Brown University

Brown University is an American university located in Providence, Rhode Island. It is a member of the Ivy League, and was rated as the 15th best U.S. college in 2007 by U.S. News and World Report [1]. Brown was founded in 1764; the University motto is In Deo Speramus, which means "In God We Hope" or "In God is our Hope". The current President of Brown is Ruth J. Simmons; it has 628 full-time faculty members and 7,595 students.

Brown and Penn both have claims to be considered the first nonsectarian institution of higher learning in the United States. Brown's charter specified that

into this liberal and catholic institution shall never be admitted any religious tests, but on the contrary, all the members hereof shall forever enjoy full, free, absolute, and uninterrupted liberty of conscience.

The charter required that the makeup of the board of thirty-six trustees include twenty-two Baptists, five Friends, four Congregationalists, and five Episcopalians, and by twelve Fellows, of whom eight, including the President, should be Baptists "and the rest indifferently of any or all denominations."

The New Curriculum

Brown prides itself on its "New Curriculum," first established in 1969, which allows students to take virtually any course they want, with no general distribution requirements. Traditional letter grades are optional. [2]

SPG scandal

In 2005, Brown University's "Queer Alliance" threw a raucous party entitled “SexPowerGod,” in Sayles Hall, a large multi-room lecture hall used on occasions for concerts, and containing large portraits of former University officials. According to some reports, a number of students had to receive emergency medical assistance due to over-consumption of alcohol. Reporters with fake ID's attended the event with hidden cameras, resulting in footage which was soon featured on The O'Reilly Factor, where Bill O'Reilly stated "You would have been safer in Baghdad than on the campus of Brown University," and calling Brown president Ruth Simmons and other university leaders "pinheads." [3] The University, on investigation, condemned both Fox News's coverage and the party's poor planning and excess comsuption of alcohol; a report was made into whether Sayles Hall, with its wood-panelled walls and oil portraits, was indeed an appropriate venue for such parties. The Queer Alliance was suspended for one year.

Slavery and Justice

Brown recently did a study on its own history, and found that the Brown family heavily participated in the slavery trade, finding that slave labor was extremely important in the funding of the university during its early days. The report was widely publicized by the University, and the results published online under the title "Slavery and Justice at Brown".

References

• Brown's report on its historical ties with Slavery