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University News

Spontaneous Facetimes, Zoom silences and broken records: Admission officers describe creating next year’s class from home

By Will Kubzansky | April 1

During a normal fall, Chrissy Fulton’s days are filled with high school visits. She breaks up meetings with time in her car listening to NPR podcasts as she eats a granola bar or drives to a lunch spot recommended by a high school counselor. But for the past year, Fulton’s days have been punctuated ...

University News

Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson delivers Lemley Lecture on book, speaks on U.S. divisions

By Sameer Sinha | April 1

Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson likened racial divisions in the U.S. to a caste system during the Lemley Lecture on April 1 about her new book, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.” “Caste is with us whether we recognize it or not. It’s working within our society, whether we see ...

University News

University announces Phase II of Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan

By Benjamin Pollard | April 1

Five years after the release of the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, the University is launching Phase II of the plan. Phase II reiterates the DIAP’s central goals while outlining new actions aimed specifically at increasing equity and inclusion in the community.Phase II does not replace the DIAP ...

University News

New UCS resolution would call for increased student mental health support in light of condensed semester schedule

By Shilpa Sajja | March 31

The Undergraduate Council of Students proposed a resolution at its general body meeting Wednesday evening calling for the University to implement measures to support student mental health. A March 24 op-ed in The Herald that condemned the University for failing to prioritize student well-being, as ...

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R.I. homelessness was on the rise before COVID-19, HUD report says

By Stella Olken-Hunt | March 31

There was a 4.6 percent increase in homelessness in Rhode Island from 2019 to 2020 according to part one of the 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment, which the Department of Housing and Urban Development delivered to Congress March 18. Many of the trends shown in the data of the PIT Count were unsurprising ...

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University News

Students celebrate their first on-campus Passover during COVID-19

By Alex Nadirashvili | March 31

With the start of Passover on Saturday night, students across campus have begun to celebrate the holiday with their individual pods, at in-person gatherings through Brown/RISD Hillel and on online Zooms. Passover is a Jewish holiday “commemorating the Hebrews’ liberation from slavery in Egypt and ...

University News

Cybersecurity attack forces University systems shutdown

By Livia Gimenes | March 30

All University non-cloud based systems and services were out of service Mar. 30 following a cybersecurity attack. The shutdown of the systems was the consequence of “a number of aggressive steps” taken by Computing and Information Services to protect University resources, according to a statement ...

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New legislation proposed to close private prisons in R.I., promote prison reform

By Sarah Ogundare | March 30

To promote prison reform and work to halt operations of private prisons in Rhode Island, State Senator Jonathon Acosta, D-Central Falls, Pawtucket, and State Representative Joshua Giraldo, D-Central Falls, introduced four bills to the R.I. legislature Mar. 5. These bills aim “to dismantle this ...

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Four women-owned small businesses based in Providence

By Jack Walker | March 30

Providence is home to a variety of small businesses, affording each neighborhood of the city a certain charm and, for visitors and residents alike, the possibility of exploration. While there has been a significant increase in the number of women-owned businesses across the nation, recent studies still ...

Science & Research

2021 Salomon Awards grant funds 16 projects

By Jared Zhang | March 30

The Office of the Vice President for Research announced 16 recipients of the 2021 Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Awards Mar. 10. The awards, named in honor of Chancellor of Brown 1977 to 1988 Richard Salomon, “recognize excellence in scholarship,” wrote Vice President for Research Jill Pipher ...

Science & Research

High rates of burnout burden lesbian, gay, bisexual medical students

By Kathleen Meininger | March 29

Lesbian, gay and bisexual medical students are more likely to experience burnout and to report perceived mistreatment by other members of the medical community than their heterosexual classmates are, according to a study published last month conducted by Brown and Yale researchers. Burnout, which ...

Metro

Providence places of worship adapt to COVID-19, loosened restrictions

By Caleb Lazar | March 29

Ash Wednesday occurred just before St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church reopened its doors for in-person services on March 1, but Reverend Benjamin Straley modified his church’s service to give parishioners a sense of normalcy. “We livestreamed the main liturgy, but I also sat outside for a few hours ...

Science & Research

A cardiothoracic surgeon, aerospace researcher and professor: Peter Lee ’94 PhD’03 MD’05 on his path back to Brown

By Marlene Goetz | March 29

Peter Lee ’94 PhD'03 MD'05, cardiothoracic surgeon and an assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, conducted his undergraduate, graduate and medical studies at the University and returns to College Hill from Ohio State University as an accomplished researcher and surgeon with varied ...

Metro

More than just granola: how Beautiful Day supports refugees while making snacks

By Jasper Yeh | March 29

Over a hundred refugees arrive in Rhode Island every year — but they often lack the long-term support needed to assimilate and adjust. While the Rhode Island Department of Human Services aims to help refugees achieve self-sufficiency “within the shortest possible time,” programs like Beautiful ...

University News

The Bruno Brief: Brown community grieves Atlanta shooting victims

By Corey Gelb-Bicknell | March 28

In this week’s episode of The Bruno Brief, we talk to students and faculty about their reactions to the deadly shooting in Atlanta, Georgia March 16, which killed eight people, including six Asian women. We speak to Senior Staff Writer Victoria Yin, who heard from community members about how they ...

University News

Faculty weigh in on unprecedented summer term

By Nicholas Miller | March 28

The start of the summer term in just over a month will commence the final leg of this year’s tri-semester schedule, leading numerous faculty members to focus on teaching classes during a season typically dedicated to research and future course planning. Three University professors spoke with ...

University News

VP Carey: Increase in COVID-19 cases is a ‘definite turn in a different direction’ due to individual actions

By Claire Liu | March 28

The University saw an increase in positive COVID-19 cases this week, with 37 community members testing positive through the asymptomatic testing program March 21 to March 27, according to the Healthy Brown COVID-19 Dashboard. The majority of cases came from undergraduate students on campus. This ...

Science & Research

The COVID Pod with Dr. Ashish Jha: Getting Vaccinated (with a side of free donuts)

By Cate Ryan, Emilija Sagaityte, Rahma Ibrahim and Colleen Cronin | March 27

On March 26, 2021, the COVID Pod team welcomes Dr. Ashish Jha again to discuss expanded vaccine eligibility coming soon to Rhode Island, how to address ongoing vaccine hesitancy and what the summer and next few years will look like after more people are vaccinated. Dr. Jha also provides his perspective ...

University News

Summer Dai '22 elected UCS president

By Shilpa Sajja | March 26

Summer Dai ’22 was elected president of the Undergraduate Council of Students and Akilesh Raman ’22 was reelected as chair of the Undergraduate Finance Board in this year’s UCS and UFB spring elections, Elections Board Co-Chairs Ophelia Duchesne-Malone ’22 and Jessica Chiu ’21 announced in ...

Metro

Vaccine eligibility expanded to residents 18+ in “hardest-hit” communities of Providence, Pawtucket

By Jack Walker | March 25

Providence has expanded vaccine eligibility to all residents ages 18 or older in “some of the neighborhoods hardest-hit by COVID-19,” Providence City Hall announced March 22. Pawtucket also expanded its vaccine eligibility to all adult residents of the city, according to a March 22 announcement ...