daily herald THE BROWN
INSIDE
Post
post-
U. sees drop in net assets, endowment value By MATHIAS HELLER
pre-apocalyptic, potlucking, psychoacoustic
Page 7
Sound policies Meropol ’13: U. has fair, effective assault standards Page 8
Going up? Students take home prizes at elevator pitch contest TODAY
TOMORROW
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since 1891
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The University’s net assets decreased to $3.16 billion at the end of fiscal year 2012, a decrease of about 2 percent from last year’s total of $3.23 billion, according to financial statements released last month. Implying that the tough national economic climate is continuing to have an effect on elite universities’ finances, the market value of the University’s endowment dipped to $2.48 billion as of fiscal year 2012, down from $2.53 billion in 2011, according to a report released by the University Resources Committee last month. The dip in the value of the University’s investments coincides with a fall in net contributions to the University that are linked to the end of former president Ruth Simmons’ Campaign for Academic Enrichment fundraising initiative. Net contributions are counted as amounts of money that have been pledged by donors but have not yet been paid out to the University, said Beppie Huidekoper,
executive vice president for finance and administration. Simmons’ capital campaign, which began in 2002 and ended in 2010, raised $1.6 billion, the largest-ever haul for a Brown fundraising campaign. There have been decreases in net contributions received by the University in the two years since the end of Simmons’ campaign, according to the University’s financial statements. This year, the University received about $159 million in net contributions, an 18 percent fall from its 2010 total and a dip from last year’s $161 million. Huidekoper said she was not surprised by the fall in net contributions over the last couple years. The University collected many of its donors’ most recent fundraising pledges at the tail end of Simmons’ capital campaign, accounting for the recent falloff in collections, she said. The overall decrease in net assets is also affected by the persistently struggling U.S. economy. The University’s total investments declined in value from $2.88 billion at the end of fiscal year 2011 to
University Net Assets Per Fiscal Year
3.5 3.0
Billion Dollars
vol. cxxii, no. 117
2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Fiscal Year
KYLE MCNAMARA / HERALD
The University’s net assets fell by about 2 percent this year. A principal cause was the end of the Campaign for Academic Enrichment, administrators said. $2.79 billion at the end of fiscal year 2012. value of the University’s investments, she “It’s a very challenging capital market,” emphasized that Brown is not alone in Huidekoper said. “We certainly hope to dealing with a difficult economic climate. do better this year.” The University’s dip in endowment Though Huidekoper said she was value and net assets comes on the heels of concerned about the dip in the market a report / / Endowment page 2
Report positions U. to aid Providence recovery Surging int’l By SONA MKRTTCHIAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Six months after the University settled negotiations with Providence Mayor Angel Taveras — through an agreement that increased Brown’s voluntary contributions to the city in lieu of taxes, amid criticism from both students and city residents — the administration released a comprehensive report last month describing the University’s “economic impact” on the city and state’s struggling economy. The report outlines Brown’s involvement and influence in the greater Rhode Island community, highlighting data on University spending and hiring and introducing the prospect of future development within Providence. Knowledge economy Providence has taken clear steps
toward becoming a less industry-dependent economy, initiating the drive toward a “knowledge economy,” which would shift the capital city’s focus to technological development and innovation. The report focuses on the University’s position in a state with poor financial prospects and suggests that the University could further promote economic activity. The University initiated the economic review process in the spring of this year, enlisting the services of Appleseed Economic Development Consultants, the same firm that drafted similar reports for the University in 2005 and 2009. The information presented in the report is a reflection of data submitted by Brown and independent research conducted by Appleseed, said Hugh O’Neill, president of the / / Report page 4 firm.
Brown’s economic impact (FY 2011) $159 million
paid to Rhode Island vendors and contractors
$68 million
paid towards purchases of goods and services
$171.8 million
spent on research
705
full-time construction jobs created
$61.1 million spent by students
$15.2 million spent by visitors
$22.9 million
contributed and paid in taxes to the city and state
4,459
non-student employees on campus
An “economic impact” report released last month describes the University’s contribution to the local economy through consumption and hiring.
Landmark pension reform faces legal challenge By ADAM TOOBIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
A lawsuit filed by several Rhode Island unions following state municipal pension reform last November goes before Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter tomorrow. The hearing provides TaftCarter an opportunity to rule on a state motion to dismiss the case, which, if upheld, would be a major step toward solidifying the pension reform as state law. But if the judge strikes down the state’s motion, as most analysts expect, litigation will continue until the parties have expended all their options, including a possible appeal to the State Supreme Court. The process may continue for several months or until the parties negotiate an acceptable alternative settlement. “It’s a nine-inning game,” said Scott Mackay, political analyst for Rhode Island Public Radio. “We’re in the second inning.”
Prospects for a negotiated settlement brightened Tuesday when Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 expressed willingness to return to the bargaining table with George Nee, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and Robert Walsh, executive director of the National Education Association Rhode Island, a prominent teachers’ union, the Providence Journal reported. Walsh told the Journal he wanted “to leave it up to the judge to answer” the question of a settlement, while Nee said he supported negotiations with the state. Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, an architect of the pension reform and a possible contender for the governorship in 2014, criticized Chafee’s offer to negotiate with the unions. “It is not time for closeddoor meetings,” she wrote in a statement released yesterday. But Raimondo added that “if at some point the court asks the state to sit down to try and reach a
settlement, we will do so in good faith.” Chafee said Raimondo was displaying “a real venture capitalist attitude” — a criticism of her Wall Street background, the Journal reported. Speaker of the House Gordon Fox joined Raimondo in decrying the negotiations. “It is not appropriate for me to negotiate legislation that was passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor,” he wrote in a statement released yesterday. “This law is critical to securing the state’s retirement system and placing Rhode Island on sound financial footing now and into the future.” “The matter is now in the hands of the judiciary, where it will be appropriately decided,” Fox wrote. Raimondo has also argued that the governor cannot engage the unions in negotiations without her, since state law excludes employees’ retirement systems from the collective bargaining process. Christine Hunsinger, Chafee’s press sec-
retary, said that while Raimondo was the “chief architect and cheerleader” for pension reform, the governor has the authority to submit a deal to the General Assembly for consideration. Like many states across the country over the past few decades, Rhode Island has neglected to fully fund its pension system, allowing a significant buildup of unfunded liability — the difference between the money the state has promised and the money it has on hand to fulfill its obligations. Before the pension reform legislation passed last year, reducing the unfunded liability by $3 billion, the state was behind by $7.3 billion. The smaller unfunded liability means the state pays about $200 million less in annual required contributions to the fund, according to the non-partisan Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. The law achieves the cost reductions mostly by suspending the cost of living adjustments — / / Pensions page 2
enrollment increases revenue for R.I. schools By ALISON SILVER
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Across the country, the number of international students has increased significantly in the last few years, contributing additional revenue to colleges and state economies, according to a November report by the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs. Rhode Island was no exception — in the 2011-12 academic year, international students and their families accounted for $191.2 million of the state’s economy, according to the report. Last year, the number of international students in the state rose to 5,054, marking an increase of 143 between 2010 and 2012, according to the Providence Business News. Since federal funding cuts have prompted public institutions to seek other sources of revenue, the rise in international students who pay outof-state tuition has sparked questions about whether these institutions’ international recruitment is financially driven. With decreasing public funding, “the revenue potential of international students takes on additional vigor,” according to the report. “International students for some institutions have become a means to broaden or diversify the institutions’ revenue,” said John Hudzik, who coauthored the NAFSA report and currently serves as vice president for global engagement and strategic projects at Michigan State University. But Hudzik said that for institutions that have historically admitted a large number of international students, increasing revenue is not the principal motivation, he added. / / Internationals page 4
2 campus news C ALENDAR TODAY
DEC. 6
2:30 P.M.
