If you’re feeling particularly gratuitous and/or generous today between 12 and 2 pm, stop by the Chancellor’s Dining Room in the Ratty and leave Ruth Simmons a video message at the “Ruth Booth”…. and maybe donate some money to the Annual Fund, too. This is a great opportunity to show Ruth your appreciation, wear your T(ruth) t-shirt and let her know how much of a boss you think she is. Representatives from the Brown Annual Fund will be standing by to provide information and answer questions about the Million Dollar Milestone: A Record for Ruth. If the fund gets a record-setting 34,317 donors to make gifts this year, the Corporation has promised to contribute an additional $1 million.  

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Our very own Ruth J. Simmons was interviewed for an article published today in a New York Times series called “Corner Office,” a weekly conversation feature “about leadership and management” by Adam Bryant. You can read the whole interview here, or in today’s New York Times.

The conversation included some great insights into how Ruth leads our school. Among the quotations that are surely about to be memorized as if they were sayings of the Dalai Lama: “I have always thought that in leadership that it’s much easier to convey to people what they should do in different situations if you convey the underlying principles… I would not have any tolerance at all for people who did not, in fact, strive hard to be a part of [the] team.” She definitely isn’t a micromanager.

Definitely the most interesting part of the interview, however, was Ruth’s reflection on her younger years. Although she was the youngest of 12 children, Ruth wanted to be the boss from a very young age: “I intervened in school… to tell teachers what they were doing wrong, or at least to tell them what I didn’t like about what they were doing.” If you’re ever in one of her Africana Studies or Comp Lit classes, try that and let me know how that goes.

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Ted Turner ’60 — just look at that ‘stache.

The search for Brown University’s next president is bound to be an arduous, painful process, as the committee figures out which candidate will be able to make the University the most money while simultaneously carpet-bombing the collective soul of all humanities concentrators.  But why must they choose from people with experience in managing institutions of higher ed?  After all, that hasn’t really proved to be an ironclad route to success.  Here are five candidates who undoubtedly know nothing about running a University, but who would allow us to get more excited when we see “Letter to the Community from President ______” in our inboxes.  Plus, they’re all alums.  Hooray for institutional nepotism!

1.  Lois Lowry ’58.  Yeah yeah, she dropped out her sophomore year to get married, whatever.  More important is the fact that she wrote that book we all read in fourth grade.  The one with Gandalf on the cover?  It won the Corndog Medal or something?  Point is, if we hand Lowry the helm, perhaps we can finally get some goddamn closure regarding the ending of The Giver.  I for one really want to know what happens after the protagonist and his mysterious baby friend go on that hypothermia-induced sled ride, and whether he eventually hooks up with that girl (the one who he hoped would start stripping down in an old folks’ home).  So much good thesis material there.  [Read more →]

The Herald's fall 2011 undergraduate survey

Every semester, The Herald conducts a survey of the undergraduate student body on a number of issues. Some questions, such as approval of Ruth Simmons and UCS, frequently appear on the poll, while many of the others change each semester. This semester’s poll asked:

• Whether or not students would consider joining an ROTC program, at Brown or another school
• How many sexual partners students have had so far this semester
• What students think of their class sizes
• What students think of the number of admissions spots that are reserved for athletic recruits
• How well students think Ruth Simmons and UCS are doing their jobs
• How satisfied or dissatisfied students are with academic advising
• How students see their families’ wealth compared to that of the “average Brown student”
• How confident students are in getting a desirable job after graduation
• What electronic devices students own

Check out the article with the full results here! (Disclaimer: I wrote the article.)

Over the next couple weeks, we’ll be publishing a series of articles, each of which goes into depth about one specific poll question. More reasons to read The Herald every day!

Tomorrow, November 2, the Campus Advisory Committee is hosting an open forum about where we think the University should go and, more importantly, who’s going to fill the void in our hearts left by Ruth Simmons. It will take place in Salomon 001 from 4-5:30 pm, with appearances from Chancellor Tisch ’76, undergraduate representatives and “other members of the two committees.” We’re all curious to see what names will be dropped for the next University President, so go find out for yourself!

Good news for the women’s ski team, the men’s wrestling team and the men and women’s fencing teams!

Read more about it HERE, in The Herald.

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We at BlogDailyHerald would like to once again extend our heartiest welcome to you, lovely freshman—our adorable wide-eyed throngs of keen youths.  We trust you’re settling in nicely. It’s true (only as we were once you) that it’s tempting for us to rib the hallmarks of your kind; you travel in groups no less than three hundred; you speak louder than is sensible.

But rest easy, dearest freshly scrubbed masses—BlogDH has no intention to tease or paddle you (unless you’re into it) here. Allow us, if you could, to be your Wonka-esque guide to the savory realm of Brunonia. So shush, hold our hand tightly, and we’ll eccentrically give you the skinny on this schoolin’. Don’t be alarmed by our foppish purplish digs: we’re here to help.

Provided here is a modest assemblage of some au courant key campus items that you may have missed but must know. Three people, places, and things. Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination.

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We know you know. Ruth is stepping down. Reactions have been mixed: some cried, some nodded their heads respectfully, some went into hysterics (I am guilty of this one). What brought us all together, however, was not the community announcement listserv. It was the need to express our emotions, vent our frustrations and share the joy of having had the opportunity to see Ruth at the Blue Room… through the Internet.

The mass of Facebook status updates which resulted from the news of Ruth’s impending resignation began at circa 10:50 a.m., just minutes after the email from Ruth was sent out to all Brunonians. Here are some of our favorite updates:

First, the shock. And the rhetorical questions.

Then, the panic.   [Read more →]

A look back at 10 years of enrichment, change and an iconic presence that many have come to associate with the quintessential qualities of Brown University:

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In an email to the Brown community this morning, President Ruth Simmons announced her plans to step down from the Brown Presidency at the end of the current academic year.  Simmons, Brown’s 18^th and the first female African-American president in the Ivy League, plans to officially cease her position in June 2012.

The impetus for Simmons’ resignation is unclear. In a mass email to the Brown community, she wrote that she “recently decided that this is the ideal time both for Brown and for me personally to begin the process of transitioning to new leadership.” Simmons went on to write that she plans to return to teaching at Brown as a professor in the departments of Comparative Literature and Africana Studies “after a leave, during which [she] will take up projects that have been on hold far too long.” Read more, including Simmons’ full email to the Brown community, after the jump.  [Read more →]