On Jan. 13, Brown’s Graduate School’s headquarters moved into 225 Dyer St., placing the school in closer proximity to the School of Professional Studies, Brown research laboratories and other offices. The relocation from Horace Mann House, the headquarters' previous location, allows for greater collaboration and increased opportunities for graduate students, according to Executive Dean of Administration and Finance Ethan Bernstein.
The move emerged from the decision to centralize the Department of Classics into Horace Mann House, Associate Provost for Academic Space Ira Wilson said in an interview with The Herald. The department previously had offices in three different buildings.
“We’re constantly trying to help people use their space in the best possible way and allow every department, every school, every center, to optimize the facilities for the needs they have,” he added.
Bernstein added that it is not anticipated that the move will impact the core operations of the school. “The Graduate School will continue to provide the essential services of supporting PhD and MFA students across the University,” he wrote in an email to The Herald.
For Graduate Student Council President Kevin LoGiudice ScM’21 GS, the advantages of the new location include the open layout and the centralization of administrative offices.
The GSC began moving their departmental events away from Horace Mann House after being notified of the move at the beginning of the academic year, LoGiudice wrote in an email to The Herald. While this meant that the GSC lost access to certain meeting spaces in Horace Mann House, they now plan to shift some events to 225 Dyer St. in the hopes of spreading “awareness of the new location to more graduate students,” LoGiudice added.
But the school’s new location, which is now further from campus, may pose some challenges, he added.
Students “may need to navigate parking or utilize the Brown shuttle services,” LoGiudice wrote. Due to these potential accessibility challenges, he added that “the Graduate School may see a corresponding change in the preference for virtual meetings.”
Wilson noted that the school’s new location may be more convenient for some graduate students, pointing to the River House Apartments in the Jewelry District which houses Brown graduate students. He also emphasized that 225 Dyer St. is a “short shuttle ride” or a seven- to eight-minute walk “from the hill.”
The relocation of the Graduate School and the classics department is not atypical, as departments and schools transfer locations frequently, according to Wilson. This includes the admissions office moving from 200 Dyer St. to the top floor of the Sciences Library this year, he added.
“There’s constant movement based on a whole variety of factors,” Wilson said.
Horace Mann House also formerly housed some offices for the Division of Campus Life and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, he said.
Noa Saviano is a senior staff writer covering graduate schools and students.
