition by the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) seeking recognition as the bargaining agent for certain graduate students at Brown. Our principal relationship with our graduate students is as students. This guides how we admit, recruit and train these students. What has changed, however, is the NLRB’s position on the matter, and we have agreed to support the rights of individual graduate students to make the choices currently offered to them in a fact-driven environment. We have developed a “Be Informed” website to provide informational resources for the community. This includes guidance for faculty about appropriate and acceptable conduct to ensure a climate that is conducive to thoughtful discourse, as well as compliance with the law.

On June 21, 2018, after several months of negotiation, Brown entered into a pre-election agreement with SUGSE that outlines the terms for a possible union representation election among eligible graduate students at Brown, should such an election take place. The agreement, which you can view here, includes provisions for voter eligibility, election oversight and dispute resolution. It is in effect through April 15, 2019, and clearly states that it will terminate immediately if the NLRB reverses the Columbia decision.

As I have stated throughout this process, Brown fully supports graduate students and their right to decide for themselves whether unionization is in their best interest, and to working collaboratively –- either way –- to strengthen graduate education at Brown. I will keep the faculty informed on this matter over the course of the semester.

Financial Sustainability

Brown’s fiscal health is strong. The generosity of our donors has been inspiring, and we are taking important steps to fortify our endowment so that it can support the University for generations to come. We have also been diligent over the last several years to develop a responsible and responsive budget process that addresses fundamental needs while also supporting new and critical priorities. Our goal is to be disciplined in our budgeting and budgets, while also offering the flexibility to seize opportunities. I’m pleased to report that while we had projected a small deficit of $4.8 million on a budget of $1.1 billion for Fiscal Year 2018 (which concluded on June 30, 2018), we ended the year with a slight deficit of $1.6 million. There were several factors that contributed to this, including an increase in research funding. In the year ahead, we are budgeting for a small operational deficit of approximately $5 million, which we hope to reduce through our careful budgeting work.

Innovation and the Future of Work  

While much of the work of the provost relates to the fundamental tasks of budgeting, academic planning and operations, I have also had the opportunity to engage in several special projects that draw on my scholarly interests. Earlier this summer, following a yearlong series of discussions with colleagues here at Brown and local public, private and nonprofit sector leaders, we announced a new initiative aimed at expanding the University’s positive impact on economic growth in Rhode Island. Brown and the Innovation Economy, which you can read more about here, outlines a set of actions that we’re taking in collaboration with partners to contribute more effectively to innovation and the growth of stable, well-paying jobs in our city and state. This work builds on the University’s deliberate and longstanding commitment to statewide economic development, which has already manifested itself in projects such as South Street Landing, the Wexford Innovation Center, and the Anchor Institutions Working Group, which is co-chaired President Paxson.

In addition to this, beginning this fall, I am convening a group of faculty from several departments across campus to study the "future of work" and its implications for higher education. In addition to learning more about the impact of new technologies on the workforce and workplace of the future, the group will explore how these technologies are shaping the identities of workers and how they perceive the value of their craft.  We will consider in this context the implications for higher education generally and Brown more specifically in terms of teaching, learning, and career development. The faculty group will begin by discussing relevant research and consulting with outside experts. I hope that these discussions will inspire new research collaborations at Brown, as well as lively discussions about the impact of these changes on the future of higher education.

As I have said in prior years, I feel extremely fortunate to work with such a dedicated group of colleagues. Thank you for all of the work that you do, every day, at and for Brown. It is making a difference.

Best wishes for every success in the coming year.

Sincerely,

Rick

Richard M. Locke
Provost
Schreiber Family Professor of Political Science and
International and Public Affairs