Last week the New England Association of Schools and Colleges released a detailed report on the University as part of Brown's decennial re-accreditation process. We passed. But for Brown, the review's main purpose was to solicit feedback from leaders at peer schools on how the University might make further improvements.
The authors of the report, 10 administrators and faculty from other colleges, visited Brown last April to talk with students, faculty, Corporation members and top administrators about all aspects of campus life. We encourage students and faculty to read the report for an outside perspective on the University that deserves serious consideration.
The report included equal measures of praise and criticism. The praise ranged from faint ("Brown may be the best among its peers in scheduling classes five full days a week") to hyperbolic ("The plan to renovate Faunce House to create a campus center will further enrich community life and create a central community village that assures intergenerational and intercultural interaction"). The recommendations were generally more informative.
Some of them, like the suggestion that administrators reflect on how well Brown is meeting the needs of students from poorly resourced high schools were hopelessly vague. Others, like the push for upgraded library services and a new graduate student lounge, gave short shrift to Brown's status as a "less well-resourced" school. But one recommendation struck us as exceedingly reasonable. We believe that the University should work to increase the number of Graduate School alumni serving as members of the Corporation.
Increased Graduate School representation could be achieved in several ways, including appointment by current Corporation members, election by Brown alums to a term as a trustee or, failing that, a designated spot similar to the recently created young alumni trustee position, but without the age restriction.
As Brown continues its transition from a college to a leading research university, the importance of Grad School alumni Corporation members becomes increasingly obvious. The University can improve on its graduate programs faster by getting direct feedback from someone who spent five years there and who is currently involved in academia. Many have noted that Brown's lagging place in the U.S. News and World Report college rankings owes in large part to its relatively less developed graduate programs. Giving Grad School alums a larger role in University decision-making would be a good first step in reversing this trend.
Equally important, an increased presence on the Corporation would give graduate students a greater sense of involvement with the campus. According to the NEASC report, some graduate students said that the University "considers them far less important than undergraduate students and is not sufficiently focused on the role that graduate programs play in advancing the institution's research agenda." Graduate students should not be made to feel like second-class Brunonians. Corporation spots would increase their say, and with it, their connection to College Hill.
Editorials are written by The Herald's editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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