T H U R S D A Y OCTOBER 28, 2004
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXIX, No. 98
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
Targeted hiring helps increase faculty diversity, speed up search process BY CAMDEN AVERY
Increasing faculty diversity is one goal of Brown’s largest faculty expansion in decades; to accomplish this, the University is using a targeted hiring program created as part of the Plan for Academic Enrichment. Of the 100 faculty positions that will be added over the next several years, 25 are allocated to the Target of Opportunity program, which allows departments to bypass the normal search process to specifically recruit scholars they deem “extraordinary.” Brenda Allen, associate provost and director of institutional diversity, said one of the University’s objectives with the Target of Opportunity program “is to bring racial and gender minorities to the faculty.” According to Associate Provost Nancy Dunbar, the program seeks to increase not only racial and gender diversity, but also intellectual diversity. Dunbar said “target” individuals are identified “because of their ability to diversify the intellectual terrain, to provide a unique or diverse perspective.” Typically, the University hires faculty members to fill existing positions, such as when a professor retires or otherwise leaves the University. The Target of Opportunity program, Allen said, allows departments to create new positions to accommodate scholars they choose to recruit. Under the targeted hiring program, departments identify scholars who are “extraordinary,” Allen said, and write a proposal that President Ruth Simmons, the
provost and deans review. If they approve the proposal, departments can begin recruiting. “Whatever it takes to sell the academic environment here, we help the departments to achieve,” Allen said, adding that this sometimes includes taking a candidate to dinner or arranging conversations with other faculty members. The program’s purpose is to allow the University to recruit “outstanding faculty with greater … flexibility,” Allen said. This flexibility is rooted in the program’s expedited hiring process, she said. Target of Opportunity allows the University to identify an individual for immediate hire and avoid the process of committee approval, which slows hiring, she added. Target of Opportunity hiring is faster, according to Allen, because it doesn’t require placing advertisements and forming a pool of candidates to choose from. Renowned author John Edgar Wideman came to campus in September as a Target of Opportunity hire, Allen said. Wideman — who has won an O. Henry Award for short fiction and two PEN/Faulkner Awards — has dual appointments in the departments of Africana studies and English. He is teaching one graduate seminar this academic year. Wideman said his recruitment process “went on for six or four months” — significantly shorter than the standard process. According to Dean of the Faculty Rajiv Vohra P’07, “the (standard hiring) process is actually pretty long. … Many of the
see HIRING, page 4
Red Sox win World Series
Nick Neely / Herald
Boston Red Sox fans spilled onto Thayer Street late Wednesday evening after the team won the World Series title, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 in the fourth game of the best-of-seven series. Celebrations on College Hill were relatively peaceful, with a heavy police presence keeping things in hand.
Brown fans celebrate peacefully BY MELANIE WOLFGANG
Even the moon was caught wearing red Wednesday evening as the Boston Red Sox earned their first World Series victory since 1918. October’s total lunar eclipse, nicknamed the “Blood Moon” after its reddish hue, may account for the Sox’s seemingly effortless 3-0 shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals. It may also account, in part, for the odd
History dept. building to be relocated to make room for Walk BY JANE PORTER
Peter Green House, the threestory, 10,000-square-foot building that currently houses part of the Department of History, will be moved to a new location to free the space for the planned “Walk” connecting the Pembroke campus to Lincoln Field. At a meeting last Wednesday, representatives of the history department and the planning office discussed the logistics of the move. Built in 1868 and renovated five years ago, Peter Green House is currently home to many of the history department’s offices, its administrative office and a classroom. “We know that it’s going to be moved,” said Professor of
History Tim Harris P’03, acting chair of the department. “It’s going to be inconvenient for those people who have offices there. The hope is that we can minimize inconveniences.” At last week’s meeting, Harris discussed dates and logistics regarding the move with Michael McCormick, director of planning, and Karen Mota, academic department manager for the history department. The building will be moved to accommodate the construction of the Walk, a walkway running parallel to Thayer Street and stretching from Lincoln Field to the Pembroke campus. The Walk will be designed in conjunction with Sidney Frank Hall, a new academic facility that will stand
on Angell Street. It is possible that construction of the Walk will eventually require the University to relocate other buildings as well, McCormick said, but at this point it is unclear whether that will be necessary and which buildings would be affected. Last week’s meeting was a preliminary step in the planning of the move, Harris said. Peter Green House will be moved approximately 250 feet from its current location on Angell Street to the corner of Brown and Angell streets, which is currently the site of a University-owned parking lot. Steel beams will be inserted
see PETER GREEN, page 7
behavior of Brown’s Red Sox fans throughout campus last night. A jubilant crowd gathered outside Josiah’s immediately after the Red Sox clinched the game by throwing out St. Louis’ Edgar Renteria at first base. Less a riot than a celebration, the crowd marched up Thayer Street, linking arms and highfiving car passengers through open windows. Horns blared. Students chanted. Cameras
RISD students use internships, alumni connections to achieve success after graduation risd news, page 3
Alexandra Toumanoff ’06 battles the insidious forces of nature — right in her dorm room column, page 11
flashed. Helicopters circled overhead. Police officers looked on in amusement, sounding their sirens intermittently to keep the crowds from blocking traffic. “Can I get a cigarette for the Red Sox?” one student prompted another as they watched the crowd pass. The group of about 200 stu-
see SOX, page 9
Rising GOP star Jindal ’92 favored to win House seat Jindal, who ran for governor last year, would be only Brown alum in House BY JUSTIN ELLIOTT
Bobby Jindal ’92 is not the typical Louisiana politician. The son of Indian immigrants — his birth name was Piyush — CAMPAIGN and a con2 0 0 4 v e r t e d Catholic, Jindal, at only 33, is running for Congress in a district that gave considerable support to former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke in the 1991 governor’s race. Nevertheless, after a meteoric
rise through Louisiana state government, a position in George W. Bush’s administration and a near-win in last year’s gubernatorial race, Jindal, a conservative Republican, is ahead in the race to represent the First Congressional District and is poised to become the only Brunonian in the U.S. House of Representatives. Jindal, who last year was elected to the University’s Board of Trustees, won a Rhodes Scholarship after he graduated magna cum laude from Brown with a degree in biology and public policy. For two years he studied politics at Oxford University, and from there, he rapidly moved from a job as a consultant to
see JINDAL, page 4
W E AT H E R F O R E C A S T
I N S I D E T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 2 8 , 2 0 0 4 After retirement of old director, Argentine ecologist takes over Environmental Studies campus news, page 3
www.browndailyherald.com
Nate Goralnik ’06 thinks it’s time for America, not the United Nations, to run the world column, page 11
M. tennis ends fall season with successful showing at weekend tournament; one player gets to quarterfinals sports, page 12
THURSDAY
sunny high 58 low 36
FRIDAY
sunny high 53 low 36