SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD VOLUME CLX, ISSUE 26
BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5
METRO
SPORTS
ARTS & CUTURE
UNIVERSITY NEWS
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
How prices at College Hill convenience stores stack up
Golden ’26 named first-ever threetime Ivy Defensive Player of the Year
The Herald’s 2025 most memorable albums, TV, movies, moments
The past 15 years at Brown, according to BDH’s semesterly polls
A look at the trees lining the streets of College Hill
SEE STORES PAGE 4
SEE GOLDEN PAGE 7
SEE MEMORABLE PAGE 12
SEE POLL PAGE 17
SEE TREES PAGE 19
Dean Ashish Jha to leave School of Public Health VICTORIA YIN / HERALD
Ashish Jha, who is a professor of health services, policy and practice as well as a practicing physician, became SPH dean in September 2020.
Francesca Beaudoin PhD’16 will serve as interim dean starting Jan. 1 BY ELISE HAULUND SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR Ashish Jha will step down from his position as dean of the School of Public Health and leave Brown at the end of this calendar year, Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 announced in an email to the University community. Following Jha’s departure, Francesca
Beaudoin PhD’16, the current academic dean for SPH and a professor of epidemiology and emergency medicine, will become the interim dean starting Jan. 1. Next year, Jha will “lead an initiative that aims to bolster our nation’s defenses against emerging pandemic and biological threats,” according to Paxson. It is unclear what the initiative is, and when asked about it, Jha wrote in an email to The Herald that “we are in a new age of biological threats and I believe that requires new approaches and responses.” “It’s critically important work that will
be driven by collaborations with scientists, policymakers and organizations,” he added. “I’m very excited about what’s next.” He wrote that he has “mixed emotions” about leaving Brown but that he overall feels “at peace” and “confident” about the future of the school. “I have loved being at Brown and it has been an honor to serve the (SPH) as dean,” Jha wrote in an email to The Herald. “I will miss the students, faculty and staff that make this such a vibrant and powerful place.” In an email to the SPH community, Jha described his time at Brown as “the
most fulfilling and rewarding of (his) academic career.” Jha, who is a professor of health services, policy and practice as well as a practicing physician, became SPH dean in September 2020 and led the school during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, he was selected by former President Joe Biden to be the White House COVID-19 response coordinator. Before joining the SPH, Jha was a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a professor of global health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
An infectious disease expert who regularly provides analysis on global public health issues and has been critical of the Trump administration’s public health policies, Jha oversaw significant expansion of the SPH that included doubling graduate student enrollment and opening an office in Washington D.C., according to Paxson’s email. “While Ashish’s leadership will be missed at Brown, he is embarking on exciting work that will have an impact far
SEE SPH PAGE 15
UNIVERSITY NEWS
UNIVERSITY NEWS
The data behind Brown’s highest governing body
Central faculty committee proposes changes to Brown’s shared governance
The Herald explored the backgrounds, political activity of the Corporation’s members
FEC shared recommendations to increase faculty involvement in U. decision making
BY ROMA SHAH SENIOR STAFF WRITER The Corporation — Brown’s highest governing body since 1764 — is primarily responsible for long-term strategy, overseeing Brown’s financial health, reviewing major policies impacting the campus community, accepting gifts and selecting University presidents. The group, currently composed of 51 individuals, typically meets behind closed doors three times a year. The only publicized insights from these meetings are notes released in the following weeks.
Five semesters ago, The Herald set out to understand the individuals who sit on the powerful panel. Since then, campus issues have thrust the Corporation into a unique spotlight. After months of student activism calling on the University to divest from companies affiliated with Israel, the Corporation agreed to vote on a divestment proposal. The move — that ultimately ended in the Corporation rejecting the proposal — led one trustee, Joseph Edelman, to step down from his position early in protest. More recently, members have defended the University when it faced attacks from the Trump administration to its federal funding. With a renewed prominence and 19 new Brown Corporation members, The Herald once again explored publicly available information — University
136th Editorial Board
SEE CORP PAGE 18
SEE 136 PAGE 9
BY SAMAH HAMID SENIOR STAFF WRITER A new proposal from the Faculty Executive Committee — Brown’s central faculty governance body — is looking to reshape how faculty are involved in University-wide decisions. The committee recommendations — which include both short- and long-term proposals — arose from the “Report on FEC Department Visit Initiative.” As part of the initiative, which spanned the 2024-25 academic year, the FEC visited 35 departments and circulated feedback forms to evaluate faculty perspectives on senior administration and
post- Magazine
shared governance, according to the report. At Tuesday’s meeting, former FEC chair and Professor of German Studies Kristina Mendicino explained that in feedback they received as part of their report, faculty members indicated “faculty decision-making power was not as strong as it should be at Brown.” Some faculty also expressed that Brown’s faculty governance model has not “kept up” with the University’s growth, “especially when it comes to the allocation of resources and decisions that affect the future of programs,” she added. “I think it is absolutely an appropriate time to have a review of shared governance,” President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 said at Tuesday’s meeting. “We’ve grown. We’re a different university, and governance structures that work when you have
SEE FACULTY PAGE 3
SEE POST- PAGE 10