President Ruth Simmons and faculty members expressed their gratitude at Tuesday's faculty meeting to members of the search committees that selected Christina Paxson as the University's 19th president.
Faculty members heard reports about the state of negotiations with Providence and remarks from the recently hired ombudsperson Ruth Rosenberg. They also discussed the academic calendar and plans to implement executive masters programs.
Chung-I Tan P'95 P'03, chair of the Campus Advisory Committee and professor of physics, said the committee ultimately chose Paxson for her "wonderful leadership qualities" and because she "understands the challenges facing Brown." Paxson has yet to get to know Brown, he said, adding that it was nearly "impossible" to find a replacement for Simmons.
Simmons said she was "thrilled with the orderly and fast process" of the search committees and congratulated Tan on his work on the committee. "You work hard, you play hard," she told Tan.
Simmons said Paxson was "tremendously excited and honored to take this on," adding that the most important goal in Paxson's transition will be to immerse herself in the issues that will be most prevalent in coming years.
Paxson was unable to attend the meeting, but she has been invited to department chair meetings in May.
Regarding the ongoing negotiations between the University and the city, Simmons said the Corporation, the University's highest governing body, determined at its February meeting that the University "is not prepared to support anything without substantial value to Brown." Simmons said she is continuing to meet with Mayor Angel Taveras and his staff and has also met with Governor Lincoln Chafee '75 P'14.
Simmons said the University is willing to pay the city for the services it provides. She presented a hypothetical in which, if the campus needed more plowing services, the University would be willing to pay the city for more street plows. Such payments could be made on a "rational basis," she said.
Simmons highlighted the University's continued commitment to Providence schools, mentioning the work done by the Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice. The committee has given $280,000 to Providence schools since its inception, Simmons said.
Hal Roth, professor of religious studies, asked Simmons if the University is publicizing its contributions to the city. Simmons emphasized the need to "broaden communications" in all forms.
Rosenberg, University ombudsperson, spoke about her efforts to be a confidential, neutral and informal resource for faculty members to navigate the University. Rosenberg said she is open to all suggestions for improving life at Brown.
Provost Mark Schlissel P'15 said the Dean of the College's office is considering how to mitigate the consequences of not changing the academic calendar in the 2013-14 school year, when the September start date will conflict with Rosh Hashanah.
Schlissel also reported a change in the conflict of interest rules in tandem with the changes to the rules of the National Institutes of Health, which require those who receive money from the NIH to report those earnings to the University. The University will now require all researchers to report any earnings greater than $5,000 from projects outside of the University. These requirements apply to all projects that researchers deem directly related to their field of research.
Schlissel also said there will be a vote to consider the University's first Professional Executive Masters Program. This program will allow the University to "diversify sources of revenue" and "expand the influence of education reach," he said. Schlissel added that the most important challenge will be to ensure the quality of the degrees, professors and students in the program.
Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin P'12 reinforced the University's commitment to diversity, in the wake of the impending Supreme Court case regarding affirmative action. The University and department chairs must more actively reach out to minority candidates for faculty positions, he said.
McLaughlin also addressed the University's retirement policy, outlining that for both full and associate professors, there are two options for retirement. In both cases, faculty members can either retire fully after a certain number of years of service, or they can phase out with a half salary for up to three years, he said.
In his report to faculty members, Peter Shank, professor of medical science and chair of the Faculty Executive Committee, announced the recipients of the Faculty Service Awards. Five awards were announced for excellence in service to the University. Shank gave awards to Ruth Colwill, associate professor of cognitive linguistic and psychological sciences, James Dreier, professor of philosophy, Lina Fruzzetti, professor of anthropology, William Patterson, senior research engineer, and Cynthia Garcia Coll, professor of pediatrics.
Faculty members also heard reports from the Graduate Council, the Campus Planning Advisory Board, who discussed the changing status of library space, and the University Resources Council, who stressed the importance of conservative financial planning with the budget, since the University's budget for next year will dip into its reserves.
"The highest priority goes to continuing to support what you are doing," Simmons said to faculty members.
Memorial minutes were presented for Frank Stewart, professor emeritus of mathematics, and William Shipp, professor of molecular, cell biology and biochemistry.
