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University News

‘When we’re not on campus, we’re not equal to other students’: Challenges of COVID-19 for low-income students

By Olivia Burdette | April 19

When they first found out that the University was asking undergraduates to vacate dorms in response to COVID-19, many students from low-income backgrounds faced immediate challenges. "How am I going to pay for this?" Adrianna Maxwell ’22, a student staffer at the Undocumented, First-Generation College ...

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Health

Brown converts some dorms to temporary housing for emergency personnel, first responders

By Li Goldstein | April 17

The University will open up unoccupied residence halls as temporary housing for front-line personnel isolating from their families in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an April 17 Today@Brown announcement from Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey. “Local ...

University News

Brown cancels on-campus summer session courses

By Henry Dawson | April 16

Updated 12:09 p.m. April 19, 2020 The University has canceled all on-campus summer session 2020 courses. The cancellations also include residential summer programs both “on- and off-campus between June 13 and July 6,” which includes pre-college programs that were planned to run during that period, ...

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University News

In midst of COVID-19 pandemic, community aids GCB

By Katie Chen | April 16

Ever since Susan Yund became manager of the Graduate Center Bar in 1994, Brown students and faculty could always count on the bar to open its doors every night for good drinks and good company. That is, until the COVID-19 pandemic hit — the bar has been forced to temporarily shutter its doors since ...

University News

UCS votes to create University community engagement committee, discusses DIAP Phase II

By Jack Borris | April 16

Ryan Davis, associate vice president for institutional equity and diversity, discussed Phase II of the Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan at the Undergraduate Council of Students’ virtual general body meeting Wednesday. The Council also voted to create a new University committee dedicated ...

University News

Graduate Student Council petitions for extra year of funding for master’s, PhD students

By Jack Walker | April 16

The Graduate Student Council has petitioned for an extra year of funding to extend graduate programs, citing instability caused by the current COVID-19 pandemic. GSC sent the petition to Provost Richard Locke P’18 and Dean of the Graduate School Andrew Campbell on April 1. University-provided funding ...

Science & Research

Brown researchers show efficacy of Unwinding Anxiety app among medical professionals

By Jared Zhang | April 16

As physicians face new challenges fighting the COVID-19 pandemic on the frontlines, a new study out of Brown’s Mindfulness Center suggests an app could help physicians manage anxiety in the future. University researchers investigated the effectiveness of an app-based mindfulness training program, ...

University News

Professors react to remote learning, prepare for potential online fall semester

By Will Kubzansky | April 15

As the University prepares for students’ return to campus in the fall, while also crafting contingency plans for a potential virtual semester, professors — many already balancing the transition to online classes this semester — are thinking about what September could bring. The Herald spoke to ...

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Metro

Mental health services still available to Brown on-campus and afar: 'We’re talking to people all over the world'

By Julia Grossman | April 14

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when many students find themselves far from campus and their usual mental health resources, Counseling and Psychological Services is still providing services to students across College Hill and the globe. CAPS providers now offer telehealth services in order “to serve ...

University News

Tweet from Brown Students for Bernie highlights misgivings with Biden campaign

By Benjamin Pollard | April 14

“We are not endorsing Joe Biden” read a post from the Brown Students for Bernie’s Twitter account late Sunday. It came five days after Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced he was ending his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. The post has since been deleted, remaining on the ...

Science & Research

Researchers capture movements and patterns of active liquid crystals in 3D

By Melissa Zhang | April 14

Researchers from multiple academic institutions collaborated on a study published last month, in which they imaged and investigated systems of active liquid crystals in three dimensions and investigated their movements and patterns. Several University professors were at the forefront of the theoretical ...

Science & Research

Documenting history as it happens: Brown archivists collect COVID-19 stories, experiences from community

By Claire Liu | April 13

As members of the University community navigate the challenges of life away from campus, University archivists are making headway on projects that seek to document those experiences. Working remotely from their homes in Providence, teams from the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women and ...

University News

Brown suspends new hiring for faculty, staff to mitigate financial consequences from COVID-19

By Livia Gimenes | April 13

The University announced a suspension of “any new hiring” for both staff and faculty positions due to the COVID-19 crisis, according to a March 23 announcement from Provost Richard Locke P’18 and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Barbara Chernow. The policy will go into ...

University News

With Healthy Fall 2020 Task Force, Brown plans for next semester

By Kamran King | April 13

The University announced the creation of the Healthy Fall 2020 Task Force, which will plan the reopening of Brown’s campus next semester in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic forcing students to evacuate campus last month. President Christina Paxson P’19 wrote that she is “cautiously optimistic” ...

Science & Research

On Friday, astronaut Jessica Meir ’99 will return to a changed Earth

By Cate Ryan | April 12

When Jessica Meir ’99 was last subject to Earth’s gravitational pull almost seven months ago, life looked very different. This week she journeys home, leaving the isolation of the International Space Station behind to return to a self-quarantining planet. Meir has been aboard the ISS since September, ...

University News

UFB releases historic funding data since 2008-09, reveals over $1 million in accumulated budget surplus

By Jack Borris | April 9

In an unprecedented release, the Undergraduate Finance Board published its historical funding records dating back to 2008-09 on its website Wednesday afternoon as a part of the Board’s continued push toward transparency. After the Board requested access last year to data on its historical costs ...

Metro

Report finds RI forests need more protection

By Julia Grossman | April 9

A report titled “The Value of Rhode Island Forests” found that Rhode Island’s forests provide many public health, economic, social and environmental benefits, but they need more protection from a myriad of threats, according to Tee Jay Boudreau, deputy chief of the Division of Forest Environment ...

Science & Research

Brown researchers develop new 3D imaging technique to provide insight on cellular mechanical forces

By Jared Zhang | April 9

In a joint effort by the Brown University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, researchers developed an improved 3D imaging method to better understand the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cells which is implicated in cancer spread, or metastasis. This method possesses potential as a screening ...

University News

Paxson, Locke discuss fall plans, budgeting at BUCC meeting

By Caelyn Pender | April 9

President Christina Paxson P’19 recapped the financial and academic decisions made by the University in recent weeks in response to COVID-19 at a Brown University Community Council meeting April 8 over Zoom. Other administrators gave updates on student life, employment and the transition to remote ...

University News

University to enact salary, wage freezes for upcoming Fiscal Year 2021

By Olivia George | April 8

The University will freeze regular salary increases for faculty and staff for Fiscal Year 2021 beginning July 1 as one of many measures to alleviate the financial strain of COVID-19, according to a community-wide email sent by Provost Richard Locke P’18. While “there will be no increases to existing ...