Brown University Brown University is an American private Ivy League research university located in Providence , Rhode Island . Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the " College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations " early in the reign of King George III ( 1760 – 1820 ) , Brown is the third oldest institution of higher education in New England and seventh oldest in the United States . The university consists of The College , Graduate School , Alpert Medical School , and the School of Engineering . Brown was the first college in the nation to accept students regardless of religious affiliation . Brown accepts 8 . 9 % of undergraduate applicants , placing it among the world ' s most selective universities . Brown ' s international programs are organized through the Watson Institute for International Studies . The New Curriculum , instituted in 1969 , eliminated distribution requirements and allows any course to be taken on a satisfactory / no credit basis . In addition , there are no pluses or minuses in the letter grading system . The school has the oldest undergraduate engineering program in the Ivy League ( 1847 ) . Pembroke College , Brown ' s women ' s college , merged with the university in 1971 . While Brown is considered a small research university with 682 full - time faculty and 1 , 919 graduate students , five of its professors and two of its alumni have been honored as Nobel Laureates . The faculty added 100 new professors in the past 10 years under the Boldly Brown campaign . Completed concentrations of undergraduates by area are Social Sciences ( 42 % ) , Humanities ( 26 % ) , Life Sciences ( 17 % ) , and the Physical Sciences ( 14 % ) . Brown ' s main campus is located on College Hill on the East Side of Providence . Several of the buildings on the Brown campus from its founding 18th century period through the 20th century offer fine representation of the Georgian style of American colonial era architecture . The university ' s 37 varsity athletic teams are known as the Brown Bears . The school colors are seal brown , cardinal red , and white . Brown ' s mascot is the bear , which dates back to 1904 . The costumed mascot named " Bruno " frequently makes appearances at athletic games . People associated with the University are known as Brunonians . History . Founding . Brown owes its founding to the support of learning among a Baptist Church association but in 1762 , the Baptist Minister Morgan Edwards was at first ridiculed for suggesting the founding of a college . In his " Materials for a History of the Baptists in Rhode Island " , Edwards wrote : " The first mover [ Edwards , himself ] for it [ a Baptist college ] in 1762 was laughed at as a projector of a thing impracticable . Nay , many of the Baptists themselves discouraged the design ( prophesying evil to the churches in case it should take place ) from an unhappy prejudice against learning . " Nonetheless , Edwards joined several others as an original fellow or trustee for the chartering of the " College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations " ( the former name for Brown University ) , the first Baptist college in the original thirteen colonies , and now one of the Ivy League universities . In 1763 , The Reverend James Manning , a Baptist minister , and an alumnus of the College of New Jersey ( predecessor to today ' s Princeton University ) , was sent to Rhode Island by the Philadelphia Association of Baptist Churches in order to found the college . At the same time , local Congregationalists , led by the theologist Ezra Stiles , were working toward a similar end . The inaugural board meeting of the Corporation of the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island & Providence Plantations was held in the Old Colony House in Newport , Rhode Island . Former colonial governors of Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins and Samuel Ward , as well as the Reverend Isaac Backus and the Reverend Samuel Stillman , were among those who played an instrumental role in Brown ' s foundation and later became American revolutionaries . On 3 March 1764 , a charter was filed to create the College in Warren , Rhode Island , reflecting the work of both Stiles and Manning . The college gained its charter by grant of King George III . The charter had more than sixty signatories , including the brothers John , Nicholas and Moses of the Brown family , who would later inspire the College ' s modern name following a gift bestowed by Nicholas Brown , Jr . The college ' s mission , the charter stated , was to prepare students " for discharging the Offices of Life with usefulness & reputation " by providing instruction " in the Vernacular and Learned Languages , and in the liberal Arts and Sciences . " The charter required that the makeup of the board of 36 trustees include , 22 Baptists , five Friends , four Congregationalists , and five Church of England members , and by 12 Fellows , of whom eight , including the President , should be Baptists " and the rest indifferently of any or all denominations . " It