Members: President Simmons, Provost Kertzer, Russell Carey, Margaret Klawunn, Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar, Bill Twaddell, James Baird, Anne Fausto-Sterling, Timothy Herbert, Lynne Joyrich, Eric Suuberg, Diane Mokoro, Matteo Riondato, Catharine Beattie, Sean DeBobes, Connie Livingston, Paul Magliocco, Jill Rossi, David Sherry, Rebekah Eckstein, Daniel Harrop, and Ken McDaniel were in attendance. Michael Pickett, Corey Brettschneider, Suzanne de la Monte, Evelyn Hu-Dehart, Kiri Miller, Corey Walker, Brittaney Check, Yelen Chihombori Quao, Michelle Site, Michael Stewart, Ryan Hartigan, Eva Glieberman, Sunil Hebbar, and Charlie Kroll were unable to attend.

The minutes of the March 15, 2011 meeting were approved.

Katherine Bergeron, Dean of the College, provided an update on the work of the Brown Committee on ROTC, which she chairs. The Committee is charged with evaluating current policies on ROTC and making recommendations with respect to the appropriate role for Brown in officer training programs. Dean Bergeron began by giving a summary of the campus groups the Committee has met with since her presentation at the March 15 BUCC meeting. She next reviewed the results of the alumni survey regarding Brown serving as a host campus for a ROTC unit, and the results of the undergraduate survey regarding the kind of relationship that is important for Brown to sustain with the ROTC. During Dean Bergeron's presentation, members of the audience raised the issue of transgender discrimination in the military and asked how it will factor into the Committee's recommendations. The Report of the Committee on ROTC is expected to be released by the start of finals, but if it isn't ready by then it will be held until the beginning of the fall semester.

Chair of the Athletics Review Committee, Dick Spies, Executive Vice President for Planning and Senior Advisor to the President, and Margaret Klawunn, Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services, reviewed the recently released Report of the Athletics Review Committee. The Committee was charged with preparing a plan which articulates a vision for Athletics at Brown consistent with the principles outlined by the Corporation and sets forth goals and objectives with a timeline and action plan. It was also charged with addressing the number of admission slots, financial aid priorities, and the appropriate level of financial support. The recommendations of the Committee included: increased accessibility of all academic opportunities for student athletes; commitment of approximately $10M to improve facility needs; increased operating budget and addition of key staff; discontinuation of men's and women's fencing, women's skiing, and men's wrestling programs; elevation of one women's program from club to varsity; set the number of admissions slots for recruited athletes to 195; and increased financial aid budget for the University. Audience members raised concerns and questions regarding the recommendations including: the effect on students and coaches in implementing team reductions so quickly and the lack of time for input; how the Committee evaluated the competitiveness of the teams and how competitiveness will be improved; what data was used to make the decisions to eliminate teams; and whether there are other ways to strengthen the Athletics program, e.g. fundraising.

The next meeting of the Brown University Community Council will be held on September 13, 2011 from 4:00–5:30 pm in the Kasper Multipurpose Room, Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center.

Respectfully submitted,
Catherine Pincince, Secretary of the Brown University Community Council