/ / Pensions page 1
TOMORROW
DEC. 7
7 P.M. Poet Ray Ragosta
Shades of Brown Concert
McCormack Family Theater
Metcalf 101, Friedman Auditorium
8 P.M.
9:30 P.M. SPEC Presents: Candyland
IMPROVidence: The Last Show
Sayles Hall
Salomon, Room 001
MENU SHARPE REFECTORY
VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL
LUNCH Hot Turkey Sandwich with Gravy, Mashed Mustard Potatoes, Fresh Broccoli, Vegetable Bean Stew
BBQ Beef Sandwich, Butternut Squash Ravioli, Sage Cream Sauce, Zucchini and Summer Squash
DINNER Marinated Beef with Au Jus, Pesto Tortellini Salad, Red Potato Frittata, Herb Turnips, Garlic Bread Sticks
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
Cajun Pasta with Chicken, Vegan Paella, Yellow Beets Roasted with Red Onion, Green Beans with Tomatoes
SUDOKU
which have in recent years increased the value of pensions faster than the rate of inflation — until the plan is healthier. Raimondo told WPRI in April that if the courts reject the pension reform law, the state, cities and towns will all face “devastation.” John Simmons, executive director of RIPEC, said if the courts overturn the law “the economic impact would be severe.” He also stressed that the state’s municipalities would be hard hit — the reform saved them a substantial amount of money, and the state would have to cut aid and raise taxes to pay for its increased pension burden. Walsh wrote in a June NEARI press release that the pension reform violates the state’s “legal and … moral obligation to the active and retired teacher, state and municipal workers.” He added that Chafee’s decision to honor the debt the state incurred after 38 Studios, which defaulted on its $75 million loan, went bankrupt while ignoring its promises to its employees reflects misplaced priorities. The dispute will eventually be resolved through negotiations, and the current posturing only sets the groundwork for bargaining positions, Mackay said. The unions recognize that winning the case would devastate the state, and they do not want to be responsible for increased taxes, he noted. But union members — particularly the teachers and retirees — are angry about the pension cuts, forcing the legal challenge, he said. “I think (the unions) are looking to save face — to chip away at what the legislature took away,” Mackay said.
“They would like to get a little bit back.” David Boies, an esteemed litigator of Boies, Schiller and Flexner who argued for presidential candidate Al Gore in the 2000 George Bush vs. Al Gore Supreme Court case, recently joined Raimondo’s legal team, potentially boosting the treasurer’s willingness “to go another round,” Mackay said. Boies’ involvement demonstrates the extent to which other states are watching Rhode Island’s reform effort to better understand the implications of modifying their own pension systems. When news broke that the governor was willing to negotiate, Raimondo was in Chicago Tuesday night to attend a fundraiser before heading to New York to receive an award honoring her leadership in the state’s pension reform. Chafee called the coincidence “ironic,” since Tuesday’s news showed the treasurer has far from solidified this signature accomplishment, the Projo reported. The political side of this fight has lurked just below the surface as Chafee and Raimondo begin to draw battle lines for an eventual campaign. “Everyone knows Raimondo is running for governor … and Chafee’s approval rating is 29 percent,” Mackay said, the secondlowest gubernatorial approval rating in the country. “You cannot know how much smoke and how much fire is here.” The case has also received attention due to allegations that Taft-Carter, whose brother and mother both receive state pensions, cannot rule objectively, according to the New York Times. TaftCarter’s mother receives about $22,000 a year from her state pension and stands to have her cost-of-living-adjustments
— which raise the value of the pension between three and six percent annually based on factors like inflation — suspended under the new law, the Times reported. Taft-Carter has sided with the unions on pensions in the past. The attempts of former Governor Donald Carcieri ’65 attempt to reform the pension system in 2009, Taft-Carter ruled that the pension agreements counted as contracts between the state and its workers and were thus inviolable. The Carcieri-era changes were less extensive than the alterations under the 2011 law, which affect more people and save the state more money. State pension reform has followed a path similar to Providence’s pension reform. Facing untenable payments to the pension fund following years of mismanagement, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras worked with the city council to pass a law that rewrote the pension system for city retirees in April. But when the unions challenged the ordinance in court, the mayor negotiated a new agreement with local unions and retirees, announced a month after the ordinance passed. Cities and towns across Rhode Island are following the state’s lead and attempting to reform their pension systems instead of increasing taxes or cutting services. The municipalities often run into the same kinds of legal challenges that the state is currently confronting. “The eventual end of this legal case will set the precedent for how cities and towns can move forward,” Mackay said. “If the state can end (costof-living adjustments) legally, every city will try to do it.”
