Brown University History The Founding Of Brown The New

One of the most prestigious universities in the world, Brown distinguishes itself from its peer institutions through its "New Curriculum." Instituted in 1969, it allows students to more flexibly determine their own educational paths by eliminating distribution requirements and mandatory grading (allowing all courses to be taken on a "satisfactory/no credit" basis).

Brown is notable for, among other things, having the only Egyptology and History of Mathematics departments in the United States. Brown was also one of the first institutions to emphasize media studies, with its department in Modern Culture and Media, where students study filmFilm production stages include (very broadly) Development: script development, or purchase of a screenplay rewriting the screenplay (repeat) see development hell financing Pre-production: budgeting scheduling casting rehearsals set construction Production, film criticismFilm criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films. In general this can be divided into academic criticism by film scholars and journalistic film criticism that appears regularly in newspapers and other media. Journalistic criticism Film critics worki, and critical theoryThis article is a discussion of critical theory in its most general sense. For the more specific use of the term, see: critical theory (Frankfurt School In the humanities and social sciences, critical theory is a general term for new theoretical developme.

Since 20012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap, Brown's current and 18th presidentPresident is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership (from Latin prae "before" + sedere "to sit"). Originally, the term usually referr is Ruth J. Simmons, the first African AmericanAfrican Americans also known as Afro- Americans or black Americans comprise an ethnic group in the United States of America whose dominant ancestry is from Sub-Saharan West Africa. Many African Americans also claim European, Native American, or Asian ance president, and second female president, of an Ivy League institution, as well as the first female president of Brown.

1 History

1.1 The founding of Brown

In 1763, James Manning , a Baptist minister, was sent to Rhode Island by the Philadelphia Association of Baptist Churches in order to found a College. At the same time, local Congregationalists, led by James Stiles , were working toward a similar end. On March 3, 1764, a charter was filed to create Rhode Island College in Warren, Rhode Island, reflecting the work of both Stiles and Manning. The charter had more than 60 signatories, including John and Nicholas Brown of the Brown family, who would give the College its present day name. James Manning, the minister sent to Rhode Island by the Baptists, was sworn in as the College's first president in 1765.

Rhode Island College moved to its present location on College Hill, in the East Side of Providence, in 1770 and construction of the first building, The College Edifice, began. This building was renamed University Hall in 1823. The Brown family -- Nicholas, John, Joseph and Moses -- were instrumental in the move to Providence, funding and organizing much of the construction of the new buildings. The family's connection with the college was strong: Joseph Brown became a professor of Physics at the University and John Brown served as treasurer from 1775 to 1796. In 1804, a year after John Brown's death, the University was renamed in honor of John's nephew, Nicholas Brown, Jr. , who was a member of the class of 1786 and contributed $5,000 (which, adjusted for inflation, is approximately $58,000 in 2003) toward an endowed professorship. In 1904, the John Carter Brown Library was opened as an independent historical and cultural research center based around the libraries of John Carter and John Nicholas Brown .

The Brown family was involved in various business ventures in Rhode Island, allegedly including slavery, which has led to some discussion of the role of slavery in Brown's legacy in recent years. In recognition of this history, the university has recently established a special Committee on Slavery and Justice (Brown News Service 2001).

Brown began to admit women when it established a Women's College in 1891, which was later named Pembroke College. Brown merged with Pembroke in 1971 and became coeducational.

1.1.1 The New Curriculum

Brown adopted the New Curriculum in 1969, marking a major change in the University's institutional history. The curriculum was the result of a paper written by Ira Magaziner and Elliot Maxwell , "Draft of a Working Paper for Education at Brown University." The paper came out of a year-long Group Independent Studies Project (GISP) involving 80 students and 15 professors. The group was inspired by student-initiated experimental schools , especially San Francisco State College, and sought ways to improve education for students at Brown. The philosophy they formed was based on the principle that "the individual who is being educated is the center of the educational process." In 1850, Brown President Francis Wayland wrote: "The various courses should be so arranged that, insofar as practicable, every student might study what he chose, all that he chose, and nothing but what he chose."

The paper made a number of suggestions for improving education at Brown, including a new kind of interdisciplinary freshman course that would introduce new modes of inquiry and bring faculty from different fields together. Their goal was to transform the survey course, which traditionally sought to cover a large amount of basic material, into specialized courses which would introduce the important modes of inquiry used in different disciplines.

The New Curriculum that came out of the working paper was significantly different from the paper itself. Its key features were

Modes of Thought courses aimed at first-year students
Interdisciplinary University courses
Students could elect to take any course Satisfactory/No Credit
Distribution requirements were dropped
The University simplified grades to ABC/No Credit, eliminating pluses, minuses and D's. Furthermore, "No Credit" would not appear on external transcripts.

Except for the Modes of Thought courses, a key component of the reforms which have been discontinued, these elements of the New Curriculum are still in place.

