Wednesday, February 11, 2009

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Daily Herald the Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 16 | Wednesday, February 11, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

Next budget to be $4.5m smaller By Brigitta Greene Senior Staff Writer

Chris Bennett / Herald File Photo

Richard Holbrooke ’62 will stay on the faculty of the Watson Institute despite receiving a top diplomatic post in the Obama administration.

Holbrooke ’62 expected to keep Watson appointment By Anne Speyer Staff Writer

Richard Holbrooke ’62 is expected to remain a professor-at-large at the Watson Institute for International Studies despite his recent appointment by President Obama to the positio n of special envoy to

Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to Watson Deputy Director Geoffrey Kirkman ’91. Kirkman said he did not believe Holbrooke, a former Herald editor-in-chief, would leave his post at Watson in light of the continued on page 2

The University’s proposed 2009-10 budget cuts $4.5 million from current spending levels, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Beppie Huidekoper said at a meeting of the Brown University Community Council yesterday afternoon. If approved by the Corporation later this month as it now stands, the budget will represent a total reduction of $21 million from spending plans made last May, she said. Expenses for the 2010 fiscal year, which begins July 1, are currently projected to be $551 million — down from what was once projected to be $572 million, Huidekoper said. Dealing with the prospect of about $800 million in losses to its endowment, the University has said it needs to eliminate $60 million from previously anticipated spending plans by 2014. That estimate, Huidekoper said Tuesday, stems from an assumption that total income will increase by an average of just three percent per year over the next five years, instead of the previous figure of five percent. But Huidekoper said money saved by the current hiring freeze and other efforts to constrain spend-

ing should amount to about $30 million by 2014. Though those savings are impressive, that “still leaves $30 million to go” in order to reach the $60 million benchmark by the deadline, she said. The estimates and projections of future spending, as well as the amount of cutbacks, do not include the Division of Biology and Medicine, which has a separate budget. Huidekoper said major reductions will come from the deferral or revision of plans for large-scale capital projects, such as the Nelson Fitness Center and a new swimming pool. “We’re not abandoning priorities, but asking how we can be smarter about how we can undertake a project,” President Ruth Simmons said at the meeting. She said, however, that the University is “hopeful” that it will be able to go forward soon with the planned renovation of Faunce House. She said she will be attending a “decisive” meeting on that project today. In an attempt to “smooth out” the pain of decreased contributions to the operating budget from the endowment, the University will draw on the endowment at a higher-thancontinued on page 2

Money Troubles

$800 million Projected endowment losses by June 30, from 2008 high of $2.8 billion

$60 million

Amount by which the University needs to scale back spending plans for the next five years

$30 million

Estimated portion of that $60 million that will be saved through current cost-cutting measures like the hiring freeze

$572 million May 2008 projection for 2009-10 budget

$551 million Actual proposed budget for 2009-10, $21 million less than planned

Grad School applications down 2 percent overall According to the latest numbers, the Graduate School is facing a 2 percent collective decrease in applicants, though many of its programs reported increases. The Alpert Medical School, on the other hand, has reported a 12 percent increase in applicants from this time last year. With 6,922 applications as of Feb. 9, “we are nearly on par” with the number reported last year, Beverly Larson, Graduate School director of communications told The Herald via e-mail. The decrease followed last year’s record number of applications. Within the 66 Grad School programs, life and medical sciences, social sciences and humanities all reported application increases of 16 percent, 5 percent and 1 percent respectively. Physical science programs, however, suffered a 17 percent drop in applicants. Despite the decrease, certain programs within the physical sciences have had an increased number of applicants since last year, Larson wrote, reporting increases of 12 percent in

the geological sciences, 10 percent in chemistry, 6 percent in computer science and 3 percent in mathematics. Six graduate programs, with closing dates ranging from March to May, are still accepting students, Larson wrote. The medical school has seen a 12 percent increase in applications, said Director of Admissions Barbara Fuller. Currently, the admissions office is reviewing 2,517 secondary applications, Fuller said, adding that far 80 students have been accepted. The Med School is aiming to have 96 students in the class of 2013, of which half will likely be students currently in the Program in Liberal Medical Education, Fuller said. The Med School offers several routes to apply for admission, which include standard medical doctor, PLME, MD/PhD, postbaccalaureate and the Early Identification Program which targets “underrepresented minority students and Rhode Island residents.” Fuller said she couldn’t give an overall medical school acceptance rate since “all these routes of admission (don’t) make for a clear statistical number.”

Higher Ed, 5

Sports, 7

Opinions, 11

Online Degrees University of the People aims to deliver a highquality online education

Run like the win Men’s and women’s track and field won numerous individual awards

Fire Hazard? Michael Fitzpatrick ’12 thinks room inspections are too lenient

By Hannah Moser Senior Staff Writer

Kim Perley / Herald

Deborah Schimberg ’80 P’12 runs her eco-friendly all-natural gum company out of her home on Dudley Street.

From alum, a different way to chew By Matthew Klebanoff Staff Writer

inside

Deep in the rainforests of northern Guatemala, nearly two decades ago, Deborah Schimberg ’80 P’12 found something to chew on — chicle, the original ingredient for chewing gum. Today she is the president of Verve, Inc., a Providence-based business that manufactures Glee Gum, an all-

N ew s. . . . . 1 - 4 Higher Ed...5-6 S p o r t s. . . 7 - 8 Editorial..10 Opinion...11 Today........12

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natural chewing gum. While researching sustainable development in Guatemala in 1992, Schimberg discovered that chicleros, the people who harvest chicle from Sapodilla trees in the rainforest, depend on it for their livelihoods. After her trip, which was funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Schimberg used a few blocks of chicle from Guatemala to make experimental batches

of gum in her kitchen. She and her three children loved the hands-on project so much that she decided to manufacture and sell a “Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit.” Eventually, Schimberg’s company began to offer kits allowing people to make their own chocolate or gummies. continued on page 2

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