SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD VOLUME CLIX, ISSUE 7
BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
Thursday, March 7, 2024
WHAT’S INSIDE
METRO
U. to reinstate standardized test requirements for most undergraduate applicants NAT HARDY / HERALD
The change comes after the Ad Hoc Committee on Admissions, which has been discussing potential admissions policy modifications for the past six months, issued recommendations that were publicly adopted by President Christina Paxson on Tuesday.
Paxson maintains familial preferences, early decision BY OWEN DAHLKAMP SCIENCE & RESEARCH AND UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR Brown University will reinstate standardized testing requirements for most applicants to the College beginning with the class of 2029, according to University administrators. The change comes after the Ad Hoc Committee on Admissions Policies, which has been discussing potential admissions
policy modifications for the past six months, issued recommendations that President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 publicly adopted on Tuesday. Paxson also accepted the committee’s suggestion that Brown continue to offer an early decision round in its application cycle and said the University would consider community input and “a range of complex questions” as it evaluates preferences for legacy applicants. Paxson announced the changes this morning in a community-wide message. Along with her decisions, the committee released an executive summary of their report that includes their recommenda-
tions and rationale. The full report was not shared due to data privacy concerns. The committee — comprising faculty, administrators and members of the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body — was formed in September in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to restrict race conscious admission policies. Paxson charged the group with ensuring that the University was upholding its “commitments to academic excellence, equity, access and diversity” in its admission practices. Throughout the summary, the committee continually revisited this bedrock principle, even with some contradicting
sentiments. The Herald sat down for an interview with Provost Francis Doyle, the co-chair of the committee, to discuss the group’s work and findings. Reinstating standardized testing Brown will become the third Ivy — after Dartmouth and Yale — to again require all first-year applicants to submit a standardized test score as part of their application, with the exception of those who are “unable to take the test” when “the International Baccalaureate or a national
SEE ADMISSIONS PAGE 3
Faculty meeting: Gift review committee, Watson to become school BY RYAN DOHERTY, CATE LATIMER U. NEWS EDITOR, SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Faculty approves review committee for gifts, grants Faculty approved a new standing committee to review gifts and grants for compliance with Brown’s Gift Acceptance and Openness in Research policies at Tuesday’s faculty meeting. The new Gifts and Grants Review Committee is charged with reviewing gifts and grants that are flagged by the Division of Advancement or the Office of the Vice President for Research for further review. The University hopes this will ensure that donations are in compliance with University policies. Committee members will review donors’ professional backgrounds, including their source of wealth and any adverse media coverage. The Committee will then make a recommendation to President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 on whether to accept the donation. The Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, has final say over whether the University will accept the donation, although the group may “delegate acceptance of some Gifts” to Paxson or other senior officers, according to the University’s Gift Acceptance Policy. Four tenured faculty members will serve on the committee, one of whom must work on the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management and the other on the Research Advisory Board. No members of the committee were named at the meeting. The University’s Provost, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of
Finance and Administration and will also sit on the committee. According to the approved motion, which will go into effect July 1, the recommendations of acceptance should be aligned with the University’s Business Ethics Standards and principles of academic freedom. “The fundamental idea is that the Committee is supposed to prevent gifts and grants that would further the dissemination of disinformation,” Paxson said. J. Timmons Roberts, a professor of environmental studies and sociology affiliated with Scholars at Brown for Climate Action, presented an amendment that added a requirement for the Vice Presidents for Advancement and Research to submit an annual report to the GGRC and the Faculty Executive Committee on the donations offered and accepted. “When I look at this committee, it’s essentially Advancement and OVPR cherry-picking a few examples and giving them to the Committee without giving them any idea how representative these are,” said Brian Lander, an assistant professor of history and environment and society, in support of this aspect of the amendment. The amendment also removed a clause that explicitly stated the recommendation should ensure “that Brown’s processes do not politicize gift and grant acceptance or use business practices as an advocacy tool.” “We would argue that, in fact, gift and grant acceptance has forever been very political,” Roberts said. Though, not all faculty members present agreed with Roberts. The amendment passed with 58% approval, and the amended motion to create the GGRC passed with 81% in favor. In March 2023, Paxson shared findings from a working group report that suggested
Brown Bee to open May, offer baked goods, merch SEE BEE PAGE 5
SPORTS
Men’s basketball clinches spot in Ivy Madness SEE MADNESS PAGE 6
ARTS & CULTURE
‘Dune: Part Two’ offers intense action, emotion SEE DUNE PAGE 12
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Critical Review discusses student participation SEE CRITICAL PAGE 15
ARTS & CULTURE
MATHIEU GRECO / HERALD
the University create a committee to review gifts and grants. Currently, an ad hoc committee reviews gifts and grants that are flagged by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Advancement Office, although Provost Francis Doyle III said the committee has only worked on one case since January 2023. The University reviews all donations over $1 million, those involving naming opportunities and gifts from donors not affiliated with the University. Multiple faculty members spoke in support of the GGRC during the meeting. “The idea of disinformation and knowing who the supporters are is a very complex question, but it’s really worth our attention,” Roberts said.
U. to seek faculty, Corporation approval for 2025 IAPA school Brown aims to seek approval from faculty and the Corporation in May to convert the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs into a school for international and public affairs, Provost Francis Doyle said at Tuesday’s faculty meeting. Faculty and Corporation approval may take place at later meetings this semester. If approved, the University plans to launch the new school in summer 2025. The new school would be Brown’s first since 2014,
when the School of Professional Studies was established. The announcement comes a day after the University announced the end of Edward Steinfeld’s term as Watson Institute director on June 30, with Wendy Schiller to serve as interim director beginning July 1. In 2015, the University set a goal for Watson to become a “top 5 school of its kind in the U.S.” in its Operational Plan for Building Brown’s Excellence. According to Doyle, a feasibility study for the school was conducted during the 2018-2019 academic year. This fall, two task forces co-chaired by Doyle and Steinfeld addressed faculty comments on the January 2023 proposal to “establish a new School for International and Public Affairs at Brown University,” Doyle said. Faculty will have the opportunity to comment on the proposal for the new school at a Thursday faculty forum. Then, the Academic Priorities Committee will vote on the proposal, Doyle said, adding that he plans on sharing the motion at the April faculty meeting. If the Corporation approves the motion this spring, Doyle said that the University would use the next academic year to review funding priorities and organizations under the Watson Institute umbrella. In addition, the University would fundraise for the new school and plan for new hires, including an inaugural dean.
SEE OSCAR PAGE 12
POSTmagazine
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