- Strengthening our community amid conflict
,February 5, 2024 — Christina H. Paxson, President - Discrimination and harassment compliance reorganization
, January 31, 2024 — Christina H. Paxson, President - Priorities for Spring 2024
, January 24, 2024 — Christina H. Paxson, President - New resources for care and community at Brown
(Authentication Required), December 15, 2023 — Sylvia Carey-Butler, Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity; Eric Estes, Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services - New guide for managing social media harassment
(Authentication Required), December 6, 2023 — Cass Cliatt, Senior Vice President for Communications; Sharon Pitt, Vice President and Chief Information Officer - Remarks for Nov. 27, 2023, vigil of peace and healing
, November 28, 2023 — Christina H. Paxson, President - Student victim of serious crime; being together as a community
, November 26, — 2023 Christina H. Paxson, President - Remarks at Nov. 7, 2023, faculty meeting on campus safety, harassment and discrimination, and academic freedom
, November 7, 2023 — Christina H. Paxson, President - FAQ on freedom of expression, protest and related policies
, November 3, 2023 — Francis J. Doyle, III, Provost; Eric Estes, Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services; Marie Williams, Vice President of Human Resources
Strengthening Our Community Amid Conflict
Brown University takes the strongest possible stance against bias, harassment and discrimination and is committed to ensuring a respectful and inclusive learning environment.
Strengthening Our Community Amid Conflict
Brown University takes the strongest possible stance against bias, harassment and discrimination and is committed to ensuring a respectful and inclusive learning environment.
Strengthening Our Community
Strengthening Our Community
Amid geopolitical conflict that continues to create discord on university campuses across the country, Brown has created this Strengthening Our Community site, sharing how we are taking steps to secure the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff as we also uphold the core academic values at the heart of our mission.
Here, we share many of the actions and initiatives recently launched and being developed across the University to continue our fight against racism, discrimination and harassment — including the rise of antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian and anti-Israeli discrimination; to keep our campus safe; and to support our commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression, the bedrock of our teaching and learning community.
We have a long record of commitment to these values, and this website reflects the dedication of many community members spanning Brown’s academic and administration enterprise to safeguard this commitment.
Leadership Communications
Leadership Communications
Messages to the community acknowledge the difficult moment in which we find ourselves, and offer support, resources and guidance to those who live, work and study at Brown.
Enhancing Title VI Response
Enhancing Title VI Response
Confronting bias, discrimination and harassment
We continue to ensure that all who live, work and study at Brown know the resources available to them for reporting any instance of bias, discrimination or harassment, or any circumstance where they might feel unsafe. Brown is enhancing its Title VI response (named after the federal law) after a winter 2023 review of our policies, organizational structures, reporting processes, resources and other aspects of the University’s responsibilities related to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Building Understanding of Bias
Building Understanding of Bias
The Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED) has developed programming and resources to help the Brown community build understanding around the issues of antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian and anti-Israeli harassment and discrimination, as well as the enduring issues of all forms of racism.
The issues OIED is currently elevating in its programming predate and transcend the current geopolitical conflict, but we recognize they are being felt acutely by members of our community as violence and conflict escalate, with reverberations being felt globally and on campus.
Resources
OIED is committed to equipping the campus community with the requisite educational tools necessary to recognize and confront antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian and anti-Israeli discrimination when they encounter it, as well as all forms of racism. Resources include federal fact sheets and international guidance.
OIED Spring 2024 Programming
OIED collaborates with offices across Brown to design, implement and promote programs and events that help the Brown community continue to confront issues of racism, harassment and discrimination, and to ensure that Brown is an empathetic, caring and compassionate community
Promoting Dialogue & Freedom of Expression
Promoting Dialogue & Freedom of Expression
During intense periods of local, national and global conflict, important questions about the policies that govern academic freedom and freedom of expression come to the forefront on the Brown campus and at other colleges and universities around the country. Throughout the Spring 2024 semester, the Office of the Provost, the Faculty Executive Committee and academic units from around campus are convening a series of events to discuss the bedrock principle of academic freedom and the broader debates it has inspired on college campuses and beyond.
Student Engagement & Experience
Student Engagement Experience
The Division of Campus Life works with and supports all Brown undergraduate, graduate and medical students to ensure their academic and personal success. Across the Spring 2024 semester, Campus Life departments are offering programs, workshops and events to build skills for engaging in dialogue; deepen understanding and engagement with complex issues relevant to current campus climate; provide individual and community care; and support the development of healthy practices for open inquiry and building relationships across differences.
Long-Established Commitment
Long-Established Commitment
Our community has a well-established history of working together to build a stronger Brown through moments of intense conflict. In the last decade alone, multiple initiatives have leveraged the leadership of academic and administrative units across campus, as well as student-led initiatives, to build bridges across differences.
Events
Events
True to the mission of Brown, many members of our community are leading efforts on campus and beyond to broaden and deepen understanding through scholarship, education, community gatherings and forums for discussion. The issues that underpin the Middle East conflict – as well as enduring issues around racism and discrimination affecting populations around the world – are complex. Multiple academic and administrative units at Brown bring significant expertise to opportunities for community members to learn about and discuss these issues.