Daily
THE BROWN
vol. cxlviii, no. 23
INSIDE
Page 4
Search for dean Committee continues to seek new head of medicine
Questionable Visiting lecturer talks about finding god and happiness Page 7
Physical education Delaney ’15 says sports exercise athletes’ minds today
tomorrow
43 / 35
42 / 39
since 1891
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
Planning committees seek faculty feedback Administrators will solicit input from faculty members about recommendations the six committees outlined By RACHEL MARGOLIS SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Page 4
Herald
Following the release of their interim reports in January, President Christina Paxson’s six strategic planning committees are gathering faculty input through a series of discussions and forums that will continue through the semester. The committees will use the feedback as they finalize their reports in time for the Corporation meeting in May. In an email to The Herald, Mary Louise Gill, chair of the Faculty Executive Committee and professor of philosophy and classics, wrote that a forum held Feb. 19 by the Committee on Faculty Recruitment, Career Development and Retention saw a “helpful discussion of the different needs of different divisions and disciplines in the University.” Faculty members in the humani-
ties expressed the need for “enhanced sabbaticals” to do research, Gill wrote, while faculty members from the sciences said they need lab technicians and support in applying for research funding. Though some strategic planning committees have not yet held similar forums, their leaders said they expect positive feedback from the faculty. “My sense is that faculty have responded with great support for the financial aid committee’s strategic planning report, although we are all mindful of the serious challenges involved in funding such recommendations,” wrote Susan Harvey, co-chair of the Committee on Financial Aid and professor of religious studies, in an email to The Herald. The Committee on Online Teaching and Learning has not yet solicited faculty feedback but will do so in the near future, said the committee chair,
University Librarian Harriette Hemmasi. She said she does not anticipate a great deal of resistance to the proposed initiatives — which include increased support for online teaching — because faculty participation will be voluntary. “What the committee describes is experimental in nature,” she said. “So it’s encouraging faculty to consider making changes” but not mandating that they do so. Hemmasi said rather than proposing specific changes, many of the recommendations outline plans for moving forward with projects that are already being informally undertaken, such as experimentation with online course content. “Right now at Brown, if a faculty member wants to explore or experiment, there’s not really a set of guidelines or even a structure to help that faculty member experiment unless they do it themselves,” she said. Nevertheless, “there are many faculty who are already doing this themselves.” Senior Lecturer in English Eliza-
beth Taylor, who will teach ENGL 0180: “Introduction to Creative Nonfiction” entirely online this summer, wrote in an email to The Herald that she supports the online initiatives, adding, “those of us creating online courses are being appropriately supported and reimbursed.” Taylor expressed approval of the Committee on Educational Innovation’s suggestion that the University create 250 online courses in honor of its approaching 250th anniversary. “I’m sure it has been well-researched, and it will act as an excellent incentive,” she wrote. But Harold Roth, a member of the Faculty Executive Committee and professor of religious studies and East Asian studies, was more critical of the reports. “There’s a lot of good stuff in all the reports,” he said, “but what we tend to look at is what’s not there.” He said while the Committee on Faculty Recruitment, Career Development and Retention included “a lot of good things” / / Faculty page 5
Engineering gains popularity among U. applicants R.I. schools Admissions officers and the honored engineering dean attributed the allure of engineering to for healthy perceived employability lunches By MARK VALDEZ
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
For the past two admission cycles, engineering has been the most popular intended concentration among the University’s early decision applicants and has emerged as one of the top concentrations for regular decision applicants, a trend University officials have linked to the perceived employability of engineering students. In the early admitted class of 2017, 9 percent of students specified engineering as their intended concentration, The Herald previously reported.Engineering was also the second most popular intended concentration among this year’s regular decision applicants, The Herald
reported in January. Dean of Admission Jim Miller ’73 attributed the growing interest in engineering to a more aggressive recruitment strategy coordinated by the Admission Office. The University’s efforts correspond with the move to establish a separate School of Engineering, which was formally created July 2010. “We’ve spent a lot of time having oncampus engineering events and sending (word of these) events to physical scientists and engineers to recruit them,” Miller said. “We’ve been at this recruiting for six or seven years, but it takes a while to get some traction.” Miller said career opportunities could be part of the reason for the increase in engineering interest. “People perceive engineering as a discipline that will get them lots of opportunities post-graduate, open lots of doors and lead in lots of different directions,” Miller said. Mill/ / Engineering page 2
The USDA recegonized local schools for their lunches and health programs By MARIYA BASHKATOVA SENIOR STAFF WRITER
CITY & STATE
ALEXANDRA URBAN / HERALD
The efforts to create a School of Engineering have coincided with efforts by the Admission Office to recruit more engineering students.
