The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, D ecember 5, 2007
Volume CXLII, No. 121
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
Internationalization agenda moves ahead with seed grants for faculty
Ex-agent Plame recounts CIA outing, criminal trial By George Miller Staf f Writer
Last night in a packed Salomon 101, Valerie Plame Wilson told her life story: how she grew up interested in public service, endured the CIA’s grueling “boot camp” and had her identity as a covert operative revealed by White House officials as retaliation for her husband’s criticism of the Bush administration’s case for the Iraq war. This last point spawned a sprawling, complicated and continuing controversy involving the resignation of an administration official and the jailing of a New York Times reporter. The situation thrust Wilson into the public spotlight, where she has since remained. On Tuesday evening, she gave an insider’s view
of a story that until now has been told by grand jur y investigation, media outlets and spin doctors, but not Wilson herself. In July 2003, Joseph Wilson, Valerie’s husband and a former ambassador, wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times arguing that the Bush administration’s claim that Iraq had sought Nigerian uranium was false. A week later, columnist Robert Novak, in a piece about Joseph Wilson’s article, identified Valerie Plame Wilson as a CIA agent. The subsequent criminal trial, investigating whether Wilson was illegally outed, ended in the conviction of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, on four counts continued on page 6
By Nick Werle Senior Staf f Writer
is a fundraising drive publicly launched in October 2005 that aims to raise $1.4 billion by 2010. The campaign reached the $1-billion mark in May. At the faculty meeting Tuesday, Simmons emphasized the importance of balancing faculty growth with infrastructure and facilities growth. Referring to the addition of more faculty members, Simmons said, “(We need to) grow more modestly to catch up with infrastructure needs. Continuing to expand the faculty without (that) would be a mistake.” However, Simmons added, that does not mean the University will stop hiring faculty altogether, and she said some people have suggested that the University focus its faculty expansion on “looking for preeminent scholars.” Similar questions of balance came up in regard to areas Simmons called “international prominence” and “research and teaching.” Faculty members shook their heads in dissent when Sim-
Six faculty groups will receive a total of $85,000 in seed funds for internationally oriented projects from the Office of the Provost, the University announced Tuesday. The grants are part of the University’s internationalization initiative, which aims to bolster Brown’s global profile and build relationships with institutions abroad. Intended to support work to be carried out in 2008, the grants will fund faculty members’ collaboration with researchers and universities in China, France and Brazil for projects in fields ranging from computational mathematics to gender studies. The seed funding initiative is the first concrete step in the broadly defined internationalization initiative first announced by President Ruth Simmons in September 2006. The Internationalization Committee released a report in September outlining ways to expand the scope of Brown’s international activities, and in October the University announced that Harvard Law School professor David Kennedy ’76 will serve as the first vice president for international affairs. “The fact that there were over 40 proposals shows how much interest there is in this initiative,” Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98 said of the seed-funding selection process. A proposal for a global health initiative, to be developed by faculty members who served on the Internationalization Committee’s Global Health Working Group, received one of the six seed grants. Cochaired by Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Susan Cu-Uvin, Professor of Community Health Stephen McGarvey and Associate Professor of Anthropology Daniel Smith, the group hopes to submit a detailed proposal by the end of this academic year. “The ultimate goal (of the global health initiative) is to improve the health of the global population,” Smith said. “The impact of Brown’s
continued on page 6
continued on page 4
Chris Bennett / Herald
Former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson addressed a crowd in Salomon 101 last night.
Expansion a balancing act, Simmons tells the faculty By Isabel Gottlieb Senior Staff Writer
Chris Bennett / Herald File Photo
Sidney Frank Hall for the Life Sciences has proven popular with students and faculty.
One year later, Sidney Frank Hall gets rave reviews By Joanna Wohlmuth Staf f Writer
It has been just over a year since the Sidney Frank Hall for Life Sciences opened its doors to faculty and students. Despite some minor problems, most seem enthusiastic about the impact the building has had on research and campus life. “It’s a pretty nice building. There’s lots of light, elevators run up and down, two bathrooms on every floor. It’s luxurious in a way,” said Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience James McIlwain, who has an office in the building. “Every floor has a kitchen with a refrigerator and microwave and a Xerox machine,” he added. A number of issues came up once students and faculty moved into the large, $95 million building on Meeting Street. Adjustments had to be made to fix problems with the temperature and humidity control systems, which delayed some re-
INSIDE:
3
CAMPUS NEWS
www.browndailyherald.com
search, McIlwain said. File cabinets installed at graduate student work areas still must be replaced because they are too small to fit standard hanging file folders, said Paul Dietel, director of project management for Facilities Management. Acoustic engineers were called in to assess the echoing hallways that forced people to close their doors in order to get work done, McIlwain said. The buildings’ south-facing windows require darker screens to block the sun, but these have been slow in coming, McIlwain said. He made a temporary one for his office, out of a black sheet from WalMart. “These kinds of problems are not uncommon for a large research building like this,” Dietel said, adding that there were never any safety concerns. “As issues arise, the team remains committed to finding solucontinued on page 4
Passionate for polo A group of students is advocating for the establishment of a polo club on campus for next year
3
CAMPUS NEWS
The Plan for Academic Enrichment has been well received on campus because “it has a set of goals and a direction,” President Ruth Simmons told the faculty Tuesday at its monthly meeting. But she stressed that despite the Campaign for Academic Enrichment’s “measurable progress” much more work needs to be done to achieve the plan’s goals, with a focus on balancing growth. This semester, University officials have collected feedback on the plan from various campus constituencies, such as the Brown University Community Council, the Brown Alumni Association, the Graduate Student Council and the Division of Campus Life and Student Services. In addition, administrators have organized open forums with students and solicited comments from faculty. The Plan for Academic Enrichment is a comprehensive blueprint for strengthening Brown’s academic profile, and the Campaign for Academic Enrichment
Pay as you text? mPay hopes to make cell phones the new credit cards By Leslie Primack Staff Writer
You and several friends go out to dinner. The check comes. You glance at each other, cringe and start the unsavory task of breaking twenties and gathering the correct amounts of cash. Now, imagine taking out your cell phone and directly wiring the money to the restaurant, no credit cards or cash necessary. By next fall, according to Adjunct ProfesBanner bugs The University is reviewing some of the complaints received about Banner’s implementation.
11
OPINIONS
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
sor of Computer Science Donald Stanford, that situation could be a reality. Ocean State Partners, a startup company run in part by Stanford, is looking to introduce mPay — a free system that allows customers to use their cell phones like debit cards — to campus in time for the fall semester. “We are slowly moving toward a cashless society,” Stanford said, continued on page 4 Hillary’s obstacles Lindsey Meyers ’09 respects Hillary’s ability to overcome in her drive for the White House.
Courtesy of brown.edu
Adjunct Professor of Computer Science Donald Stanford
12 SPORTS
Quinnipiac Quiz The men’s basketball team passed an early season test against Quinnipiac in overtime on Tuesday night.
News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com