The University is currently in the process of broadening and expanding its curricular offerings as part of the "Plan for Academic Enrichment." The number of faculty has been greatly expanded. Seminars aimed at freshmen have begun to be offered widely by many departments.

2 Organization

2.1 The College

2.1.1 Concentrations

Brown offers 50 concentrations (majors) and around 2,000 courses each year. The most popular concentration is Biology, followed by History and International Relations. Undergraduates can also design an independent concentration if the existing standard programs do not befit their interests.

The following is a list of concentrations:

2.2 The Graduate School

The Graduate School offers 47 different graduate programs.

2.3 Brown Medical School

The University's medical program started in 1811. In 1984, the Brown endorsed an eight-year medical program called the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME). The majority of openings for the first-year medical school class are reserved for PLME students. Each year, approximately 60 students matriculate into the PLME out of an applicant pool of about 1,600, making it among the most selective undergraduate programs in the country. Brown offers a joint program with Dartmouth Medical School called the Brown-Dartmouth Program. Approximately 15 students at Dartmouth Medical School enroll in this program annually. They spend the first two basic medical science years at Dartmouth and the next two years in clinical education at Brown, where they receive their M.D. degree.

2.4 Presidents of Brown University

	President	Brown Class	Life	Tenure	Events
1.	James Manning	-	1738-1791	1765-1791	Rhode Island College established
2.	Jonathan Maxcy	1787	1768-1820	1792-1802
3.	Asa Messer	1790	1769-1836	1802-1826	Renamed to Brown University; Medical School founded
4.	Francis Wayland	-	1796-1865	1827-1855
5.	Barnas Sears	1825	1802-1880	1855-1867
6.	Alexis Caswell	1822	1799-1877	1868-1872
7.	Ezekiel G. Robinson	1838	1815-1894	1872-1889	Graduate study instituted
8.	Elisha Benjamin Andrews	1870	1844-1917	1889-1898	Women's College founded
9.	William H.P. Faunce	1880	-1930	1899-1929	Women's College renamed to Pembroke College
10.	Clarence Augustus Barbour	1888		1929-1937	Last of long line of Baptist minister Presidents
11.	Henry Merritt Wriston	-	1889-1978	1937-1955
12.	Barnaby Conrad Keeney	-	1914-1980	1955-1966
13.	Ray L. Heffner	-		1966-1969
14.	Donald F. Hornig	-	1920-	1970-1976	Pembroke merged with Brown
15.	Howard R. Swearer	-	-1991	1977-1988
16.	Vartan Gregorian	-	1934-	1989-1997
17.	E. Gordon Gee	-	1944-	1998-2000
18.	Ruth J. Simmons	-	1945-	2001-

3 Student life

3.1 The Atmosphere at Brown

Some consider Brown to be the "happiest Ivy." The curriculum encourages students to attempt classes in fields in which they have little previous experience and discourages competition. Brown was recently named "the most fashionable school in the Ivy League" by the fashion trade journal Women's Wear Daily on the basis that students on campus seem to have the strongest sense of personal style (Perkins 2001). Brown, like most Ivies, leans liberal. It has long had the reputation of being the "hippest" of the Ivies.

Brown University is also well-known for the sense of "political correctness" that pervades the campus. In fact, it is a long-held rumor that the term "political correctness" (or "PC") was coined at the campus in a satirical anti-left comic strip in the Brown Daily Herald student newspaper.

Greek life does not dominate the social scene at Brown, as only about 9% of the students are in fraternities or sororities. There are seven fraternities, two sororities, and two co-ed fraternities.

3.2 Athletics

Brown is a member of the Division I Ivy League athletic conference. It sponsors 37 varsity intercollegiate teams. Its athletics program has been featured in the College Sports Honor Roll as one of the top 20 athletic programs in the country according to U.S. News & World Report. [1]

3.3 Clubs

There are approximately 240 registered student organizations on campus with diverse interests. Student Activities Night, during the orientation program, is an opportunity for first-years to become acquainted with the wide range of clubs.

3.3.1 Secret Societies

Secret societies have existed at Brown since the 18th century. One of these was the Philermenian Society (founded as the Misokosmian Society in 1794). In reaction to the Federalist Philermenians, a Democratic-Republican society called the United Brothers Society was formed in 1806. However, by the late 19th century, both of these societies appeared to have dissolved as interest in them diminished on account of the growth in the number of Greek letter fraternities. The Society of the Pacifica House (Societas Domi Pacificae) and Black Wednesday appear to be the only ones that have survived, though much of their current activities and alumni rosters remain unknown to the broader university community.

3.4 Traditions

Though the early history of Brown's traditions as a men's school includes a number of unusual hazing traditions, the school's present-day traditions tend to be non-violent while maintaining the spirit of zaniness (Poulson 2004).