/ / Endowment page 1 RELEASE DATE– Thursday, December 6, 2012
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
CROSSWORD
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
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ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
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12/06/12
released in July by Bain and Company, a consulting firm, and Sterling Partners, a private equity firm, warning that many elite institutions including Brown were on a “financially unsustainable” economic path. Bain and Sterling pointed to the 22 percent increase in the University’s expense ratio, a measure of its costs to earnings, as an indicator of high financial risk. The report highlighted the difficulties that higher education institutions face in tough economic times, especially when faced with higher expense ratios. “Everybody realizes that higher education has got to look at its business model,” Huidekoper said. “We can’t keep increasing expenditures over revenues.” University Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from the Bain and Sterling report, saying he believed the firms released the study mainly for the purpose of finding new customers. “They already have a business when they consult with universities,” Schlissel
COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY
The largest proportion of Brown’s net revenue comes from tuition and fees, according to the data most recently released by the University. said, adding that the University’s peer institutions experienced varied financial performance in the past year. He cited Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as two institutions with varied investment performances last year — Harvard’s net assets fell while the MIT posted a large increase.
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But Schlissel added that the University will face tough times ahead if investment yields from the endowment remain as low as in fiscal year 2012 and if the federal government does not increase its funding grants for the University’s research projects. “In a difficult economy, I don’t think universities are going to be able to grow their budgets like they did in the past decade,” he said. Net contributions typically fall at the end of a large capital campaign, Schlissel said. He predicted that President Christina Paxson’s new capital campaign, which is currently in planning stages, will precipitate an increase in donations in coming years, as the University’s donors become reengaged in a new fundraising campaign. Huidekoper said there were no substantial changes in the past year in the type of donations given to the University’s Annual Fund. Donations to the University come in the form of cash gifts, as well as “gifts of securities,” which include individual stock and mutual fund shares. T h e / / Endowment page 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
/ / Endowment page 2 chairs of the Annual Fund, Andrea Baum ’83 P’15 and Samuel Mencoff ’78 P’11 P’15, could not be reached for comment. Richard Spies, interim senior vice president for advancement, declined to comment. Donors often are able to avoid paying capital gains taxes on stock gifts, making them an attractive option for giving. “People do what’s best for them with their own tax data,” Huidekoper said. Marisa Quinn, vice president for University relations, wrote in an email to The Herald that a record number of donors participated in the Annual Fund last year. “While the amount raised is important because of the range of valuable programs the annual fund supports … participation also matters, regardless of giving level, because we know that collectively so much more can be achieved,” Quinn wrote. Schlissel said the University continues to count on the support of its donor network for critical funding. “The University wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as it is without the enthusiastic support of its alumni,” he said. The University collected $238 million in net tuition in fiscal year 2012, a 3 percent gain from last year’s net total of $226 million. Net tuition has increased as a percentage of the University’s overall revenue stream in recent years, accounting for about 38 percent of budget revenues in fiscal year 2013, up from about 32 percent in fiscal year 2007, according to the University Resources Committee. Lower total contributions raised by the Annual Fund and a flattened payout from the University’s endowment have
corresponded with the greater reliance on tuition revenue to cover expenses in recent years. The University ranks first among Ivy League institutions for the percentage of its net revenue that comes from tuition, while Penn comes in second with just under 30 percent of its net revenue coming from tuition. Harvard and Princeton rely on tuition the least among Ivy League institutions, with each having under 10 percent of net revenue coming from tuition, according to the URC report. Harvard and Princeton have the first- and third-largest endowments, respectively, in the nation. Despite the lower net contributions, the University has maintained its commitment to funding a substantial number of scholarships. The University spent 34 percent of the money raised from tuition and fees in fiscal year 2012 on scholarships to students, amounting to about $123 million. The University devoted the same percentage to scholarships in fiscal year 2011. “We’ve done a lot to maintain our commitment to financial aid,” Huidekoper said, adding that the 34 percent scholarships-to-overall-tuition ratio was not a “stated target” ratio. She said rather than set a fixed amount for scholarships, the University seeks to fulfill all of its financial aid obligations, given that it has a need-blind admission policy for domestic applicants. But Huidekoper warned that the University’s financial aid program, which has been growing at an average annual rate of 6 percent, has the potential to outpace revenue growth. With the endowment’s decreased value from the recent financial crisis, the University has had to slash
campus news 3 staff salaries and initiate layoffs in recent years in order to maintain its financial aid commitments, she said. Outside experts expressed skepticism that the University is in as dire of a financial situation as the Bain and Sterling report suggested. “I wouldn’t say that places like Brown are stuck in a rut,” said Tom Parker, senior associate at the Institute for Higher Education Policy. “I just don’t see Brown in the category of those institutions that Bain is most concerned about.” The 34 percent share of tuition and fees going to scholarships falls within the norm for wealthier universities, Parker said. He added that he doubted the University’s dip in its net assets value was due to any management problem, saying that the University has a strong financial management team. “Expensive private schools like Brown are like hospitals,” Parker said, disagreeing with assessments warning that the University is not on a steady long-term course. “It’s a little like saying Mass General Hospital is going out of business.” Howard Bunsis, chair of the American Association of University Professors’ collective bargaining congress, disputed Bain’s characterization of the University’s financial outlook. “The conclusion is completely erroneous,” Bunsis said. “A bad year in the endowment for them really has very little effect on their long-term health.” But Bunsis noted that he believes many universities, including Brown and other elite institutions, face a sharp financial challenge from the growth in the number of administrators. He said his review of the University’s financial statements indicated that too much money
COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY
At 38 percent in fiscal year 2013, Brown receives a higher percentage of its net revenue from tuition than any other Ivy League institution. is apportioned to administrators when it should instead be going to more academic functions, such as the hiring of new faculty. “They seem like they are incredibly top-heavy with administrative costs,” Bunsis said. “There are too many ad-
ministrators making too much money.” Bunsis said many universities need to consider the costs and benefits of hiring more administrators as opposed to more faculty members, pointing to research as a key to bringing in more money for universities.
