Leaders of the Third World Center hope to propose a new name for the center to President Christina Paxson by July 2014, said Mary Grace Almandrez, associate dean of the College and the center’s director, at a Tuesday Brown University Community Council meeting.
The group also discussed priorities for a new dean of the College, the current state of the University endowment and an upcoming proposal for a new bike-sharing program.
A new TWC strategic planning committee of administrators, undergraduates, faculty members and alums will convene by December, Almandrez said.
The center has already undergone a self-evaluation and external review, she said.
The committee will strive to “develop a mission and vision that speaks to students of color,” including holding community-wide discussions to decide on a new name and reinvigorating the center’s commitment to student activism, Almandrez said.
“We will try as much as we can to make this process inclusive,” she added.
In a discussion about the search for a new dean of the College, council members highlighted communicativeness and accessibility as key traits a new dean must possess.
So far, community feedback has emphasized that candidates should demonstrate strong communication skills, a commitment to undergraduate advising and cultural sensitivity, “especially in light of the events this fall,” said Provost Mark Schlissel P’15, who chairs the dean of the College search committee.
Council members said a good candidate should be forward-thinking about the University and open to interacting with students and their ideas.
Alex Drechsler ’15, chair of the Undergraduate Council of Students’ Student Activities Committee and a former Herald opinions columnist, said the next dean must be able to “change his or her views based on student input.”
“Undergraduates like to feel a personal connection with certain members of the administration,” said Richard Bungiro, lecturer in biology. “I would want a candidate who really truly enjoys interacting with undergraduates in all sorts of settings.”
The search committee, which has met weekly for the past month, has written a job description, created a website for the search, sought applications and solicited nominations from students, student groups, faculty members and administrators, Schlissel said.
The committee decided to open up the position to candidates both within and outside the University, he said. There is no deadline for candidates to apply, he said.
At the meeting, Chief Investment Officer Joseph Dowling and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Beppie Huidekoper also spoke about the University’s endowment and outlined its investment strategies.
“At the core is managing this endowment with a long-term perspective in mind,” Dowling said.
The University’s $2.9 billion endowment currently makes up roughly 16 percent of the operating budget, a much smaller proportion than that at any of Brown’s peer institutions, Dowling said.
But “when you break it down,” Dowling said, the endowment provides $16,000 per undergraduate student, more than either Penn or Cornell, both of which have larger endowments.
“Of the endowment we do have, a fair portion of it is restricted for specific purposes,” Huidekoper said, adding that the University must comply with donor specifications and federal regulations.
Bungiro asked how the University may grow the endowment going forward.
Dowling pointed to “the generosity of (the University’s) alumni base,” adding that there is a balance between fast and aggressive growth and financial responsibility.
“I would like not to have to borrow to maintain our facilities,” Huidekoper said.
Speaking about future changes he intends to make, Dowling said the University will begin to invest directly instead of using financial intermediaries and will also begin to carry higher levels of cash to “deploy in times of stress.”
Most of the University’s investments are tied up with financial managers for long periods of time, making them difficult to access in an emergency, Dowling said.
Drechsler asked about increasing student involvement with University finances.
The investment office currently has one student intern and hopes to expand the program, Dowling responded, adding that he hopes to speak to UCS and eventually “teach a class, once things get settled.”
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine Catherine Kerr asked how the investment office deals with socially responsible investments.
Huidekoper said the University “makes the best investments with certain restrictions put upon them.”
The investment office considers divestment based on social or moral priorities in cases where divestment from certain areas will affect the social norm or if the harm put forth by current investments is “so egregious that we can’t ignore it,” Paxson said.
“When we have a restriction, we can eliminate it from managers, but we can’t eliminate it from indexes,” Dowling said.
Leah Haykin ’16, Philip Strauss ’17 and Arielle Johnson ’16, members of the student group Bikes at Brown, spoke to the council about a plan for a larger campus-wide bicycle share.
Bikes at Brown currently runs a bike-sharing program with 15 bikes, which does not meet student demand, Haykin said.
Johnson said a bike-sharing program is “a great way for Brown to connect with the greater Providence community” and promotes healthier lifestyles and long-term sustainability.
Over the past two weeks, Bikes at Brown has combined its efforts with Brown Student Agencies and other groups on campus that have spearheaded separate efforts to implement bike-sharing, Haykin said.
The groups hope the University will work with Providence, which is starting its own bike share program with a Rhode Island-based company and is beginning efforts to create safe bike lanes on many roads, she added.
Sveta Milusheva GS said safety will be an important factor to consider before moving forward.
Haykin said the University can work with the city to address concerns and that bike safety workshops have been effective at other universities.
Bikes at Brown and collaborating student groups hope to present a formal proposal to the BUCC at its next meeting, Haykin said.
ADVERTISEMENT
