PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A committee charged with defining Brown University’s core values and developing a statement on how the University may use its voice publicly shared a revised Statement of University Values and Voice and an explanatory report with the Brown community on Wednesday, April 30.

The statement — which was presented to Brown’s Faculty Executive Committee and has been placed on the agenda for a vote of eligible faculty on Tuesday, May 6 — outlines four core institutional values of Brown:

• the pursuit of knowledge and understanding;
• academic freedom and freedom of expression;
• a commitment to openness and diversity of ideas, perspectives and experiences; and
• responsibility for a thriving academic community.

Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology James R. Kellner chaired the Ad-hoc Committee on University Values and Voice, which included faculty, students and senior administrators. Following months of work to develop a draft statement and collect and consider feedback from Brown students, faculty, staff and alumni, Kellner shared the revised statement and report with the Brown community in a campus message.

“This Statement of University Values and Voice, as well as an explanatory Report of the Ad-hoc Committee on University Values and Voice, reflects the deep exploration on the part of the committee and Brown community to bring definition to the values that have long guided and continue to fortify Brown as a community of teachers and learners,” Kellner wrote. “While the University's charter and mission statement have given the institution clear purpose across generations, the University had never before defined its core institutional values.”

Kellner noted that after the committee’s draft statement was shared in March, nearly 800 students, faculty, staff and alumni submitted written feedback, and thousands of Brown community members attended town halls and campus meetings hosted to provide opportunities for feedback and discussion. The committee carefully considered all input and revised the draft statement to reduce ambiguity and address topics raised by members of the Brown community, he noted. 

Consistent with the process set forth in its charge, the committee also produced a report that explains the process that led to the statement, deliberations by members of the committee, and the detailed steps undertaken to identify core institutional values and to develop the Statement of University Voice. The report also reflects upon the differences in opinion among members of the committee and within the Brown community, and how the committee responded to community feedback. 

In addition to outlining core institutional values of Brown, the Statement of University Values and Voice developed by the committee defines University “voice” — a public statement or action that intentionally expresses a position on an issue — and clarifies the purpose of University voice and why it is used.

“Being necessary to advance and defend the mission and core values of the institution, use of University voice should concern only those issues that directly influence the University mission,” the statement reads. “The University has discretion in the use of its voice on such issues, informed by the principles of shared governance. The University must refrain from expressing positions on topics unrelated to its mission, because doing so risks undermining the public trust, damaging the conditions necessary for academic freedom, and preventing fulfillment of the University mission.”

In the explanatory report shared with the Brown community, the committee noted that it sees a distinction between the Brown statement and the way “institutional neutrality” has come to be typically defined.

“The committee recognizes that the University will sometimes be compelled to ‘take collective action’ through the use of its voice to establish a position on an issue to advance or defend its mission,” the report states. “The fact that an issue is politically partisan, socially contested or morally ambiguous does not mean that the University cannot address it through the use of its voice. The question is whether the use of University voice is aligned with the mission and core institutional values of the institution or not.”

The Statement of University Values and Voice will next be considered by eligible faculty. Before being adopted, it must ultimately be approved by the Corporation of Brown University, the University's highest governing body.

While the scope of the committee’s charge did not include modification to existing Brown policies, the charge invited the committee to make recommendations to the University president related to its work. In the rationale accompanying a motion for the faculty vote on the Statement of University Values and Voice, the committee recommended the establishment of a new group to review alignment of the statement with current Brown policies, committee charges and related governance structures, and to make recommendations on how the principles of shared governance might influence how the University exercises discretion on the use of its voice on issues that directly affect its mission.

“The committee recommends that the Office of the President, in consultation with the Faculty Executive Committee, convene an ad-hoc committee or working group that includes students, faculty and staff to guide implementation of the Statement on University Values and Voice,” committee members wrote. “Such a committee is essential in the next academic year.”

The University has faculty rules, codes of conduct and policies that connect closely to some aspects of the Statement of Values and Voice, including a Public Statements Policy established in 2022. The work of an ad hoc committee could assess these existing policies and governance more broadly.