New York Times reporter Cornelia Dean '69 recalls being frustrated with the lack of exciting opportunities for women in the 1960s. "You felt like you never had a chance to do anything interesting because the guys would take it all," she said.
But at least for Dean, those times have passed. A member of the University's Board of Trustees, Dean is also a senior writer at the Times and was editor of the paper's science section until 2003. Dean has spoken on campus about women in science and environmentalism in U.S. politics. She is also the author of "Against the Tide," an academic book discussing the effects of shoreline erosion control.
Dean graduated magna cum laude from the University in 1969 with a degree in American civilization. At the time, she attended Pembroke College, which did not merge with the men's college until 1971. Dean said she chose Brown because at other universities "opportunities to women were limited. One of the things that attracted me to Brown was that women had more chances."
Dean had journalistic aspirations even before she arrived at Brown. "I thought it was a line of work in which you could do something useful for society," she said. She became a reporter for the now-defunct Pembroke Record and took the position of managing editor in her senior year.
Dean recalls that one major campus issue was whether women should be allowed to live off campus. "I think the idea was that if they lived off campus they would have sex and that would be terrible," Dean explained wryly.
Though she recalls covering events like pool championships during her time at the Record, she says international topics shaped her career. "The main issue was the war in Vietnam," she said. "People were demonstrating (at Brown). There was a lot of activity." Dean said she believes there is a lower level of political involvement at Brown today.
With newspaper experience under her belt, Dean went on to become the science editor of the Times. When asked how she landed the job, she said, "They recruited me. That's the short answer."
Dean was working for the Providence Journal when she received a call from the Times. She took her first job with the company as editor on the national desk. Dean described joining the science section as "an accident, really. ... They needed someone in the science department. It just kind of took."
The accident turned out to be a blessing. "It was wonderful," she said. "It was very tiring. I loved it."
Her experience at the Times allowed Dean to take time off in 2003 to assume a fellowship at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. There, she taught a seminar on "The Misuse of Scientific Information in American Public Life." The course discussed the politicization of science, the influence of money on research agendas and "the way people reason and what they know and how that leaves them vulnerable to spin." Dean has since returned to the Times as a reporter.
Dean is modest about the circumstances of her membership on the Board of Trustees at Brown. "Somebody called me one day and asked me, and I said, 'You realize of course I have no money?' And they said, 'Oh yes, we know,'" she said. The University still asked her to serve on the board, and she agreed. "I have quite a high regard for Brown," Dean said.
In addition to attending three annual full Corporation meetings, Dean serves on a committee that deals with the University's relations with the news media. She described being on the Board of Trustees as "very interesting ... a wonderful learning experience not just about Brown but about higher education in general."
Dean noted that Brown is in a period of "change and growth" and stressed the importance of remembering what differentiates the University from other institutions. In particular, she said she hopes Brown will retain its emphasis on undergraduate education.