specified that " into this liberal and catholic institution shall never be admitted any religious tests , but on the contrary , all the members hereof shall forever enjoy full , free , absolute , and uninterrupted liberty of conscience . " One of the Baptist founders , John Gano , had also been the founding minister of the First Baptist Church in the City of New York . The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition remarks that " At the time it was framed the charter was considered extraordinarily liberal " and that " the government has always been largely non - sectarian in spirit . " In commemoration of this history , each spring faculty and the graduating class proceed down the hill , in academic dress , to the grounds of the First Baptist Meeting House ( erected in 1774 , " for the publick Worship of Almighty GOD and also for holding Commencement in " ) for the conferral of the bachelors degree . James Manning was sworn in as the College ' s first president in 1765 . His tenure lasted until 1791 . During his presidency , the College moved to its present location on College Hill in the East Side of Providence in 1770 and construction of the first building , the College Edifice , began . This building was renamed University Hall in 1823 . The Brown family — Nicholas Sr . , John , Joseph , and Moses , — were instrumental in the move to Providence , funding and organizing much of the construction of the new buildings on the former Rev . Chad Brown farm . The family ' s connection with the college was strong : Joseph Brown became a professor of Physics at the University , and John Brown served as treasurer from 1775 to 1796 . In 1804 , a year after John Brown ' s death , the University was renamed Brown University in honor of John ' s nephew , Nicholas Brown , Jr . , who was a member of the class of 1786 and in 1804 contributed $ 5 , 000 toward an endowed professorship . In 1904 , the John Carter Brown Library was opened as a research center on Americas based on the libraries of John Carter Brown and his son John Nicholas Brown . The Brown family was involved in various business ventures in Rhode Island , and made a small part of its wealth in businesses related to the slave trade . The family itself was divided on the issue . John Brown had unapologetically defended slavery , while Moses Brown and Nicholas Brown Jr . were fervent abolitionists . In recognition of this complex history , under President Ruth Simmons , the University established the University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice in 2003 . Brown began to admit women when it established a Women ' s College in Brown University in 1891 , which was later named Pembroke College in Brown University . " The College " ( the undergraduate school ) merged with Pembroke College in 1971 and became co - educational . The language of the Brown University charter has long been interpreted by the university as discouraging the founding of a business school or law school . Brown continues to be one of only two Ivy League colleges with neither a business school nor a law school ( the other being Princeton ) . Nevertheless , since recently Brown does offer an Executive MBA program in conjunction with one of the leading Business Schools in Europe ; IE Business School in Madrid . In this partnership , Brown provides the traditional coursework while IE provides most of the business related subjects . American Revolution . Stephen Hopkins , Chief Justice and Governor of the " English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations " , was a Delegate to the Colonial Congress in Albany in 1754 and to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776 . He was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence on behalf of the state of Rhode Island . He also served as the first chancellor of Brown from 1764 to 1785 . His house is a minor historical site , located just off the main green at Brown . In 1781 , allied American and French armies under the command of General George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau , who led troops sent by King Louis XVI of France , embarked on a march from Rhode Island to Virginia , where they fought and defeated British forces sent by King George III of the United Kingdom on the Yorktown , Virginia peninsula . The victory ended the major battles of the American Revolutionary War . Prior to the march , Brown University served as an encampment site for French troops , and the College Edifice , now University Hall , was turned into a military hospital . Other founders of Brown who played significant roles in the American revolutionary effort included John Brown in the Gaspee Affair , Chief Justice Dr . Joshua Babcock as major general in the state militia and William Ellery as a signatory to the Declaration of Independence . James Mitchell Varnum , who graduated with honors in Brown ' s first graduating class of 1769 , served as one of General George Washington ' s Continental Army Brigadier Generals and later as Major General in command of the entire Rhode Island militia . David Howell , who graduated