Members: President Simmons, Provost Kertzer, Brenda Allen, Katherine Bergeron, Russell Carey, Beppie Huidekoper, Christopher Bull, John Cassese, David Cutts, Stephen Foley, Barrett Hazeltine, Joachim Krueger, Elmo Terry-Morgan, John Gillis, Robert Klaber, Lauren Kolodny, Mark Ramadan, Emma Tai, Matt Lease, David Margolius, Stephanie Birdsall, Geoffrey Greene, Dorothy Hitt, Kisa Takesue, David Bloom, Sarah O’Dowd, and Guy Sanchez were in attendance.
Penelope Dennehy, David Sheinberg, James Gagnon, Chung Nguyen, Neel Shah, David Kanig, Tovah Reis, and Emma Simmons were unable to attend.
The minutes of the September 12, 2006 meeting were approved.
Professor James Campbell, Chair, Committee on Slavery and Justice gave an overview of the work of the Steering Committee over the past two years. He highlighted the 35 programs, including two international conferences that have been held. He stressed that the report of the Committee will not be the last word on the subject – it is intended to start a conversation on campus. Professor Campbell gave a tour of the Committee’s website and drew attention to the digitized historical documents housed on the site. Vice President of Public Affairs and University Relations Mike Chapman spoke about the communications strategy for the report which will be intentionally limited in scope. The report will be posted on the Committee’s website and a
press advisory will be distributed. A town meeting where Steering Committee members will discuss the report is scheduled for Wednesday, November 1, 2006.
Walter Hunter, Vice President for Administration, summarized the campus-wide e-mail that he and Russell Carey, Interim Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services, sent on October 16, 2006. The e-mail reported the outcome of an investigation by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) into a September 10, 2006 incident in which a graduate student alleged misconduct by DPS officers. The investigation concluded that the DPS officers were justified in stopping the student and requesting his identification, and that there is no evidence that any DPS officer caused injury to the student. He explained that evidence regarding the conduct of Providence Police Department (PPD) officers in the matter has been forwarded to PPD, which will conduct a thorough investigation into the propriety of PPD officer conduct if a complaint is filed. Mr. Hunter informed the Council that DPS will be phasing out the regular use of Providence Police Department officers on paid details, as has been planned for many months. Discussion followed among and questions from members of the Council and the audience regarding the investigation.
Mr. Hunter gave an update on contract negotiations between the University and Dining Services.
At the close of the meeting, members of the Brown Community were given the opportunity to address the Council and raise any other pressing issues. Jessica Johnson GS’ spoke about her concerns regarding graduate student support and the matter of tuition for master’s students.
The next meeting of the Brown University Community Council will be held on Tuesday,
November 14 from 4:00 – 5:30 pm in Leung Gallery, Faunce House.
Respectfully submitted,
Catherine Pincince
Secretary of the Brown University Community Council