Every Body Week promotes health, self-esteem Brown Health Education and student groups are teaming up for events that promote body awareness By MOLLY SCHULSON SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Being healthy isn’t about weight or eating a salad, University Nutritionist Annie Buffington said Monday night. Instead, students should listen to their bodies — and in listening, they can figure out what they need, rather than what society thinks they need. “It’s so sad that we live in a culture where restrained eating is normal eating, and I just want to tell you it’s not. It’s not normal,” Buffington said. “You should not feel deprived when you’re not eating.” Buffington spoke to around 20 students on Monday night in Salomon 001 about honoring their bodies as
part of Celebrate Every Body Week, sponsored by Brown Health Education. The week coincides with National Eating Disorders Awareness Week and was created to “raise awareness about eating disorders and promote positive body image on campus,” according to the University’s Health Education website. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, 70 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 30 do not like their bodies. Eating disorders in males are a “silent epidemic,” according to the site, with 10 million men in the United States suffering from an eating disorder in their lifetimes. This is Buffington’s third year planning the Celebrate Every Body Week. “My goal is just to make it bigger or
Forget greasy chicken fingers and dayold pizza — public school lunches in Providence are now nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for their healthier menu options. Sixteen Providence elementary schools were awarded bronze certifications earlier this month in the USDA’s Healthier U.S. Schools Challenge. These schools join 77 others in Rhode Island that have received awards — 76 bronze and one silver — from the USDA. Only 5 percent of U.S. schools had won similar awards as of Feb. 13, said Jane Francis, spokesperson for the Northeast Region Food and Nutrition Services of the USDA. Within New England, 46 Massachusetts schools and 105 Connecticut schools have also won awards. To receive certification, a school must demonstrate that it meets the criteria in each of the challenge’s “three pillars” — school meal nutrition, nutrition education and physical activity, Francis said. The competition awards four levels of certification — bronze, silver, gold and gold with distinction, with each incorporating increasingly rigorous requirements. For a school to receive a bronze award, its lunch program must include a different sort of fruit and vegetable each day of the week, with an emphasis on dark green and / / Lunch page 3
better than the year before. It’s really great working with students and getting their organizations involved,” she said. Buffington’s presentation, “The Art Inside: Health at Every Size,” touched on disordered eating but focused mostly on empowerment and self-acceptance. The belief of Health at Every Size is that “the best way to improve health is to honor” the body, according to the program’s website. People misinterpret the idea to mean all people are healthy no matter their size, Buffington said prior to the event. In actuality, the emphasis lies in taking the focus off of weight, she said. “People can be healthy at all sizes by focusing on other factors in their life and not just the number on a scale,” Buffington said. Tonight, the Student Volunteers for the Samaritans of Rhode Island
will team up with Brown Health Services to facilitate a panel discussion on disordered eating. At Brown-RISD Hillel this week, the Brown Yoga and Mindfulness Club plans to hold Celebrate-Every-Body-themed classes with a free class Thursday and 305 Fitness of Providence will offer a free class Wednesday night. “This isn’t just about eating disorders. This is also for people who don’t suffer from them to take a step back and realize how incredible this body is and how much beauty every single person has,” said Shira Atkins ’14, a YAM coordinator. “What I want to do in my classes is to realize (the body) is amazing and have people just be in awe of it,” she said. Buffington contacted Atkins to help her reach people already interested in well/ / Body page 5