Brown University - Liber Brunensis Yearbook (Providence, RI)

Page 21 text:

and Alumnae Halls given by department chairmen, but they also are assured of the opportunity to visit with the kind of men who, on other campuses, are often too occupied with graduate-level instruction to cope with every undergrad- uate problem. The reaction of Brown undergraduates to these oppor- tunities is indicated by the popularity of IC and University discussion courses. And for the student enticed to delve further into a discipline along lines of personal interest, the Independent Studies program offers great rewards to an annually increasing number of juniors and seniors. The honors program in every department offers extensive oppor- tunities for the above-average student. Such diversity of approach is possible and effective only because of the enthusiasm of the faculty for these programs. And, only the influence of the faculty can command the continual respect of undergraduates for the academic honor societies such as Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi and others. If a professor and student do not meet in class, they are inevitably thrown together in the current of campus life. Apart from strictly academic societies, the professor is involved in most of the extra-curricular campus organi- zations. Lingual, political and majors clubs, to mention a few, are graced with his presence and are marked with an immeasurable amount of academic and personal flavoring by his actions. On an even less formal level, faculty-student friendships are born sometime over a cup of coffee in the Blue Room, or within the housing units. The resident fellow provides a close-up view of the scholar for the aver- age student in a way which greatly encourages contact between the two bodies on the basis of mutual interests. Elsewhere, the concerned student, in trying to transform his beliefs into action on a fair housing committee for Provi- dence, for example, may find therein, a dean with similar ideas. The other side of academics centers around the profes- sor's or dean's personal interest in and motivation for his activities apart from student contact. The amount of re- search and writing being accomplished by the scholars of College Hill is prodigious. Especially strong in the sciences, Brown is the home of the Journal of Applied Mathematics and of the Journal of the American Acoustical Society. The recent construction of new facilities for the departments of psychology, biology and engineering, and the plans for a huge new physical sciences center, evidence the continued confidence of the university's supporters in the contribu- tions to be made by Brown scholars in the sciences. But confidence in the continuance of excellence at Brown is not, of course, limited to the sciences; the Ford Foundation Challenge Grant is aimed not so much at aiding the build- ing program as it is at supporting the high level of educa- tion existing throughout the university. The deans and faculty, then, are marked by an unusually personal interest in the undergraduate body, as well as by an outstanding record of research. Thus, the following section is justly set aside to present a cross-section of deans and scholars, especially some of Brown's outstanding young professors, in a perspective broader than the image cast in their offices and classrooms. Included in addition is only a small glimpse of the multitude of lecturers from outside the Brown community heard this year. Several sketches of students whose excellence in academics has been demon- strated through their participation in the College Scholar Program are included. 17

Page 20 text:

Academics In the Blue Room, Professor Perkins meets with his students before class; Professor Schnerr is well-known for his traditional patronage of the basketball team; Mr. Madeira always drops over to the pool to check up on the swimming team, and the Classics Club meets in Professor Robinson's home. These are instances of an important part of Brown which is forgotten in casual conversation with an outsider and is not depicted in the University's brochures. Yet this aspect is very significant; the informal encounter is a common campus experience, and this is the great advant- age of the intellectual environment at Brown over other colleges. The deans and faculty exert, of course, the greatest - influence upon the academic community, and it is for this reason that the following pages, enlarged upon in compar- ison with past yearbooks, have been devoted to these groups. The aura of academics hangs like a mist about many students; there are few who attain the stature which per- mits clairvoyance in a discipline or even in any one course. Yet, the accessibility of the faculty in the community of Brown avails even the average student of the advantages of intimate contact with renowned scholars. Brown undergrad- uates profit from the fact that their college is part of a university, and yet, because the college ic the largest and most important body within this university, undergrad- uate education is not relegated to junior members of the faculty. For both the student and the professor, Brown's size has been an important feature; the former finds per- sonal challenge in a multitude of discussion courses, while the latter is provided with intimate student contact and time for research. The deans find themselves able to form more than superficial acquaintanceships among the stu- dents. Not only do freshmen attend lectures in Manning

Page 22 text:

SRR, s The President