The Brown University Community Council spent the majority of its monthly meeting Tuesday discussing the University's current relationship with the city of Providence as well as the details of numerous construction projects planned for the next few years.
President Ruth Simmons started off the meeting with an update on the University's current relations with the city. Media attention surrounding the conflict has calmed down, she said, adding that she is confident the University can come to an "equitable solution" that will benefit both sides. The Corporation, the University's highest governing body, is currently reviewing various proposals and providing administrators with specific instructions on how to deal with the situation, Simmons said.
"They believe that whatever we do should involve a transaction," she said. "It should not be in any way construed as a gift. That is a principle they see as very important."
One possible arrangement is that the city could allow the University to expand beyond its current property boundaries in exchange for increased payments, Simmons said.
Council members mostly discussed the University's current contributions, "from practical, economic things to students volunteering in schools," said Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations, and how to raise public awareness about the beneficial nature of the University's presence in the community while dispelling the misconception that it simply drains funds and resources.
One council member suggested creating a blog to facilitate communication between the University and the community. Quinn said her office may consider more types of advertisement once relations are less strained.
Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services, then addressed the proposed fee for use of the new athletic complex, which is scheduled to open in April. The proposed fee is $30 a month for faculty and staff and will be used for the upkeep of the facility, which will cost $1.7 million a year. Students currently pay a recreational fee of $64 a year included in their tuition to use all athletic facilities.
"We looked at a fee that would be fair and still offer opportunities for faculty but still retain the primary purpose of the facility for student usage," Klawunn said.
Faculty members are allowed to use current athletic facilities free of charge, and the significantly higher fee caused some controversy among the meeting's attendees.
Simmons and Klawunn emphasized that the measure is not intended to exclude faculty. Klawunn added that the University thought about introducing a fee after the endowment was cut, but decided against it because they did not think that the current athletic facilities were comparable to local athletic facilities, while the new athletic center will be.
Next, Klawunn and Richard Bova, senior associate dean of residential and dining services, gave a presentation detailing the proposed changes to campus housing. Bova placed significant emphasis on the changes to first-year areas, particularly the renovations to Keeney Quadrangle and Andrews, Metcalf and Miller Halls. He defended the decision to split Keeney, which currently houses close to 600 students, into three buildings, each housing 210 students. Bova said the smaller, more manageable buildings will foster a sense of community and create a more united residential experience, which Keeney currently lacks.
"Keeney houses 15 percent of the University's population and is responsible for 50 percent of its vandalism," Bova said.
The council also discussed plans for the proposed slavery memorial on campus. "It occurs to me that we might not want to call this a memorial to slavery," Simmons remarked as a side note, adding that the term should be reworked.
Director of the Bell Gallery Jo-Ann Conklin described the process the Public Arts Committee underwent to select an artist and their final decision to choose preeminent African American sculptor, Martin Puryear. Puryear's work has been displayed at the Museum of Modern Art, and he was presented with the National Medal of Arts by President Obama two weeks after his selection to design the memorial.
The Public Arts Committee will receive a proposal for the memorial from Puryear over the summer and will make the design public then. Conklin expects the memorial to be completed in 2014 and to cost about $600,000 with some additional costs for landscaping.
Elizabeth Keithline, a member of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, attended the meeting and commended the University for its plans for the memorial, calling it "a wonderful addition to public art in Rhode Island."
