Related Issue
January–March 2025
University News
Differences & Opinions
A letter from the Editor
By Pippa Jack / January–March 2025
January 21st, 2025
First, a quick request. It’s a time of change, at Brown as everywhere else, a fact that may well be reflected in this magazine this year. At press time, we were still figuring out our strategy for distributing BAM in print and digital formats for 2025 and beyond, but one thing we know for sure: We want your opinion. In fact, we need it in order to make informed decisions about where to invest our limited resources in order to serve you best, despite ongoing financial pressures. So please take our ultra-brief survey (just four questions!). We’d be so grateful—we always look forward to hearing from you, on any subject, so the fourth question is an open-ended comment box. Have at it!
Now, on to one of the changes I mentioned: an initiative announced just two days before this magazine was due on press.
In our Nov.–Dec. issue, we reported declines in the number of students admitted to Brown in 2024 from groups historically underrepresented in higher education—the result of the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling barring the consideration of race or ethnicity in college admissions and consequent changes in Brown’s admissions practices.
Black student enrollment declined by 40 percent from the year prior, to just 9 percent of the incoming class. Hispanic representation also dropped, from 14 to 10 percent.
One thing we know for sure: We want your opinion. Please take our ultra-brief survey.
Before the ruling, President Christina H. Paxson wrote in these pages that exposure to people from different backgrounds and viewpoints “is how creativity, innovation, and the advancement of knowledge thrive.” Brown, she said, has a “compelling interest” in diversity, as it “confers unmatched educational benefits.” So, in early December, the University laid out a plan to try to improve diversity in future classes.
“Brown remains committed to complying with the law while fostering a diverse and inclusive community as integral to our mission of academic excellence,” wrote Provost Francis J. Doyle III and Interim Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity Patricia Poitevien in a campus message.
Strategies will include bolstering funding for financial aid and prospective-student travel grants, creating five new regional admissions officers, working more closely with nonprofits with similar goals as well as with Brown’s own affinity groups, and increasing outreach to students and guidance counselors to emphasize that Brown “considers the experiences and context of every applicant.” The University will engage in new fundraising efforts to support all of these initiatives.
There’s one strategy I particularly want to highlight: “Activating the Brown alumni network to support recruitment and matriculation efforts, building a pool of 750-plus alumni for this effort.” That’s you, dear readers! Outreach will get going later this year; if you’re keen to help, email alumni@brown.edu to register your interest.