4 campus news / / Report page 1 The resulting six-part report emphasizes Brown’s role in the city and state economies as an employer, consumer and research university, and it suggests the community benefits from the University’s development of human capital and community service projects. These roles are explained through the perspective of financial growth and opportunities for the University, with a focus on development of the Jewelry District. Purchasing power In 2011, Brown was ranked the fifth-largest private employer in the state, just below Rhode Island-based
firms such as Lifespan and CVS Corporation. Excluding jobs for students, the University sponsors jobs for 4,459 employees, 80 percent of which were full time last year. A similar report from 2005 notes 3,753 workers were employed by Brown that spring. The 2012 report also claims the University is directly responsible for the creation or support of 1,050 jobs in private firms across the state in the construction, service and production industries through in-state spending. The University spent nearly $328 million in the last fiscal year on goods, services and construction purchased from Rhode Island businesses and firms. But in-state spending on goods and services amounted to 37 percent
of the University’s overall expenditures in that area, while almost 70 percent of construction costs were paid out to Rhode Island firms. Of the total figure, $131 million of spending resulted from both direct and indirect construction costs related to the completion of three major infrastructure projects on campus during fiscal year 2011: the relocation of the Alpert Medical School, the construction of the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts and the renovation of Metcalf Chemical Laboratory and Auditorium. Student spending also supports economic growth in the city. According to the report, both direct and indirect spending by students and campus visitors amounts to more than $100
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
million of revenue for local businesses. Start-up territory The University spent more than $178 million on research in fiscal year 2012, an approximately $40 million increase since 2009. But in the report, Appleseed writes, “Even the best research does not by itself drive growth.” The report also discusses the University’s relationship with innovation and start-ups in Providence. Appleseed notes that economic growth through technology is a rising trend across the country and that Brown, as a highly competitive research university, offers the human capital necessary for such ventures. The report includes a list of 25 in-state companies — including Narragansett Brewing Company and NuLabel Technologies — that collectively employ 450 workers. According to Appleseed, the report “illustrates the wide range of companies that are connected to the University.” But the report also points out that only 8 percent of all Brown graduates live and work in the state, according to data from the Brown Alumni Association. The University has initiated new programs, such as the Founders League — created through a partnership with the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, the University of Rhode Island and Betaspring — in order to familiarize students with the “livability” of the city, said Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations. The Founders League is designed to support small business development in the state. “The overall goal is to sustain the growth of a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem in Rhode Island,” said Bethany Costello, vice president of public affairs and communications at the Chamber. “Brown is a huge asset. … It brings a wealth of students, faculty and academic knowledge to the local economy.” The current focus is ensuring that there are in-state jobs for graduating Brown students,
/ / Internationals page 1 It is important for institutions of higher education not to view the role and value of international students solely in dollar terms, he said, though “the attraction of international students as a revenue source takes on an additional benefit,” especially at smallerlevel institutions. A financial gain Dania Brandford-Calvo, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars at the University of Rhode Island, a public institution, said the university admits international students based on their academic credentials and to increase the “cultural and national diversity” of the student body. But he acknowledged that those students do provide significant revenue both to the university and the state economy. As in-state students pay “subsidized or discounted tuition,” international students paying out-of-state tuition provide “a revenue stream,” BrandfordCalvo said. She added that “there is no doubt that international student admissions represent a positive impact on the economy of a given region.” But admission of international students does not interfere with admission of domestic students, Brandford-Calvo added. Rather than looking primarily to
Costello added. Around 10 percent of graduating seniors in each class since 2009 planned to live and work in Rhode Island, according to data provided by CareerLAB. Development “Looking to the future, Brown is now working with state and city officials … to determine what role the University might play in development of the state-owned land in the area that has been freed up by the relocation of I-195,” according to the report. At the end of November, both the University of Rhode Island and Johnson and Wales University expressed interest in creating programs in the Jewelry District, currently home to Brown’s medical school and its associated teaching hospitals. URI intends to partner with Rhode Island College to develop a nursing program, and Johnson and Wales publicly announced plans for a physician’s assistant training program. JWU also finalized the purchase of two parcels of land in the Jewelry District made available by the relocation of Interstate 195. Besides the Med School, Brown already has land holdings in the Jewelry District for the Laboratories of Molecular Science and the Office of Continuing Education. State reports estimate the I-195 relocation project will be completed by the end of 2012, freeing land for purchase and development along the Providence River. “We care deeply about how the 195 land is developed,” Quinn said. “Our own plans there will be guided by what happens in the strategic planning process, but we certainly have a real interest because of our significant presence in the area.” According to updates to the Plan for Academic Enrichment, the University’s current agenda includes plans for a “new pedestrian bridge connecting College Hill to the Jewelry District and master planning and zoning for the vacated I-195 land.” international student enrollment to compensate for the decline in federal funding, URI has expanded its summer and other special programs for international and domestic students as a means of increasing revenue. Dual degree programs that span two countries play an important role in the university’s diversification and economic success. Students in such programs “are gaining a degree from their nation and our nation, and they’re paying in their nation and our nation,” Brandford-Calvo said. “In the end, they are the winner.” Global outreach Johnson and Wales University, a private university where international students pay the same tuition as domestic and in-state students, held the highest number of international students in the state in the 2011-12 academic year, with 2,093 international students attending and contributing $64.5 million to the economy, according to Providence Business News. These students hail from more than 90 different countries at the university’s four campuses, according to its website. As of 2010, Johnson and Wales ranked 83rd in the country for international student enrollment, according to that year’s Open Doors report. For the same year, the university’s Alan Shawn Feinstein Graduate School r a n k e d / / Internationals page 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
/ / Internationals page 4 sixth among master’s degree institutions. One reason for its current lead in foreign student attendance could be the diversity of academic programs offered, said Miriam Weinstein, communications and media relations manager at Johnson and Wales’ Providence campus — the largest of its four campuses. “The international student population has always been an important one to Johnson and Wales,” she said, particularly in the hospitality and culinary areas of study. These “global-reaching industries,” in addition to the university’s college of business and school of technology, naturally attract students from around the world, she said, and the most represented countries are China, South Korea and Taiwan. Roger Williams University has also experienced “extreme growth in international student population” over the last few years, said Michael Vieira, an international admission counselor. “We continue to grow our international recruitment efforts, recognizing that our international population really adds diversity” to the university, he said. The university’s professional schools and liberal arts programs “gives us a high appeal abroad,” he said. Looking forward The NAFSA report predicts a 150 percent increase in the total number of students around the globe, projecting that it will reach 250 million by 2025. It also predicts that “global competition among students will intensify,” especially as countries such as China, South Korea, Mexico and Russia increase their recruitment efforts for incoming students. Students from China, India and South Korea account for 46 percent of total international enrollment in the United States, according to the NAFSA report. The total number of international enrollments increased by 5.7 percent over the last year, rising to 764,495, according to a November article in the Chronicle. For the first time in 11 years, the number of international undergraduate students exceeds the number of international graduate students in the United States, according to the article. The trend of higher international enrollment will continue both because American institutions welcome international students and because many other countries do not have sufficient resources to accommodate them, ac-
