The University released a draft statement of its institutional values in a Today@Brown announcement early Tuesday morning. This statement comes nearly four months after the University announced the formation of an ad hoc committee charged with defining the University’s core values following criticism surrounding fall divestment proceedings.
The draft statement defined the University’s core values as the “pursuit of knowledge and understanding,” “academic freedom and freedom of expression,” a “commitment to openness and diversity” and “respect for others and the University mission.”
The statement also clarified that Brown will not “engage in institutional advocacy that is unrelated to its mission.”
The committee outlined a “core function test,” which must be met before the University publicly expresses a position on a particular issue. In order to pass the test, the issue must “directly impact the University’s ability to perform essential academic and operational roles,” the draft statement reads.
But “the fact that an issue passes the core function test does not mean that the University is obligated to use its voice,” according to the statement. “The University must weigh the costs and benefits of using its voice with respect to advancing its mission.”
The University announced the formation of the Ad Hoc Committee on University Values and Voice last December, over two months after the University’s Advisory Committee on University Resources Management recommended against divesting from companies with Israeli military ties. The Brown Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, later rejected a student-led divestment proposal at an October special meeting.
In its report advising against divestment, ACURM noted that “ambiguity about Brown’s values has led to frustration among members of the Brown community.”
“The University has taken unambiguously political or moral stances on a variety of issues in the past, and not just those related to divestment,” the report reads. These stances have left the Brown community “unclear on what the University’s values are (and) on which issues the University is willing to make a statement.”
The values committee was formed to address this “big picture question of University values and voice,” said James Kellner, chair of both the values committee and ACURM, in an interview with The Herald.
In addition to Kellner — who is also a professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology and environment and society — the committee comprises two administrators, five faculty members and three students, among other stakeholders.
Kellner said that during the divestment proceedings, community members on either side of the issue cited University values in their reasoning for or against divestment, but had “different understandings” of what those values were.
Defining these core institutional values will provide “a framework for determining when University statements or business practices are consistent with foundational principles,” the committee’s values statement reads.
Kellner clarified that the committee “is not defining individual or community values,” but core values for the University as a whole. According to the committee’s statement, these core values should be in alignment with Brown’s mission and history, advance the University’s goals, provide clear guidance for decision making and place an impetus on community members.
“Members of the Brown community are expected to conduct themselves in alignment with core institutional values,” the statement reads.
Kellner also noted that while drafting the statement, the committee reviewed material regarding the University’s history, including Brown’s mission statement and charter as well as writings and speeches from former University presidents and faculty.
The committee hopes to receive feedback from students, faculty, staff and alumni about the draft statement, which is “intentionally presented as a working document,” Kellner wrote in a letter announcing the document.
Community members will be able to provide feedback through virtual town halls, an online feedback form and an email address that connects interested parties directly with the committee. According to the statement, the committee will make modifications based on feedback, and the updated document will be presented for votes by both faculty and the Corporation later this spring.
“This is the beginning of an engagement process with the community,” Kellner said in the interview. He added that although the document serves to define the core values of the University, it will ultimately be the responsibility of “others to determine what the implications of those values are.”
Cate Latimer is a university news editor covering faculty, University Hall and higher education. She is from Portland, OR, and studies English and Urban Studies. In her free time, you can find her playing ultimate frisbee or rewatching episodes of Parks and Rec.
Sophia Wotman is a University news editor covering activism and affinity & identity. She is a junior from Long Island, New York concentrating in Political Science with a focus on women’s rights. She is a jazz trumpet player, and often performs on campus and around Providence.