with an A . M . in the same year as General Varnum , served as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1782 to 1785 . In 1786 , President James Manning was elected and served as representative for Rhode Island to the seventh session of the United States in Congress Assembled , held in New York . In that capacity , he served on the Grand Committee , which proposed fundamental amendments to the Articles of Confederation and presaged the Constitution of the United States . New curriculum . In 1850 , Brown President Francis Wayland wrote : " The various courses should be so arranged that , insofar as practicable , every student might study what he chose , all that he chose , and nothing but what he chose . " In 1969 , the adoption of the New Curriculum marked a milestone in the University ' s institutional history and is seen as a significant step towards realizing Wayland ' s vision . The curriculum was the result of a paper written by Ira Magaziner and Elliot Maxwell entitled " Draft of a Working Paper for Education at Brown University . " The paper came out of a year - long Group Independent Study Project ( GISP ) involving 80 students and 15 professors . The group was inspired by student - initiated experimental schools , especially San Francisco State College , and sought ways to improve education for students at Brown . The philosophy they formed sought to " put students at the center of their education " and to " teach students how to think rather than just teaching facts . " The paper made a number of suggestions for improving education at Brown , including a new kind of interdisciplinary freshman course that would introduce new modes of inquiry and bring faculty from different fields together . Their goal was to transform the survey course , which traditionally sought to cover a large amount of basic material , into specialized courses that would introduce the important modes of inquiry used in different disciplines . Following a student rally in support of reform , President Ray Heffner appointed the Special Committee on Curricular Philosophy with the task of developing specific reforms . These reforms , known as the Maeder Report ( after the chair of the committee ) , were then brought to the faculty for a vote . On 7 May 1969 , following a marathon meeting with 260 faculty members present , the New Curriculum was passed . Its key features included the following : Except for the Modes of Thought courses , a key component of the reforms which have been discontinued , these elements of the New Curriculum are still in place . Additionally , due to the school ' s proximity and close partnership with the Rhode Island School of Design ( RISD ) , Brown students have the opportunity to take up to four courses at RISD and have the credit count towards a Brown degree . Likewise , RISD students can also take courses at Brown . Since the two campuses are effectively adjacent to each other , the two institutions often partner to provide both student bodies with services ( such as the local Brown / RISD after - hours and downtown transportation shuttles ) . In July 2007 the two institutions announced the formation of the Brown / RISD Dual Degree Program , which allowed students to pursue an A . B . degree at Brown and a B . F . A . degree at RISD simultaneously , a five - year program . The first students in the new program matriculated in 2008 . As recently as 2006 , there has been some debate on reintroducing plus / minus grading to the curriculum . Advocates argue that adding pluses and minuses would reduce grade inflation and allow professors to give more specific grades , while critics say that this plan would have no effect on grade inflation while increasing unnecessary competition among students and violating the principle of the New Curriculum . Ultimately , the addition of pluses and minuses to the grading system was voted down by the College Curriculum Council . The University is currently in the process of broadening and expanding its curricular offerings as part of the " Plan for Academic Enrichment . " The number of faculty has been greatly expanded . Seminars aimed at freshmen have begun to be offered widely by most departments . As a part of the re - accreditation process , Brown University is undergoing an expansive reevaluation of its undergraduate education offerings through the newly appointed Task Force on Undergraduate Education . This Task Force is charged with assessing the areas of general education , concentrations , advising , and pedagogy and assessment . Presidents . The immediate past president of the University was Ruth J . Simmons . She was the 18th president of Brown University and first African American president of an Ivy League institution . According to a November 2007 poll by " The Brown Daily Herald " , Simmons enjoyed a more than 80 % approval rating among Brown undergraduates . On 15 September 2011 , Simmons announced her plans to step down as president at the end of her term in June 2012 . She has plans to remain at Brown as a professor of Comparative Literature and Africana Studies . On 2 March 2012 it was officially announced that Dr . Christina Hull Paxson would replace Simmons and become the 19th president of Brown University as of 1 July 2012 . Academics . The College . Founded in 1764 , The College is the oldest school of Brown University . Nearly 6 , 000 undergraduate students are currently enrolled in the college , and approximately 80 concentrations ( majors ) are offered . Completed concentrations of undergraduates by area are Social Sciences ( 42 % ) , Humanities ( 26 % ) , Life Sciences ( 17 % ) , and the Physical Sciences ( 14 % ) . The concentrations with the greatest number of students are Biology , History , and International Relations . Brown is one of the few schools in the United States with an undergraduate concentration ( major ) in Egyptology . Undergraduates can also design an independent concentration if the existing standard programs do not fit their interests . 35 % of undergraduates pursue graduate or professional study immediately , 60 % within 5 years , and 80 % within 10 years . For the Class of 1998 , 75 % of all graduates enrolled in a graduate or professional degree program since graduating from Brown . The most degrees acquired were a Master ' s ( 35 % ) in any field , a Medical ( 28 % ) , Doctoral ( 22 % ) , or a Law ( 14 % ) degree , in highest order . There are not many who pursued the Ph . D compared to a Master ' s ( for instance , business ) , or a Medical degree . The highest fields of employment for graduates of the College are Business ( 36 % ) , Education ( 19 % ) , Health / Medical ( 6 % ) , Arts ( 6 % ) , Government ( 6 % ) , and Communications / Media ( 5 % ) in highest order . Graduate School . Established in 1887 , The Graduate School currently houses around 2 , 000 students studying over 50 disciplines . 20 different master ' s degrees are offered as well as Ph . D . degrees in over 40 subjects ranging from applied mathematics to public policy . Alpert Medical School . The University ' s medical program started in 1811 , but the school was suspended by President Wayland in 1827 after the program ' s faculty declined to live on campus ( a new requirement under Wayland ) . In 1975 , the first M . D . degrees from the new Program in Medicine were awarded to a graduating class of 58 students . In 1991 , the school was officially renamed the Brown University School of Medicine , then renamed once more to Brown Medical School in October 2000 . In January 2007 , self - made entrepreneur Warren Alpert donated $ 100 million to Brown Medical School on behalf of the Warren Alpert Foundation , tying Sidney Frank for the largest single monetary contribution ever made to the University . In recognition of the gift , the faculty of Brown University approved changing the name of the Brown Medical School to The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University . It is currently ranked 29th among U . S . medical schools in research and 28th in primary care according to US News and World Report . Admissions to Alpert is one of the most competitive in the nation , with only less than 2 % of those applying through the Standard Route accepted in 2008 ( 5 , 902 applications for 94 spots ) . The medical school is known for its eight - year Program in Liberal Medical Education ( PLME ) , which was started in 1984 and is one of the most selective programs in the nation . Each year , approximately 60 high school students matriculate into the PLME out of an applicant pool of about 1 , 600 . Since 1976 , the Early Identification Program ( EIP ) has encouraged Rhode Island residents to pursue careers in medicine by recruiting sophomores from Providence College , Rhode Island College , the University of Rhode Island , and Tougaloo College . In 2004 , the school once again began to accept applications from premedical students at other colleges and universities via AMCAS like most other medical schools . The medical school also offers combined degree programs leading to the M . D . / Ph . D . , M . D . / M . P . H . and M . D . / M . P . P . degrees . School of Engineering . Brown has the oldest engineering program in the Ivy League . In 1916 , multiple Departments of Engineering were consolidated into the Division of Engineering . As part of a broader growth initiative , in 2010 , the Division of Engineering was authorized to begin operating as the School of Engineering . Research centers and institutes . Marine Biological Laboratory . The Marine Biological Laboratory ( MBL ) is an independent research institution established in 1882 at Woods Hole , Massachusetts . The laboratory is linked to 54 current or past Nobel Laureates at its research or teaching faculty . Since 2005 , the MBL and Brown University have collaborated in a Ph . D . - awarding Graduate Program in Biological and Environmental Sciences , which brings together faculty from both institutions . In 2010 , the joint program was extended to include more professors participating in the partnership . The current faculty includes those from the Ecosystems Center , the Bay Paul Center , the Program in Cellular Dynamics , and the Marine Resources Center . Watson Institute for International Studies . The Watson Institute for International Studies , usually referred to as the Watson Institute , is a center for the analysis of international issues at Brown University . Its original benefactor was Thomas Watson , Jr . , former Ambassador to the Soviet Union and president of IBM . Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women . The Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women , was established at Brown in 1981 as a research center on gender . It was named in honor of Pembroke College ( Brown University ) , a decade after its merger with Brown University , and to recognize the history of women ' s efforts to gain access to higher education . Along with its numerous academic programs , including its sponsorship of post - doctoral research fellowships , the undergraduate concentration in Gender and Sexuality Studies , and the annual Pembroke Seminar , the Pembroke Center also organizes a number of programs throughout the year to recognize the historical achievements of women . Leading historian and social scientist Joan Wallach Scott was founding director of the Center . The Pembroke Center is affiliated with the Sarah Doyle Women ' s Center . Computing . Several projects of note involving hypertext and other forms of electronic text have been developed at Brown , including FRESS , Brown University Interactive Language ( BRUIN ) , Hypertext Editing System , and Women Writers Project . In addition , the Computer Science department at Brown is home to The CAVE . This project is a complete virtual reality room , one of few in the world , and is used for everything from three - dimensional drawing classes to tours of the circulatory system for medical students . In 2000 , a group of students from the university ' s Technology House converted the south side of the Sciences Library into a giant video display which allowed bystanders to play Tetris , the largest of its kind ever in the Western Hemisphere . Constructed from 11 custom - built circuit boards , a 12 - story data network , a personal computer running Linux , a radio - frequency video game controller , and over 10 , 000 Christmas lights , the project was named La Bastille and could be seen for several miles . Academics , administration , and ranking . " U . S . News & World Report " ranked Brown 15th among national universities in its 2012 edition ( published in August 2012 ) . Undergraduates make up a larger proportion of the student body at Brown than at any of the other Ivy League universities , leading some Brown administrators to question the fairness of the ranking in light of the University ' s focus on undergraduate education . The same edition also ranked Brown 4th among national universities for undergraduate teaching ( tying with Yale University ) . Internationally , in 2012 Brown ranked 51st in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked Brown 65th . In 2012 QS World University Rankings placed Brown at 42nd . According to the 2005 paper " Academic Ranking of World Universities – Methodologies and Problems " by the rankers , Brown ' s PCP ( performance per - capita ) score is equal to that of Columbia University , at 32 . 1 , or 28th in the world . Brown ranked 7th in the country ( between Princeton and Columbia ) in a study of high school seniors ' revealed preferences for matriculation conducted by economists at Harvard , Wharton , and Boston University , and published in 2005 by the National Bureau of Economic Research . The 2008 Center for College Affordability and Productivity ( CCAP ) ranked Brown 5th in the country among national universities . " Brown ranked 5th in the country in Newsweek / The Daily Beast ' s " America ' s Brainiac Schools " . The rankings are calculated based on the number of prestigious scholarships , adjusted for population size , won by students , including Rhodes Scholarship s , Truman Scholarship s , Marshall Scholarship s , Gates Scholarship s ( since 2001 ) , and the number of students receiving Fulbright scholarship s ( since 1993 ) . Also factored in are scores on admissions tests , admission rates , and the proportion of students in the top 10 % of their graduating high school class . The 4 schools besting Brown were , in order of rank , Yale University , Princeton University , Harvard University , and Stanford University . As it had in 2007 and 2010 , the 2011 Princeton Review email poll of college students ranked Brown 1st in the country for " Happiest Students . " Brown is 3rd in the country ( tied with Stanford ) in the number of students awarded Fulbright grants , according to the October 2010 ranking compiled by the " Chronicle of Higher Education " . Graduate programs that ranked the top 10 in the 2010 US News & World Report graduate school rankings included applied mathematics at 5th and growth economics at 8th . Those that are ranked in the top 20 are history at 14th , economics at 17th , English at 13th , engineering at 20th , mathematics at 14th , and computer science at 20th . Admission and financial aid . Brown is one of the most selective universities in the world . The admission rate for the undergraduate class of 2015 was 8 . 