cording to Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president of the Institute of International Education. “Certainly those students who come from abroad and are able to pay for their full tuition at an out-of-state student rate are going to be very welcome at public institutions,” she said. Such institutions rely on these full tuitions so that they may maintain in-state rates for in-state students and keep their departments open to all students, she said. “I don’t think it’s just finances that are driving this either at public or private universities,” she said, adding that schools need to teach “in a way that encompasses international students’ perspectives” to internationalize education for American students. Bringing it home Brown boasts the Ocean State’s second highest number of enrolled international students, with 1,446 foreign students in 2011-12, according to Providence Business News. These students provided $59.5 million to the state economy. “We don’t look at international students as a unique revenue source,” said Provost Mark Schlissel P’15. “We look at them as an essential component of the student body.” Though Brown is not currently need-blind for international students, it allocates a specific budget to help those students attend every year, Schlissel said. The University increased its financial aid to extend aid to one-third of international students, while its commitment for domestic students is 45 percent, said Jim Miller ’73, dean of admission. Financial aid has grown faster than the tuition rate over the last decade, he said, including for international students. The number of international students receiving aid has increased by 80 percent since 2007-08, he said. Extending need-blind admission to international students would require an increase in tuition across the board or greater fundraising, which “would certainly end up challenging the University’s budget,” he said. “The bottom line for us is that there’s absolutely no financial incentive built into our international admission,” Miller said. “It’s very important for Brown students to become culturally literate and for students from other countries to come and learn about the U.S.” — With additional reporting by Mathias Heller
campus news 5
6 editorial & letter EDITORIAL
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
EDITORIAL CARTOON B Y A N G E L I A WA N G
Envisioning The Herald’s future When Jill Abramson was named executive editor of the New York Times, several editors — incoming and outgoing — offered their takes on the biggest challenges she would face in her tenure. Among them was a realization that is beginning to dawn on journalists across the globe. Former New York Times Magazine editor Gerald Marzorati put it bluntly when he spoke about the Times in an interview with the New Yorker, “We’re not just a newspaper anymore.” The changing role of newspapers is becoming increasingly evident at the college level, too. Is The Brown Daily Herald just a newspaper anymore? Over the past two decades, The Herald has gained a website, a blog, a Facebook page, a Twitter handle and now even an Instagram account. And over winter break, we will be rolling out a more user-friendly website that offers a sleeker, more functional interface. The Herald is enhancing its online presence to accommodate a readership that increasingly consumes its news online. But what is more difficult to discern are the other ways — both in terms of news content and delivery — The Herald needs to adapt to changing times. We need to reevaluate how best to serve the student body. In the past, college newspapers served as a student’s primary source of information about campus happenings. If you wanted to know what shows were coming up, what issues other students were protesting or what changes were happening in University administration, you consulted your campus newspaper. Now, that information is being fired at you from countless different angles: Facebook, listservs, emails, text message blasts. Though The Herald can contextualize that information, explain its importance and better inform uninvolved parties about campus activities, you don’t really need us to tell you what’s happening on campus. But campus newspapers still have a very important and relevant role: to investigate and report the news. As an independent newspaper, we have the responsibility and the capacity to ask difficult questions about issues that have a profound effect on the student body and take a critical perspective on campus and local news. News industry analyst Ken Doctor wrote in a Nov. 29 Nieman Journalism Lab article, “We live in an age of way too much. People want context, not more content.” Since news is everywhere, The Herald’s job is to help our readers find the deeper meaning. Similar trends are cropping up across the country. In spring 2009, students at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California started a now widely successful website called Neon Tommy that aims to provide in-depth news coverage of issues marginalized by other media outlets. In April, the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Investigative News Network announced the launch of a new YouTube channel — funded by an $800,000 grant from the Knight Foundation — to highlight investigative reporting from outlets including the New York Times, National Public Radio and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. The second question is how best to present such reporting — and that’s where you come in. We want to know both how you consume your news and what subjects interest you. Do you read our website? Check in with our Twitter? Pick up our print edition? Do you want to know more about the inner workings of the University? How the University fits in with the larger culture of higher education institutions? What your peers are doing? As the news industry continues to change — perhaps the realm of college newspapers fastest of all — we are determined to stay relevant and to maintain a voice on campus. Most of all, we want to know how to serve you best. If you have ideas, we ask that you email us at future@browndailyherald.com. We promise to take your ideas to heart. Thanks for reading.
LE T TER U. divestment from Israel a ‘double standard’ To the Editor: I was distressed and dismayed to learn that the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies, an official University committee, sent a letter to President Christina Paxson requesting a campus dialogue to discuss divestment from Israel. As an alum and the parent of an alum, Brown’s campus had always been a place that encouraged the exploration of all points of view. While it might be appropriate to have a campus dialogue concerning University investments in and possible divestment from various companies and countries, based on respect for and violation of human rights, it is inappropriate and intellectually dishonest to only focus on divestment from
Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. Any such dialogue should consider, for example, investments in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran. While I understand that it is currently in vogue to subject Israel to unrelenting and unrealistic examination, I had previously believed that Brown did not succumb to what was in vogue. Rather than engage in a dialogue that focuses solely on divestment from Israel, the more appropriate and intellectually honest dialogue would be to examine University investments and make recommendations concerning divestment based upon a uniform standard, not a double standard. Tani Sapirstein ’78 P’12
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opinions 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
Divestment from Israel is counterproductive BY BROWN STUDENTS FOR ISRAEL GUEST COLUMNISTS
Talk of divestment from Israel has been abundant both in The Herald and around campus. A Herald article last month attempted to explain the role of the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies and its recommendation to President Christina Paxson to open dialogue regarding divestment from Israel (“Committee seeks campus discussion on divestment,” Nov. 19). But the article failed to portray the complexity the committee ignored when starting this “conversation.” Days later, The Herald’s editorial page board astutely pointed out that divestment from Israel is unwise, especially due to the lack of consensus among the student body (“Israel divestment is hypocritical,” Nov. 27). We would like to take this small amount of space to represent an often reticent voice on campus that disagrees with terms such as “apartheid” and “occupation,” and one that strongly opposes divestment from Israel. First and foremost, the committee has stated their intention of fomenting dialogue on divestment, but they have only heard a dubious narrative from one side of the aisle. Brown Students for Justice in Palestine has been actively lobbying the committee for two years and has distorted how the committee views Israel. BSJP views the country only in terms of blockades and human rights violations. In fact, a former member of BSJP
is currently a student representative on the committee. The committee was within its jurisdiction in issuing this recommendation, but let us not be misled into thinking that there was intellectually honest dialogue amongst the committee or adequate representation of the Brown student body as a whole leading to this recommendation. The committee’s letter to President Paxson states that Israel is “indisputably engaged in ongoing systemic abuses of human rights and violations of international law.”
