Opening of the Year News and Announcements

September 5, 2019

Members of the Faculty,

Every fall, I look forward to the first meeting of the faculty. Attendance is strong, our newest members arrive to be introduced and meet their colleagues, and I am again reminded of the privilege of being a member of this dynamic community. This year is no exception, and Tuesday’s meeting reinforced my excitement and optimism for the year ahead.

As we begin the fall semester, I write to report on progress we’ve made and efforts underway to advance academic excellence, promote a vibrant community and ensure fiscal sustainability at Brown. It’s an extraordinarily exciting time for the University, and given the many local and global challenges our society faces, fulfilling our mission at ever greater levels of distinction is especially vital.

Enhancing Academic Excellence

Faculty Recruitment and Retention
Brown’s faculty are central to our distinctiveness as a university committed to making a difference in the world through rigorous and collaborative teaching, research and service. As a result, we are especially careful and deliberate in our efforts to recruit and retain superbly talented scholars. It’s paying off. Over the last year, more than 90% of our faculty searches concluded with departments recruiting their number one candidate. As a result, we’re delighted to welcome 66 new members of the faculty to our community this academic year. Please take a moment to read this article about these new colleagues.

Equally important is retention, and over the last two years, of the 37 retention cases brought to us, we were able to retain 35 faculty members. We want to be sure that faculty want to come to Brown, and, once here, that they’re supported in their work and want to remain at Brown to pursue highly productive careers.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is fundamental to our overall success as a university, and we’re making strides toward our goal of doubling the percentage of faculty from historically underrepresented groups. In 2014-15, Brown had 54 faculty from historically underrepresented groups – or 8.7% of the faculty. This year we’re at 89 HUG faculty – or 13.9%. We’re committed to continuing this trajectory, and to cultivating an environment in which we benefit fully from an ever-widening array of experiences and perspectives as we seek to challenge, refine and sharpen our understanding of pressing issues in our fields, and in the world.

Ad Hoc Committee on Integrity in Admissions
Given the significance of undergraduate admissions to our very mission, it is essential that our policies and practices are fair, equitable, and carried out with unquestionable integrity. As President Paxson referenced in her letter last week, recent scandals that have occurred nationally have prompted a careful internal review to ensure that our policies and practices are strong, and promote confidence and trust.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Equity and Integrity in Admission, which the President convened last semester and which I co-chair, has met on several occasions over the summer. Our work thus far has centered on assessing the extent to which Brown’s safeguards fully protect the integrity of the admissions process, including around athletics recruitment. We have made progress, and our work moving forward will focus more on issues of access. We will issue a report to the Corporation later this fall.

Vibrant Community
Our deep sense of community is a Brown asset, and since becoming Provost, I have emphasized my firm belief that a strong and vibrant community is essential to reaching our academic aspirations. After all, Brown’s particular approach to research and education requires meaningful collaboration across fields and disciplines.

We’ve made progress in recent years to build community, but we can do more. I hear, time and again, that we need specific opportunities to get to know one another and to learn about the consequential research, teaching, and public engagement happening at Brown. So, in addition to the wide array of lectures and events taking place, we have created programming through the By Faculty for Faculty and Presidential Faculty Award lecture series designed to do just this. In addition, later this semester we will launch Faculty in Focus: The Podcast, where I interview faculty about their research, and what inspired their scholarly interests.

At the core of all of this is our ongoing effort to cultivate a climate in which great ideas can flourish, and where all members of our community feel respected and valued. The climate surveys conducted last spring are useful measurement tools, and we have shared results with departments to spotlight strengths and areas of concerns, and to inform planning.

Interest in using these data is strong. I was pleased to host a retreat for academic department chairs and center and institute directors in late August, featuring sessions led by Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity Shontay Delalue and Assistant Vice President for Academic Diversity Marlina Duncan. The retreat offered opportunities to understand the experience of students and scholars from historically underrepresented groups in the academy, as well as mining the climate survey results. Nearly 100 academic leaders participated in the retreat, and follow-up sessions are planned.

Building on this, I am in discussions with OIED, the Graduate School and Graduate Students of Color leadership to convene a town hall meeting with graduate students in November to review the origin of Brown’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), progress made to date, areas in need of attention, and to share best practices across campus to amplify results. This kind of open, continuous dialogue is crucial to the health of the campus. 

Fiscal Sustainability
President Paxson noted in her recent letter that we are reviewing and revising our budgeting process to reflect best practice, ensure that we are allocating resources to advance strategic priorities, and to position the University to remain nimble in a period of potential fiscal uncertainty. We are refining Brown’s model and will be sharing details of the revised budgeting process with academic department chairs and managers early next week.

Ultimately, this new approach is consistent with our commitment to ensure operational excellence, and allocate revenues thoughtfully and responsibly, so that we can support the mission of the University for generations.

Finally, the Government Relations Working Group, which I chair, is monitoring the range of policy-related issues taking place in the courts, the Congress and the federal Executive Branch that affect higher education. From funding for research and student aid, to science and security, immigration, and admissions, we are continually assessing the landscape and advising President Paxson on opportunities to influence outcomes to reflect our interests and values. We want to ensure that our campus remains open and welcoming for students and scholars from around the world, and promotes the full and free exchange of ideas needed to advance knowledge. 

I look forward to working with you in the year ahead, and to supporting the inspiring work that takes place at Brown, which society both needs and deserves.

Sincerely,

Richard M. Locke