September/October 2012

Paxson's Passionate Defense of Higher Education

In the almost 250 years since its founding, Brown has had only 18 presidents. On October 27, it inaugurated its 19th, Christina Paxson. A weekend of celebration culminated in a plea to understand the importance of scholarship of all kinds, even in the most economically troubled times.  

Brown Brings the Dalai Lama to Providence

The world spiritual leader told students that the 21st century is theirs to shape, just as the 20th century was his. Ranging widely through history, international affairs, and his own experiences, he urged them to make it a century of dialogue and compassion.  

Correction

Veterans' Affairs

Orwell vs. Boucher

Recommended Reading

Renaming Lincoln Field

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Visionary

Obituaries

Obituaries from the September/October 2012 issue.

Game Day

Olympic Recap

Brown's better known for sending Rhodes Scholars to England than athletes. This year's Olympics had a few Brunonians showing prowess of a different kind.

Giving Forward

Football players and coaches are showing that, at Brown at least, teams are not just for playing games. They're also for helping others.

Freeing Brown

A 230-year-old diploma tells a war story.  

Summer Vacation Stories

In May they leave campus behind them, only to return in the fall. We asked students: what were you doing during those months away?

A Coach's Challenge

In February, Bill O’Brien ’92 started his dream job as Penn State’s head football coach. Has O’Brien’s dream become a nightmare?

First Lady of Food

Over the past two decades, Food & Wine editor-in-chief Dana Cowin ’82 has taken a slumping magazine and turned it into a leading brand that includes books, events, a thriving website, and a lively Twitter feed. Her real goal, she says, has been to expand your happy world.

The Next Big Idea

Would-be entrepreneurs get a crash course in business.

Living on Mars Time

Ralph Milliken ’03 ScM, ’06 PhD is one of the scientists telling the Mars rover Curiosity what to do. Here's what he's telling it, and why.

Campus in the Summer

Think the campus is quiet, verdant, and dull during the summer? Guess again. From aspiring athletes to international scholars, the learning just keeps on going.

First Readings

Freshmen this summer read Sons of Providence, President Paxson was one of many faculty members to lead discussions of the book.

New President, New Class

President Christina Paxson and the Class of 2016 have something in common: they're getting settled into their first semester at Brown.

American Pastoral

When urban studies concentrator Chia Chen-Speidel ’11 moved to San Francisco, she discovered she didn’t like cities. So she became a goat herder.

Sex and God

As a frat member, Damon Owens ’88 enjoyed casual sex. Now he works full time promoting the Catholic Church's teachings on sex, abortion, and family planning.

Spreading the Wealth

As president of the Joyce Foundation, Ellen Alberding ’79 hands out $40 million a year to help people devise big solutions to our biggest problems.

For Whom the Bells Toll

Thirty years ago, Connie Engle ’58 volunteered to ring handbells in her church. Now she's a campanologist and has taken bell ringing to a whole new level.

Go Bears!

An alumnus sends in this photo, asking if anyone knows the identity of the football fan waving a Brown pennant.

It’s All About Home

Julie Carlson ’83 and Josh Groves ’84 found careers in the blogosphere by remodeling a house in California. They just might help you remodel yours.

Fresh Ink

Public Intellectual

Timothy Snyder ’91 argues that Hitler and Stalin had one thing in common: they made the early twentieth century one of the bloodiest periods in human history.

Music from the Depths

When his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, Leigh Marble ’97 directed his anger into music, producing Where the Knives Meet Between the Rows, a remarkable CD.

Larger Than Life

Five years ago, Alison Klayman ’06 was just another recent American graduate in Beijing. Until she made a film chronicling the life of one of China's leading artist-activists.