rican apartheid and Sudanese genocide, the same cannot be said about Israel’s actions. It is also impossible to distinguish companies that function within Israel from those that allegedly benefit from occupation. We must not divest from companies that are crucial to Israel’s economy, an economy that works cooperatively with the United States in various technological, environmental, medical and security endeavors. Keeping the Israeli economy strong provides opportunity for economic cooperation between
Imposing one-sided burdens on Israel does not create the collaborative atmosphere needed for creating a lasting peace through direct negotiations. By accepting the BSJP narrative as truthful, the committee is misleading Paxson into believing that Brown’s student body unanimously supports this narrative. We believe this is simply not true. We strongly maintain that divestment from Israel is extremely problematic. Following through on the committee’s recommendation for campus debate would place Israel, the Middle East’s only liberal democracy, on the same level as apartheid-era South Africa and the genocidal government in Sudan. Israel, a country with a vibrant democratic process for all its citizens, should not be lumped together with these two oppressive regimes. While there is almost unanimous consensus regarding South Af-
Israel and the Palestinians that in turn serves as a potential road to peace. Israel gives millions in humanitarian aid and support to the Palestinian Authority, which is crucial for Palestinian society and security. We must also be sure not to link the call for divestment with the recent military conflict in Gaza. While certain groups will attempt to inextricably connect the two, it is important to remember that the call for divestment, as part of the larger Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, started in 2005. Attempts to evoke visceral reactions in light of the heartbreaking and unfortunate loss of life in the recent conflict are intellectually dishonest. The committee’s recommendation specifically relates to compa-
nies functioning in the West Bank, an area not directly involved in the recent violence. Most importantly, though, we oppose the debate on divestment because it does absolutely nothing to advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Imposing one-sided burdens on Israel does not create the collaborative atmosphere needed for creating a lasting peace through direct negotiations. In fact, divestment breeds a culture of unilateral action that is counterproductive to the peace process. We acknowledge the human rights concerns affecting both the Israeli and Palestinian populations. However, divestment does nothing to directly address these needs or further the widely agreed upon two-state solution. The United States and international community have accepted the idea of self-determination for both the Jewish people and the Palestinians, but the BDS movement explicitly calls for the eradication of the Jewish state — something President Obama strongly opposes. Brown students voted overwhelmingly for Obama both in 2008 and 2012, and presumably agree with his opposition to the eradication of Israel. Both the Israelis and Palestinians must make concessions to achieve peace and security, and the divestment movement propagates the idea that one side is the absolute obstacle to resolving this conflict.
Brown Students for Israel is a pro-Israel voice on campus that seeks honest campus dialogue that leads to informed students who desire a lasting peace.
U. has effective, compassionate sexual assault policies BY DAN MEROPOL GUEST COLUMNIST
I am the president of a Brown fraternity and a member of Brown’s Student Conduct Board, and like many college students, I have witnessed and obstructed sexual harassment. I have friends who have been sexually assaulted on campus. I commend Chris Norris-LeBlanc ’13 for reiterating how horrifyingly normal my experience is (“Rape happens here, too,” Nov. 28). Not only rape but the whole spectrum of sexual assault does occur here, and being frank about this fact is the essential first step toward crafting a safer community. While I thank Norris-LeBlanc for adding openly to a conversation that desperately needs to be had, his article was misinformed, which made it dangerous to print and counterproductive in assisting victims of sexual assault. I believe that, if left uncorrected, Norris-LeBlanc’s article contributes a net negative to the conversation. Here’s why: Norris-LeBlanc’s claim that the University’s sexual assault policies are “ignorant and unsympathetic” is misguided and grossly untrue. In reality, the University has achieved great strides in setting up a positive and powerful system for helping victims of sexual assault gain resolution and disciplining the perpetrators of that assault. But no victim would speak to an administration they believe will be callous and unhelpful. In falsely denouncing the Brown administration as uncompassionate and incompetent in cas-
es of sexual assault, Norris-LeBlanc’s article discourages victims of sexual assault from coming forward with their experiences. As a member of Brown’s Student Conduct Board, a disciplinary board that often hears cases of sexual misconduct, I have experienced firsthand how seriously and compassionately Brown handles cases of sexual assault. I would like to clear up the ambiguity and misinformation surrounding Brown’s policies by detailing Brown’s standard procedure during sexual assault cases. When victims of sexual assault report their cases, they have several options. Stu-
versity is prepared to take stronger measures if necessary. Victims also have the option of requesting a disciplinary hearing before the Student Conduct Board against their attackers. While deliberation on accusations of sexual misconduct is challenging for all parties involved, it is integral in determining an accurate verdict in each case. The University goes to great lengths to make sure these hearings are as fair and as comfortable as possible for both parties. The accuser is never required to face his or her alleged attacker and has the option of having an advocate present during
In falsely denouncing the Brown administration as uncompassionate and incompetent in cases of sexual assault, Norris-LeBlanc’s column discourages victims of sexual assault from coming forward with their experiences. dents are always provided with the opportunity to pursue a police case, and the University has resources to advise students about that process. All criminal complaints go through the Providence Police Department, but may start with the Department of Public Safety, which has a civilian worker whose specific job is to work with students on these issues. The University will often issue an immediate no-contact order between the accuser and the accused. This is done at the University’s discretion. This is a decision made to ensure the safety of the accuser, and the Uni-
the hearing who is experienced in providing support in such cases. Both parties may request in advance to disqualify a member of the board whom they feel may be prejudiced by association with the case. Additionally, victims are not required to be present during the entire hearing, but may instead choose to be represented by a trained dean who will make their case for them. During the hearing, the board hears testimony from — and rigorously questions — both parties. Both parties are able to request witnesses to speak before the board on their behalf. Once the board adjourns, it takes ex-
treme care to determine the facts of the case and whether a violation has been committed. If it determines there has been a violation, the board suggests an appropriate sanction to the senior associate dean for student life, who makes a final verdict. Both parties receive this verdict within five days of the hearing, and both have the ability to appeal this judgement. There is no maximum sanction set for any case before a hearing. Sanctions are determined on a case-by-case basis. It was horrifying to read about NorrisLeBlanc’s friend, whose shocking story he recalled in his op-ed. Cases of sexual assault are incredibly emotionally difficult, and no system is perfect. Brown certainly has room for improvement, and faculty members are constantly working with students to enact specific policy changes. But Norris-LeBlanc’s call for Brown’s policies to be overhauled is not constructive and is profoundly unwarranted. We should not be discouraging victims of sexual assault from coming forward and seeking help through the University, which has worked extremely hard to provide many channels through which students can do so as comfortably as possible. It is important that these victims be encouraged to speak up as soon as possible so they can receive immediate emotional support, and so they and the rest of campus can be protected from their attackers. This is something we all can do to contribute to a safer space at Brown.
