Brown University Faculty Bulletin
N.S. Vol. I, June 2021
Editors' Note
This marks the first issue of the relaunched Faculty Bulletin. The Faculty Bulletin used to be published twice yearly; past issues are partially archived on the faculty governance website. For several years, its dedicated editors were Peter Wegner (Computer Science) and Peter Richardson (Engineering), both of whom have now passed away. In an attempt to honor their legacy and continue fostering faculty community at Brown, this year the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) resolved to revive this "for faculty, by faculty" publication. We hope that you enjoy it.
We also wish to extend our sincere thanks to those colleagues who, after such an extraordinary and exhausting year—a year truly like no other—have contributed to this first issue of the Bulletin's new series.
Faculty Matters
Johanna Hanink
"For the last fifteen months, and as the pandemic completely upended our lives, we were reminded of the importance of our shared governance structures: of how critical it is that the faculty participate in the decision making that shapes the university community as a whole."
"I was struck how often the FEC at Brown was left wondering how faculty at other institutions addressed similar issues to those that we faced."
Barrett Hazeltine
"Will the distinctive quality of Brown be visible externally, in a universe where all, or nearly, of our competitors are using Zoom the way we are?"
Why Do Women Spend More Time, on Average, at the Rank of Associate Professor?
Ruth M. Colwill
"Now more than ever, as the pandemic and its fallout amplify existing disparities, it is time to shake the table at Brown and stop accepting this status quo as inevitable and immutable."
Special Section: A Year Like No Other
"[O]ur hypothesis was that the pandemic presented such an unprecedented, society-wide disruption that it was really important for leaders in different sectors to learn from each others’ experiences to find solutions to the pandemic problems they faced."
Amanda Anderson
"At the Cogut Institute we discovered that our own collaborative programs, which involve not only team-teaching but also student collaborative projects, had unexpected benefits during an isolating time, fostering connections and community outside of zoom hours."
Katherine A. Mason
"We could not travel, and even asking people for a Zoom interview felt intrusive when so many people were struggling with job loss, food insecurity, trauma, illness and death. At the same time, we felt it was critical to preserve the narratives of those experiencing those very things. How could we collect and preserve these stories in a systematic but non-intrusive way?"
Elsa Amanatidou, Stéphanie Ravillon, and Silvia Sobral
"The same technology that facilitated the continuation of instruction also helped underscore the things that are irreplaceable, the dramatic divergence of the online experience and the disparities of remote learning."
"Despite major disruptions and anxiety regarding the switch to online learning, each student contributed to its success."
Contact us: faculty_governance@brown.edu
Banner image: stereoscopic view of the Quiet Green, from photos by Leander Baker (1875)