Walter Hunter, vice president for administration and chief risk officer, will resign at the end of the semester to return to private law practice. Elizabeth Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration, announced the resignation in a Jan. 24 e-mail to the Administrative Leadership Group, which comprises heads of administrative departments.
Hunter was appointed to the post in August 2000 and was charged with the supervision of a diverse range of areas, including human resources, facilities management, real estate, public safety and labor relations. Hunter was previously a partner at the Providence law firm Edwards and Angell, where he specialized in labor and employment law.
Hunter said he is currently "in discussions with some premier firms." He said he hopes to work in labor and employment law and expects the field to grow.
"This is clearly terrific for his future firm, but a big loss for Brown," Huidekoper wrote in the e-mail.
Hunter said he will remain in his post until the end of the semester so that he can help with the transition to the next person to hold his position.
During his seven-and-a-half-year tenure at Brown, Hunter spearheaded efforts to promote campus security. Amid increased crime on campus and allegations of police corruption, Hunter oversaw initiatives to arm Department of Public Safety officers and increase their presence on campus; increase the availability of safeRIDE services; design and implement an emergency contact information database; and initiate the testing of an emergency siren system.
Hunter also worked with DPS, the Providence Police Department and the Providence Fire Department on improving several safety measures.
In addition, Hunter has worked to improve police accountability and transparency. He instated a new procedure that requires DPS officials to distribute business cards with their name and information about stops to all people they ask for identification during field stops.
Hunter has also helped keep the Brown Bookstore independent and has been a principle actor in some of the biggest labor union negotiations at Brown. He worked to negotiate agreements on the labor union issues for library workers in October 2004 and the Dining Services union, Service Employees International Union Local 615, in October 2006. Faced with student protests about fair wages for "limited duration employees" at Dining Services, Hunter amended worker contracts to include higher wages and some union rights over the summer of 2005. The amendment unionized 45 limited duration employees and changed their titles to "assistant food service workers."
Hunter was also part of a working group on the Designated Suppliers Program. The program is a collaborative effort among U.S. colleges and universities to ensure that school apparel is manufactured in factories that uphold certain standards, such as paying workers a "living wage" and giving workers freedom to unionize. He briefed the Brown University Community Council on the national debate surrounding the DSP and urged the council to recommend Brown support for the program.
"There were some tough decisions to be made," Hunter said of his time at Brown. "But if you focus on doing what's best for the University and what's best for students, the rewards come back to you."
He added, "This is a wonderful place doing wonderful things, and it's been a terrific experience."
