News

Mural, mural on the wall

In 'horrendous' year, endowment loses $740m

The University's endowment lost $740 million in the 12 months ending with June 30, falling to just over $2 billion, President Ruth Simmons said at a faculty meeting on Wednesday. But the discouraging endowment picture was tempered by relatively robust fundraising, Simmons said.

Service month engages staff in local aid

As students return to classes, University faculty and staff are heading to walkathons , farms and food banks as part of a new program to get them more involved in the community. As part of the "Brown Gives 30 Days of Service" program, volunteers will log community service hours in the Providence area ...

Mocha admins at a loss to explain Tuesday night outage

The night before classes began brought even more stress than usual.

Professor encourages new students to 'find their niche'

President Ruth Simmons officially opened the University's 246th year Wednesday afternoon, formally welcoming new members of the Brown community.

An ocean away, release of Pan-Am bomber triggers memories on College Hill

Last year, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi was diagnosed with terminal cancer — a piece of personal information that catapulted the former Libyan intelligence official to the center of an international controversy.

Anthro prof hired as new VP for international affairs

Matthew Gutmann began serving at his new post as vice president for international affairs Sept. 1, becoming the second person to occupy the position since its creation less than two years ago.

Deans screened letters without telling students

Letters students wrote to their first-year advisers were used by administrators to assess writing ability in past years without students' or advisers' knowledge, Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron and Associate Dean for Writing Kathleen McSharry acknowledged.

Watch your step! Campus curses abound

You might think your chances of graduating are related to how much you study, or that with responsible behavior you'll have a safe and stable love life. But according to a number of Brown myths and legends that have endured over the years, your fate might be sealed by a careless misstep — literally. ...

Brown students: happiest, 16th-best, and ... douchey?

Students arriving on campus this week will likely be pleased to discover that Brown has reestablished itself as the school with the happiest students in America — at least according to The Princeton Review, which released its 2010 edition of "The Best 371 Colleges" in July.

For e-mail, Brown turns to Google

The Brown e-mail accounts of every undergraduate will be switched from Microsoft Exchange to Gmail by the end of September, a move that will provide students increased storage space and access to several Google applications.

U. teaming with Draper Lab to tackle energy

In a move intended to invigorate alternative-energy research at Brown, the University announced this summer that it will collaborate with Draper Laboratory, a non-profit engineering organization.

Cafe purchases now an ID swipe away

Nothing should get between college students and their daily doses of coffee — a sentiment the University and operators of the College Hill Cafe are now closer to making a reality.

Blue Room opens new digs

The Blue Room is on the move.

Tougaloo faces reaccreditation challenge

Financial woes have Tougaloo College facing a reaccreditation warning, but the school — and Brown's academic partnership with it — are safe for now, according to administrators from both institutions.

Teacher hiring plan draws lawsuit

As the school year begins for more than 20,000 students and teachers in Providence public schools, a change in hiring policy has led to praise, concern — and now a lawsuit.

U. preps for widespread H1N1 cases

The University is taking preemptive measures to control the spread of the H1N1 virus this fall, anticipating a worse-than-average flu season.

CIS trying out Google for e-mail service

Gmail may finally make its official entrance into Brown's e-mail system as a pilot program makes the next step toward a transition to the Google, Inc. mail server.

'Indoor prostitution' may be coming to an end in R.I.

Rhode Island is one of just two places in the union where prostitution is currently legal. But legislators could vote to put an end to that when they return from recess before the end of the summer.

State medical marijuana centers get green light

The Rhode Island General Assembly passed a bill last month to allow the creation of up to three state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries, becoming the third state in the country to legalize so-called "compassion centers" after both the House and Senate voted to override the veto of Gov. Donald ...