Not every lecturer who visits Brown can expect to draw an audience of more than 800 people, as former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean did when he gave the 2004 Noah Krieger memorial lecture. While famed experts in fields from art to medicine come to Brown every year, prominent figures in national and international politics often attract the largest crowds.
"Brown's reputation is as having an activist community and having students who care about public affairs," said Professor of Political Science Darrell West, director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions.
In April, Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry spoke at the University of Rhode Island's Providence campus. Political speakers, especially those running for office, often choose to speak at colleges because "students are a desirable voting bloc. That's where the votes are," West said.
But Brown won't be appearing on any campaign trails in the remaining weeks before the presidential election. University policy prohibits political candidates for public office from speaking with the sole intention of promoting themselves. Instead, all speakers, political or otherwise, must be invited and sponsored by a recognized student or faculty group, and any speech by a candidate for public office at Brown must have an educational or informational purpose.
This policy reinforces the University's dedication to the exchange of ideas, said Mark Nickel, director of the Brown News Service.
"The whole idea is to bring people from public life to campus and have them interact with students, in hopes that the students will benefit from different perspectives," Nickel said.
Organizations that have brought political speakers to campus include the Brown Democrats, the College Republicans, the Lecture Board and the Department of Political Science. All speaking invitations extended by student groups must be approved by the Student Activities Office.
Last year's Noah Krieger memorial lecturer was former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun. Although she was running for president at the time, her status as an invited lecturer allowed her to promote her bid for office, Nickel said. In the past, speakers at Brown have included most of Rhode Island's congressional delegation, Nickel said. Other well-known political figures to visit Brown include Mikhail Gorbachev, Janet Reno, Antonin Scalia and former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed, West said.
"Brown has hosted a range of different speakers," West said. "It's a way to expand the intellectual dialogue at Brown University and give students a chance to ask questions."