3.4.1 Josiah Carberry

One of Brown's most notable traditions is keeping alive the spirit and accomplishments of Josiah Carberry, the fictional Professor of Psychoceramics (the equally fictional study of cracked pots), who was born on a University Hall billboard. He is the namesake of "Josiah's", a University-run snackbar. "Josiah" is also the name of the University's electronic library catalog.

3.4.2 Spring Weekend

Starting in 1960, Brown replaced a traditional Junior Dance with a Spring Weekend concert on the college's main green, which has, in the past, brought in acts such as Bob Dylan, Ella Fitzgerald, Bo Diddley, Peter, Paul and Mary, James Brown, Janis Joplin, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, U2, R.E.M., Afrika Bambaata, Elvis Costello, George Clinton, The Fugees, and Sonic Youth. Recent acts include Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Jurassic 5, Reel Big Fish, Sleater-Kinney.

3.4.3 Naked Donuts

At the end of each semester during "reading period" when students study for exams, naked students walk into the Rockefeller and Science Libraries and hand out donuts to their peers.

3.4.4 Naked Party

Every fall, the Brown University Co-Op's (BACH) throw an invitation-only "naked party" where all guests remove their clothes upon entry. The party is know for good times, but not for lewdness. The hosts aim to create a comfortable setting where people of all body types can celebrate the naked human body.

3.4.5 The Chug 'N Run

One evening during each year's Spring Weekend, athletic/alcoholic Brown students gather down at the India Point Park walking path, lugging countless 30-packs of inexpensive light beer. The entrants in the Chug 'N Run chug a beer, run a mile, chug a beer, run a mile, chug a beer, run a mile, then chug one last victory beer. Not everybody makes it to beer #4, and much comic beer explusion occurs along the way. Less adventurous students can walk the course alongside the runners as part of the "Sip&Stroll". This annual tradition, started by Brown women athletes, involves a surprisingly high number of gung-ho female students.

3.4.6 Other Traditions

Students rub the nose of the bust of John Hay for good luck on exams.
Seniors sleep in the Sciences Library some time before graduation.
Students have sex on the 13th floor of the Sciences Library.
Students avoid the Brown seal on the steps leading to the Pembroke green for a variety of reasons
- Female students avoid the seal to ward off pregnancy, although avoiding the Sciences Library would seem to be more effective.
- Previously, Pembroke students avoided the seal to ensure that they would get married.
- Previously, male Brown students avoided the seal to ensure they would graduate in four years.
Students can pass through the Van Wickle Gates only twice- once upon entering the University, and once again during Commencement.

3.4.7 Brown Songs

Alma Mater

Alma Mater, we Hail thee with loyal devotion
And bring to thine altar our off'ring of praise;
Our hearts swell within us with joyful emotion,
As the name of Old Brown in loud chorus we raise.
The happiest moments of youth's fleeting hours
We've passed 'neath the shade of these time-honored walls;
And sorrows as transient as April's brief showers
Have clouded our life in Brunonia's halls.

Ever True To Brown

We are ever true to Brown,
For we love our college dear,
And wherever we may go,
We are ready with a cheer!
And the people always say,
(What do they say?)
That you can't outshine
Brown men, (or women!)
With their RAH! RAH! RAH!
And their KI! YI! YI!
And their B R O W . . . N!

Ever True To Brown (Drinking)

We are ever true to Brown,
For we love our college dear,
And wherever we may go,
We are ready with a beer!
And the people always say,
(What do they say?)
That you can't outdrink
Brown men (or women!)
With a Scotch and Rye
And a Whiskey Dry
And B O U R . . B O N!

4 Notable alumni and faculty

See List of Brown University people.

5 Computing projects

Several projects of note involving hypertext and other forms of electronic text have been developed at Brown, including:

6 References

Brown New Service (2001). Slavery, the Brown Family of Providence and Brown University. Retrieved April 27, 2004 from http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Info/Slavery.html.
Perkins, Sara "Fashion Journal likes what Brown is wearing" The Brown Daily Herald April 19, 2004, retrieved online on June 29 2004 at http://www.browndailyherald.com/stories.asp?storyID=2869
Poulson, Dan "Investigating the death of campus traditions" The Brown Daily Herald March 1, 2001. retrieved online on Jun 29 2004 at http://www.browndailyherald.com/post/stories.asp?ID=84

7 See also

8 External links

Universities and colleges in Rhode Island Ivy League Association of American Universities Brown University

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Brown University

Motto	In deo speramus (In God we hope)
Established	1764
School type	Private
President	Ruth J. Simmons
Location	Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Campus	Urban
Enrollment	5,711 undergraduate, 1,396 graduate 323 medical
Faculty	785
Mascot	Bear
Athletics	38 sports teams
Homepage	http://www.brown.edu/' class='external' title="http://www.brown.edu/">www.brown.edu

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