7 percent . For the class of 2014 , 96 percent of accepted students were in the top 10 percent of their high school class , and 38 percent were either valedictorian or salutatorian . Brown began using the Common Application in the Fall of 2008 . The Graduate School is also intensely competitive , with graduate programs accepting 18 % of the 7 , 283 students who applied in 2008 . The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University accepted less than 2 % of more than 5 , 000 applicants . Brown is need - blind for all domestic applicants . Brown ' s financial aid policy eliminates loans for all students whose family incomes are under $ 100 , 000 , as well as all parental contributions for families whose incomes fall under $ 60 , 000 . For these purposes , income is calculated by summing the adjusted gross income plus all untaxed income . In 2012 , the program awarded need - based scholarships worth around $ 90 million . According to the university , Brown seeks diverse applicants from " all walks of life , backgrounds , interests , and cultural heritages " but has " no quotas of any kind " . Campus . Brown is the largest institutional landowner in Providence , with properties in the East Side and the Jewelry District . Unlike some other schools , there are also no clear physical landmarks to determine where Brown ' s campus begins or ends . There is no official designation of different campus areas from the University , but the institution ' s buildings can be roughly categorized as follows . Main campus . Brown ' s main campus is located atop College Hill , in the East Side , across the Providence River from downtown Providence . This is the where the University was relocated in 1770 after it was first established in Warren , Rhode Island , in 1764 . The main campus consists of 235 buildings and covers . A salient feature of Brown ' s campus is that many of the academic departments reside in smaller , Victorian - era houses that the University has acquired over the years from the surrounding neighborhood . The main campus area can be subdivided further into the inner , traditional campus greens and the outer neighborhood . The two greens , the " Main Green " and " Ruth J . Simmons Quadrangle " ( formerly " Lincoln Field " ) , are large grass fields perpendicular to each other . These two areas contain many of the larger and more traditional academic and dormitory buildings , including University Hall ( 1770 ) . This part of the main campus is enclosed by brick and rod iron fence , with the Van Wickle Gates serving as the prominent entrance on College Street . It is this area that is featured in most publications and photographs of Brown ' s campus . Outside of the gates , but still considered part of the main campus , are other University buildings and libraries that have been built at Brown over the centuries . This includes the Wriston Quad to the south of the Main Green ; the John Hay Library and John D . Rockefeller , Jr . Library directly across the street from the Van Wickle Gates ; and the Sciences Library and Thomas J . Watson , Sr . Center for Information Technology ( CIT ) adjacent to the Soldiers Memorial Gate . Because this area is not confined by the gates , Brown has been able to acquire larger plots of land and construct much larger buildings as the University has expanded . Adjacent to Brown ' s main campus , and further down the Hill to the west by the Providence River , is the campus of the Rhode Island School of Design . Thayer Street , which runs through Brown ' s campus , is a commercial district that hosts many restaurants and shops popular with students and faculty from Brown and RISD . Pembroke Campus . When Pembroke College merged with Brown in 1971 , the campus was absorbed as part of Brown ' s overall campus . For the most part , the campus is made up of dormitories , although notable exceptions include : Alumnae Hall , which houses a dance floor and a small University - run diner known as The Gate ; Smith - Buonano hall , the gymnasium of Pembroke College that was later renovated to contain a common room , classrooms , and a lecture hall ; and Pembroke Hall , the original classroom building for Pembroke College and now home to the Cogut Center for the Humanities and the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women . Furthermore , the campus has its own dining hall , Verney - Woolley Dining Hall , the second of Brown ' s main dining halls . Somewhere between 25 and 30 % of the incoming Freshman class lives on Pembroke , though there are also many upperclassmen . The Walk and surrounding area . The Brown Walk connects Pembroke Campus to the main campus . It ' s a newer green space , extending north from Waterman Street . It is bordered by the building at 155 Angell St . ( home to the Africana Studies Department and the Rites and Reason Theatre ) and the UEL ( Urban Environmental Lab , a . k . a . The Center for Environmental Studies , also facing Angell St ) among other things . Between Pembroke Campus and Main Campus , next to the Brown Bookstore , the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts opened in January 2011 . East Campus . The East Campus was originally the main campus location of Brown ' s former neighbor Bryant College . Brown purchased Bryant ' s East Side campus in 1969 for $ 5 . 