At the end of a class-filled day, Brown students crave a place where they can relax for a few minutes and regroup. The faculty fellows program aims to provide this bit of respite - students can luxuriate with real furniture, entertainment, conversation and "exposure to fresh fruits you may not see at the Ratty," said J. William Suggs, faculty fellow and associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry.
"Our faculty fellow is the perfect break to a night of studying," Christi Zaleski '11 said. Drawn especially to the study breaks with entertainment from student groups, she added, "They expose me to a little bit of Brown culture in a warm and inviting environment, not to mention great food."
The University's latest written update on the Plan for Academic Enrichment says additional funding has been provided to improve the academic component of these study breaks, but faculty fellows said they have not yet seen any change.
Five years ago, a grant from the Hewlett Foundation enhanced the multi-decade faculty fellow program by beginning to pay visiting professors and scholars already on campus an additional stipend to attend study breaks. "The grant gave more impetus to programming and was a high point in coordination between deaneries," said Stephen Merriam Foley '74, another faculty fellow and associate professor of English.
Since the end of that grant, even though an update on the Plan for Academic Enrichment said the University has "provided new funding to support faculty programming in the residence halls," faculty fellows describe their support system as ad-hoc - speakers are constantly brought to classrooms, but there is no structure for bringing them to the attention of faculty fellows.
According to Russell Carey '91 MA'06, interim vice president for campus life and student services, there has "certainly been an investment in residential programming," but that includes a broad category of "significant expenses," expenditures such as Residential Peer Leader programming, student activities and the Late Night Fund.
But the faculty fellows are in need of "more of a chartered path to follow," and could all use administrative support, said Nancy Jacobs, faculty fellow and associate professor of history.
The Committee on the Residential Experience, co-chaired by Margaret Klawunn, associate vice president for campus life and dean of student life, is currently evaluating programs in existence. The committee will make recommendations for improving student residential life in a preliminary report, which should be completed in the next few weeks.
Klawunn met with faculty fellows in the fall and had "a conversation about providing support" with them then, she said. With faculty fellows, including Suggs and Jacobs, on the committee, the topic is being discussed, and the report's recommendations may address faculty fellow support, Klawunn added.
Foley said he and the other fellows are constantly e-mailing a cappella groups, for example, and it would be useful to have one central office to manage coordination and communication. "It's not just a matter of adding dollars but resources to coordinate with what's already on campus," he said. He and his colleagues are "devoted to integrating faculty fellows into the academic and social calendar," he added.
But bringing in guests requires research and investigation. "When you bring someone in, you have to nucleate it," Suggs said. "You have to know people will come."
Timing could also make attendance unpredictable - Foley's weekly study breaks are held at 10 p.m. - a time that's "great for breaks, not for a lecture," he said. Students view the study breaks as a brief interruption from homework assignments for a snack and casual conversation and are not usually looking to add to the intellectual load of the evening.
"Study breaks are a chance to get away from lectures and get to know professors as people," Trenten Nelson-Rivers '11 said.
"It would be nice every once in a while, but we already have guest lecturers all the time. This is a time to relax and do something different," Zaleski said.
Foley recently hosted a "brilliant guest lecturer" and followed the talk with a reception at 4 p.m. Though students had expressed interest, no one came, which Foley attributes to trying to hold the event at an hour when schedules were already crammed full.
Jacobs seems to have touched on a potential solution. She brought a visiting scholar to her class through an academic grant and was then able to bring him to her home for a dinner with students. A proponent of mealtime discussions, she said students are overscheduled but that "everyone eats" and "there is a particular conviviality over a shared meal."
Suggs said he recognizes the abundance of activities that Brown students participate in but that faculty fellows "don't want to give them more things to do, just better things to do." He wants to ask students, "How can we make your semester more memorable?"
Suggs said he'd like to see study breaks include visits from "extraordinarily eminent people." One of his top picks? Jack Black.