Dan Meropol ’13 cares deeply about creating a safer space at Brown. He can reached at daniel_meropol@brown.edu.
daily herald city & state THE BROWN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
U. supports local holiday Panel discusses future of Obamacare shopping initiative By MATHIAS HELLER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
By MARIYA BASHKATOVA STAFF WRITER
The University is sponsoring the firstever “Brown Shops Local!” event today as part of a larger city initiative to support local merchants. A free shuttle service will take students, faculty and staff to four different shopping locations around Providence from 4 to 8 p.m. The University rented old-fashioned trolleys, which will take interested patrons from the front of Rhode Island Hall on George Street to Westminster Street, South Main Street, Hope Street and Wayland Square, said Jennifer Braga, government relations and community affairs liaison, who planned the event. Each shuttle will be dedicated to one location, she said, and the event will include a refreshment tent outside of Rhode Island Hall. The festive event aims to facilitate bonding within the community and to support local shopping, Braga said. It is also part of Providence’s annual Buy Providence/Buy Art campaign, which strives to keep capital within the com-
munity even though it is easier than ever to shop online, she said. “We thought it would be nice to make it easy for the Brown community to take advantage of these incredible things that are so close to us while at the same time supporting the local economy,” Braga said. Various shops and restaurants in the areas will be offering discounts to Brown students. Hope Street will be having its annual Holiday Stroll, which includes special events like acrobatic and ballet performances, horse-drawn carriage rides and a parade featuring Santa Claus, she said. South Main Street will also be having a holiday stroll, and Westminster Street will host the Buy Art kickoff party at Craftland, she said. Students generally expressed positive opinions about the service, though many said they had not heard about the event before. Several students described the service as a fun idea and convenient for holiday shopping, though Mark Jacobson GS cited the upcoming finals period as a “time crunch” concern that might decrease attendance at this weekday event.
U. students rise to top at elevator pitch contest By SOPHIE YAN STAFF WRITER
Brown students took home six out of 10 cash prizes, including first place, at the seventh annual Rhode Island Elevator Pitch Contest last night. David Emanuel ’13 won the $250 first place prize for his company Lock’d, which distributes a contraption that locks and wraps the belongings of urban backpackers to prevent theft. Other finalists included Cliff Weitzman ’16, Tim Kwak ’13, Cory Abbe ’13, Isha Gulati ’13 and Sidney Kushner ’13. Participants presented their business plans to peers, investors and judges in 90-second pitches. The contest, held at Johnson and Wales University Harborside Campus, was one of the events sponsored by the 2013 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition, which intends to promote early stage companies in the state. The 50 participating teams competed for cash prizes totaling $2,000. Each proposition was different — the plans included simple inventions, nonprofit organizations, eateries and food trucks. Teams joined the contest for different reasons. “It sounded like a good opportunity to practice speaking,” said Amber Ma GS, an intern at the Providence Granola Project, who presented a pitch for Beautiful Day Rhode Island, a nonprofit specializing in helping refugees. Ma said she and others from Providence Granola Project have been working on the nonprofit since September. They plan to continue developing the group, though Ma said she was unsure about whether they would enter the business plan competition in the spring. For Joschka Tryba ’12 and Max Fowler ’15, the elevator pitch contest presented other opportunities besides public speaking practice. “You never
know,” Tryba said, explaining that their company, Lovegov, an online political social network, found its first angel investor at a previous business plan competition. Lovegov, which just went into beta testing last summer, is currently searching for further funding to develop the website. But presenting an elevator pitch is easier said than done. “It’s very difficult,” Tryba said. “You can’t be nervous.” Presenters had only 90 seconds to cover their plans, which had to include the problems they were attempting to solve, their solutions, how their proposals will make money and their qualifications for implementing their plans. Often, when the presenters slipped up even slightly, it made a big difference, Tryba said. Rhode Island School of Design students Cynthia Poon and Maeve Jopson, who also pitched their concept at the contest, agreed. “The most difficult part is communicating to an audience that’s not familiar with your field,” Poon said. She and Jopson also cited difficulties such as the banning of props and insufficient time to memorize their speech. For the past semester, they have been working on a tactile map-globe in conjunction with the Perkins School for the Blind. The two industrial designers intended the project to eventually become a toy and learning tool for blind children, facilitating learning of abstract and ephemeral concepts such as textures and spatial reasoning. They plan on entering the spring business plan competition. The contest was well-attended by students from local universities, including 10 teams from Brown and several others from RISD, University of Rhode Island, Johnson and Wales University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Despite the progress made by President Obama’s health care reform law, the United States still faces significant challenges in improving the quality of its health care, according to three panelists who spoke at a forum on the future of health care reform last night. Christopher Koller, Rhode Island state health insurance commissioner, Ira Wilson, professor of health services, policy and practice and Glenn Tung, associate dean for clinical affairs at the Alpert Medical School, spoke at the forum, held in MacMillan Hall. Health Leads Providence, a group of students who work with urban health clinics to connect low-income individuals with better health resources, sponsored the discussion. Koller gave the audience an overview of the major changes enacted with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, saying he believes the health care reform law is a step in the right direction. He said while the law is controversial today, the reforms may become more popular once they have been implemented. “If we do a good job implementing the Affordable Care Act, then in 40 years, it will be regarded just like Medicare,” Koller said, adding he hopes Americans in the future will consider today’s large number of uninsured individuals to be “barbaric.” About 50 million Americans are currently uninsured, but this number will fall substantially as key reform provisions kick in, Koller said. The law will expand health insurance coverage by extending Medicaid eligibility to all in-
