Goals and Objectives

Since its founding, Brown has sought to attract, challenge, and cultivate intellectually independent and creative scholars who are educated deeply about the history, knowledge and traditions of their respective academic disciplines, while being encouraged to advance knowledge at areas beyond disciplinary boundaries and make an impact on the world. Brown — its students, staff, faculty, and graduates — makes distinctive and valuable contributions to higher education, certainly, and to society more generally.

The University’s 250th anniversary plans must reflect Brown’s distinctive character and culture, and among the goals of the celebration should be to:

• Share a full understanding of Brown’s history, how it has shaped our culture and positions the University for the future;
• Reaffirm the value of higher education generally, and a liberal arts education in particular;
• Showcase Brown’s distinctive character and contributions;
• Celebrate curiosity, creativity, and the inventive spirit that characterized Brown at its best, whether in the literary, visual, and performing arts or in the social, physical, and life sciences;
• Illustrate how, over its history, Brown has fulfilled its mission of developing individuals who lead “lives of usefulness and reputation”;
• Engage all University constituencies, including alumni, students and their families, faculty, staff, the Providence and Rhode Island communities, and the higher education community; and,
• Inspire a deeper understanding and sense of pride in the University among its constituents.

Guiding Principles

The Committee developed a preliminary listing of principles to consider when planning and developing events, activities, programs and materials, to include:

• Be distinctly Brown;
• Illustrate Brown’s enduring and distinctive culture, character, value and societal contributions locally, nationally and internationally;
• Build a richer, fuller, and refreshed understanding of Brown;
• Celebrate and reflect upon the past, to be sure, but also the present and future;
• Showcase the best of Brown across all disciplines;
• Seek to emphasize Brown’s history of confronting challenges in creative and scholarly ways. Do not seek to avoid controversial issues; Brown has faced and resolved many – an important part of the story;
• Be reflective – engage all departments and other units in their own anniversary reflection;
• Ensure Brown's international reach is reflected and the global Brown community is engaged; and,
  
• Be fully inclusive – provide opportunities for all constituencies to offer their unique perspectives.