This past week, a defining piece of the University’s identity changed. President Christina Paxson told students at a campus forum that Brown is no longer a “university-college” in the model first established by former President Henry Wriston, though she added that the principle remains “in spirit.” Functionally, this change will have little immediate impact on the daily lives of Brown students, and any observer of the University will recognize that this trend has been developing for quite some time. But it is worthwhile to recognize the profundity of the changes that have taken place over the past decade and ask whether there is still a need, or a place, for the primarily undergraduate-focused model Brown has embraced for so many years.
Brown can continue to expand its campus and graduate programs while remaining committed to not only reinforcing the University’s undergraduate strength but also encouraging innovative and increased focus on the undergraduate body. This will only be possible if the administration recognizes and commits to the need to balance online education, lucrative master’s programs and graduate education with in-person undergraduate teaching.
Though the shift in language may be largely cosmetic, it is still notable given how recently the University has been affirming its commitment to its identity as a university-college. In fact, the mission statement on Brown’s website maintains that the school is a “partnership of students and teachers in a unified community known as a university-college.” When Paxson was appointed, she restated a commitment to this model, with her undergraduate experience at Swarthmore College in mind, and indicated that her vision for the University was for “Brown … to continue to grow as a first-class research institute” while maintaining its undergraduate focus.
Furthermore, in an interview with The Herald immediately following her appointment, Paxson specifically stated that “the university-college model” is “important to keep… as part of what Brown aspires to do.” While former President Ruth Simmons spearheaded initiatives that greatly expanded Brown’s graduate programs, she included provisions for “Brown’s future as an university-college,” even as she argued that this legacy “cannot be assured by just being a college.”
Wriston’s vision of the university-college neither provided for graduate schools, nor included a focus on the sciences. The ideals of a university-college can be updated, and it is by no means necessary for the term to recede into the past. It is possible to combine a greater focus on research and graduate work with continued emphasis on undergraduate excellence, but the administration must continue to reward and prioritize undergraduate teaching alongside graduate research. This is possible in the humanities as well as the sciences — for example, the recently designed BIOL 0190R: “Phage Hunters,” a class in high demand, now gives first-years hands-on experience with DNA and viruses. If the University is going to continue developing its use of online courses, it must balance that course by continuing to reward this type of innovation in the classroom, as well.
Paxson indicated that part of the rationale for the changed language was that “off campus,” most people do not know the meaning of the term. But we see this as an opportunity more than a reason to admit defeat. If we seek only to emulate research-focused universities like Columbia or Harvard, we will not succeed. They have been pursuing the research university model for much longer and have endowments to support that purpose. What is more, Brown should not seek to follow patterns set by other schools — it should focus on what makes it distinct. Brown will only be excellent if it remains a college for students who want a more engaged undergraduate experience, a place where their growth and opinions are respected and valued. Instead of shedding our identity as a university-college, we should reaffirm our commitment to its principles and rely on it to explain what makes Brown unique.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editor, Rachel Occhiogrosso, and its members, Daniel Jeon, Hannah Loewentheil and Thomas Nath. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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