The Third World Center faculty advisory board has been "re-ignited" this year, said Karen McLaurin '74, associate dean of the College and director of the TWC. Prior to this year's reorganization, the board's members had remained the same since its inception in 2004, and they did not meet at all last year.
Barrymore Bogues, professor of Africana studies and chair of the department, is chair of the 15-person board, whose members come from seven different departments as well as the Sarah Doyle Women's Center and the TWC itself.
Students nominated faculty members for the new board, and the TWC extended invitations to those who were interested.
"The purpose ... is to have faculty that are informed on the life and work of the center," said McLaurin, who holds a seat on the board.
McLaurin said she hopes board members will recruit their peers to become involved in discussion about the on-campus role of the TWC, which organizes about 250 events a year. She said she envisions the board helping to enrich the academic aspects of the TWC's student programming.
One example of such programming is the Black History Series, a new series of year-round events that will supplant the traditional celebration of Black History Month in February. She also wants the TWC to be involved in researching "hot topics" that affect Brown's student body and are relevant to the TWC.
Corey Walker, assistant professor of Africana studies and member of the board, said he sees the group as a way for faculty to learn from students and vice versa.
"I think it's important for students and faculty to interact in spaces outside of the classroom," Walker said. "The Third World Center's programming is one geared toward education and that enhances the entire experience here at Brown."
Darnell Fine '08, one of the TWC's 17 student programmers, is an organizer for the Black History Series. He said he doesn't anticipate that a more activefaculty advisory board will change the existing dynamic between faculty members and students at the TWC.
"I think it's making it more formal," Fine said. "It's just a way of creating dialogue between faculty and students, but I believe that dialogue had already been there."
TWC Archivist Deidrya Jackson '10 said that last year's TWC activities seemed to be composed mostly of students.
"I think it's good to have a connection with the faculty just to get their perspective," she said. "It's really just a collaboration between different people on Brown's campus."
A faculty survey last year showed that faculty members were interested in being advisors to the student programmers, McLaurin said.
The board had its first meeting in mid-September and another is planned for next month. Between the two meetings, McLaurin said, the board will meet with students to discuss each side's perspective on the role of the TWC.
The board did not meet last year, McLaurin said, in part due to the amount of time invested in restructuring the Minority Peer Counseling program. The MPC program split from the Residential Peer Leader program last year, but MPCs have since moved back into most freshman dorms.
With the attention turned back to the roots of the TWC, McLaurin hopes the new board will be an "arm that will advocate."
"There's a voice that we need to hear from," she said.
