Building a Shared Sense of Community
Education at Brown is not limited to the classroom or laboratory. As a residential university, Brown strives to capitalize on learning experiences that extend throughout the day and into all settings. The Plan for Academic Enrichment has placed a premium on creating an environment wherein Brown students, faculty, staff, and others feel part of a community and can take advantage of the many learning opportunities that exist outside the classroom. To that end, significant progress has been made in launching and planning new student life projects: the Friedman Study Center, satellite fitness centers, study and lounge areas in residence halls, improved residence hall infrastructure, Nelson Fitness Center, Stephen Robert Campus Center, and J.W. Wilson student resource center.
In the coming months and years, in addition to completing the long list of capital projects designed to support campus life, fine-tuning the program elements of the new community spaces will take place to ensure Brown students have functional space and opportunities to interact with each other. These program elements recognize the need to plan for adequate staffing, policies, and strategies to ensure that community spaces (new and existing) achieve stated goals.
- Foster a greater sense of community among students, faculty, and staff, and meet needs for shared space
- Improve existing facilities to enhance the connections between students’ academic and cocurricular experiences
- Improve the quality of students’ residential experiences, and provide more housing options