dividuals with incomes below or equal to 133 percent of the federal poverty line, he added. The poverty line for a family of four is $23,050. Americans with incomes below or equal to 400 percent of the poverty line will be able to purchase insurance through a new network of governmentrun exchanges that will enable them to compare the costs and benefits of different insurance plans, Koller said. The law also establishes an individual mandate, which kicks off in 2014, to buy health insurance and establishes a penalty for anyone who can afford to purchase insurance but fails to do so. “The basic idea is that you have to buy it. If you can’t afford it, we’ll help you pay for it,” Koller said, adding that the law will be financed through a combination of tax measures and savings found in Medicare, including eliminating Medicare waste. Koller praised the insurance exchanges as a way to allow individuals to consider what policy best suits their needs, saying state governments will be able to choose whether to receive aid from the federal government or to set up the exchanges themselves. He said Rhode Island has decided to build its exchange by itself to best cater to its localized health care market. State governments currently possess a high degree of control over the business practices of state insurance companies, with wide variance between right-leaning and left-leaning states, Koller said. “It’s really a red state, blue state thing,” he said, adding that once the health care reform law is fully implemented, national regulations will more closely resemble those of more liberal states.
Wilson described the health care reform law’s impact on patients, saying the act seeks to plug systemic gaps in the health care system. He said universal health insurance is the first necessary step in controlling long-term health care costs. Since many Americans who currently lack insurance will eventually contract serious chronic illnesses, it makes sense to extend coverage to them before they get sick, Wilson said. Wilson noted the link between addressing the nation’s long-term fiscal problems and curbing health care costs. “Both the right and left agree about certain facts about the rate of increase in the cost of Medicare and Medicaid,” Wilson said, adding that he believes the federal government must develop a strategy for dealing with the budgetary problems associated with these two entitlement programs. Tung addressed the need for further reforms for health care providers, saying Obama’s reform law creates the potential for future changes to the health care system. He highlighted three areas for further improvement—creating a more integrated health care delivery system, standardizing the quality of care nationwide through cost-benefit analysis and aligning the medical industry with the digital era. Tung said the United States could save about $35 billion in wasteful health care spending by facilitating greater coordination between doctors, nurses and other providers. He also stressed the necessity of cutting down on paperwork in the medical community, saying the United States spends $161 billion on health care administration when only half that amount is truly necessary.
Dean accessibility reduces academic warnings By KIKI BARNES STAFF WRITER
The total number of students placed on serious warning by the Committee on Academic Standing has declined from an average of 252 students each academic year from 2000-01 to 2005-06 to an average of 188 students each year from 2007-08 to 2011-12, according to the Committee on Academic Standing’s annual report released this month. The report also noted that the number of students placed on academic suspension declined from an average of about 38 to 26 students. But the suspension rate of students placed on serious warning increased slightly from 6.7 to 7.3 percent. Students are placed on warning, serious warning or suspension for failing to complete the required number of courses given their semester level, with the specific classification depending on the extent to which they have fallen behind. Stephen Lassonde, deputy dean of the College and chair of the Committee on Academic Standing, attributed the decline to more active and frequent communication with students to help them stay in good academic standing. Deans have increased their office hours by 75 percent since 2007, he said, now collectively offering over 40 office hours per week to students seeking advising. “Students kept saying that University Hall was intimidating,” Lassonde said. “Now we also meet in places like the
Nelson Fitness Center and Third World Center so that students can feel more comfortable about seeking help.” Lassonde also said it helps significantly that students now provide their cell phone numbers online through Banner. “(Academic warning) is a message that needs to be redundant,” he said. “We try to get the message to students through as many avenues as possible, now including calling them on their cell phones.” Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron also credited Banner pre-registration to the decline. In the years before Banner was created in 2007, hundreds of students would fail to register for classes after the add/drop period was over, she said. There have not been any retroactive course registration requests for the last three years, according to the Committee on Academic Standing’s report. “When you have an open curriculum, it’s important for students to plan,” Bergeron said. “Banner helps students develop good planning skills.” The Committee on Academic Standing reviews each student’s individual case, Lassonde said. Before a student is suspended, he or she gets a letter to meet with a dean and is contacted around three times, he added. “Having conversations with students is making a difference,” he said. “The reorientation of our staffing toward outreach to students has had a tremendous effect,” Bergeron said. “We used to have students return from seri-
ous warning requiring them to have an advising relationship with a dean, but many never took that opportunity, and so they never got the help they needed.” Students on serious warning can avoid suspension by taking courses over the summer, according to the Dean of the College website. The addition of the serious warning category in 2009 in lieu of suspension also helped students, Bergeron said. “In some cases, we realize that a student may benefit from a second chance,” she said. Advising, tutoring programs and study skills workshops have made a difference as well, Bergeron said. “Sometimes we come to the conclusion that a student needs to be away for a while, and that’s not a bad thing,” Lassonde said. “Students have said it was the best thing that ever happened to them.” Students’ time away from school can help them sort out problems or personal issues and acquire new skills to help them succeed when they return to school, he added. Lassonde said the Committee on Academic Standing will continue its efforts to reach out to students more, though “it’s hard to say how much more we can reduce it.” “We believe that each student at Brown is truly special, and we’re dedicated to helping students achieve their full potential,” Bergeron said. “We’re glad to see that some efforts seem to be allowing more students achieve that.”