0 million when the latter school was moving to a new location . This added of land and additional 26 buildings adjacent to the main campus area . The area was officially designated East Campus in 1971 . Other areas . On the East Side : Also on the Hill , but further to the south and away from the main campus area , is Wickenden Street , another commercial district offering restaurants and shops . Brown Stadium , built in 1925 and home to the football team , is located approximately a mile to the northeast of the main campus . Marston Boathouse , the home of the crew teams , lies on the Blackstone / Seekonk River , to the southeast of campus . Elsewhere in Providence : More recently , Brown has expanded into the Jewelry District , located in southern downtown Providence , by acquiring and renovating five buildings to serve as administrative and research facilities . Outside of Providence : Brown also owns a property , the Mount Hope Grant , in Bristol , which is the setting of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology ' s Collection Research Center . John Hay Library . The John Hay Library is the second oldest library on campus . It was named for John Hay ( class of 1858 , private secretary to Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State under two Presidents ) at the request of his friend Andrew Carnegie , who contributed half of the $ 300 , 000 cost of the building . Constructed with Vermont white marble in an English Renaissance style , the library was dedicated on 10 November 1910 and had an estimated collection of 300 , 000 volumes . It is now the repository of Brown University archives , rare books and manuscripts , and special collections . Noteworthy among the latter are the Anne S . K . Brown Military Collection ( described as " the foremost American collection of material devoted to the history and iconography of soldiers and soldiering " ) , the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays ( described as " the largest and most comprehensive collection of its kind in any research library " ) , the Lownes Collection of the History of Science ( described as " one of the three most important private collections of books of science in America " ) , and ( for popularity of requests ) the papers of H . P . Lovecraft . The Hay Library is home to one of the broadest collections of incunabula ( 15th - century printed books ) in the Americas , as well as such rarities as the manuscript of Orwell ' s " Nineteen Eighty - Four " and a Shakespeare First Folio . There are also three books bound in human skin . The Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women manages the Elizabeth Weed Feminist Theory Papers and the Christine Dunlap Farnham Archives , both rich resources for feminist scholars . John Carter Brown Library . The John Carter Brown Library , founded in 1846 , is administered separately from the University , but has been located on the Main Green of the campus since 1904 . It is generally regarded as the world ' s leading collection of primary historical sources pertaining to the Americas before 1825 . It houses a very large percentage of the titles published before that date about the discovery , settlement , history , and natural history of the New World . The " JCB " , as it is known , publishes " Bibliotheca Americana " , the main bibliography in the field . Typical of its noteworthy holdings is the best preserved of the seven surviving copies of Bay Psalm Book , the first extant book printed in British North America . There is also a very fine Shakespeare First Folio , added to the collection by John Carter Brown ' s widow ( a Shakespeare enthusiast ) on the grounds that it includes " The Tempest " , a play set in the New World . The JCB holdings comprise more than 50 , 000 early titles and about 16 , 000 modern books , as well as prints , manuscripts , maps , and other items in the library ' s specialty . The JCB occupies a Beaux - Arts style building designed by Shepley , Rutan , and Coolidge . The 1904 edifice was expanded in 1990 by architects Hartman - Cox of Washington , D . C . Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology . The exhibition galleries of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology , Brown ' s teaching museum , are located in Manning Hall on the campus ' s main green . Its one million artifacts , available for research and educational purposes , are located at its Collections Research Center in Bristol , RI . The museum ' s goal is to inspire creative and critical thinking about culture by fostering interdisciplinary understanding of the material world . It provides opportunities for faculty and students to work with collections and the public , teaching through objects and programs in classrooms and exhibitions . The museum sponsors lectures and events in all areas of anthropology , and also runs an extensive program of outreach to local schools . Sustainability . Brown University has committed to " minimize its energy use , reduce negative environmental impacts and promote environmental stewardship . " The Energy and Environmental Advisory Committee has developed a set of ambitious goals for the university to reduce its carbon emissions and eventually achieve carbon neutrality . The Brown is Green website collects information about Brown ' s progress toward greenhouse gas emissions reductions and related campus initiatives like courses , research , projects and student groups . Brown received an A - on the 2009 College Sustainability Report Card , developed by the Sustainable Endowments Institute . Brown was one of only 15 schools to receive a grade above a B + . There were no schools in the report that received an " A " . Brown has a number of active environmental leadership groups on campus . These groups have begun a number of campus - wide environmental initiatives — including promoting the reduction of supply and demand of bottled water and investigating a composting program . Boldly Brown . Under President Ruth Simmons , the University has launched Boldly Brown : The Campaign for Academic Enrichment . This campaign consists of re - evaluating the existing curriculum and raising money for greater academic ambition . The money will be used for academic programs , research , new facilities , biology and medicine , students who need financial assistance , and expanding the faculty and staff . In June 2009 , it was announced that the campaign had met its goal 19 months ahead of target , with record levels of giving despite the global economic crises of the fiscal year . The total sum raised currently stands at over US $ 1 . 5 billion . Student life . Atmosphere . Brown University has recently been ranked # 1 for America ' s Happiest College Students , according to the Princeton Review 2010 rankings . Brown was also named " the most fashionable school in the Ivy League " by the fashion trade journal " Women ' s Wear Daily " on the basis that students on campus seem to have the strongest sense of personal style . Athletics . Brown is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I Ivy League athletic conference . It sponsors 37 varsity intercollegiate teams . Its athletic programs have been featured in the College Sports Honor Roll as one of the top 20 athletic programs in the country according to U . S . News & World Report . Brown Women ' s Rowing Team has won 6 national titles in the last 12 years , the Men ' s Rowing Team perennially finishes in the top 5 in the nation and swept the Eastern Sprints in 2009 . Brown Football ' s reemergence , and its surge in northeast college popularity generally , is credited to its historic 1976 Ivy League championship team , which was Brown ' s first Ivy League Football Champions . The 1976 " Magnificent Andersons , " so named for its coach , John Anderson , was 8 – 1 , tying it with Yale , which the 1976 Brown team defeated head to head that year , and included an ABC Sports televised football game , defeating Harvard 16 – 14 . Since the 1976 football championship season , Brown Football has won three Ivy League championships under the most successful coach in its history , Phil Estes : 1999 , 2005 , and 2008 . Brown ' s Men ' s Soccer program is consistently ranked in the top 25 and has won 18 Ivy League titles overall , including 8 of the last 12 . Recent graduates play professionally in Major League Soccer and overseas . The Men ' s Lacrosse team also has a long and storied history , and more recently the program has again attained national rankings and exposure . In 2007 , Brown won its first Ivy League baseball championship in school history . Brown ' s Varsity Equestrian team won the Ivy League Championships for the past two years in a row , and has consistently performed extremely well within the team ' s zone and region . Brown also features several competitive intercollegiate club sports , including Sailing , Ultimate , and Women ' s Rugby teams . In 2005 , the Men ' s Club Ultimate Frisbee team , Brownian Motion , won the National Championships . Student organizations . There are over 300 registered student organizations on campus with diverse interests . The Student Activities Fair , during the orientation program , provides first - year students the opportunity to become acquainted with the wide range of organizations . Residential and Greek Societies . 12 . 7 % of Brown students are in fraternities or sororities . There are 10 residential Greek houses : six all - male fraternities ( Alpha Epsilon Pi , Delta Tau , Delta Phi , Theta Delta Chi , Sigma Chi , and Phi Kappa Psi ) , two sororities ( Alpha Chi Omega and Kappa Alpha Theta ) , one co - ed fraternity ( Zeta Delta Xi ) , and one co - ed literary society ( Alpha Delta Phi ) . All recognized Greek letter organizations live on - campus in University - owned dorm housing . All ten Greek houses are overseen by the Greek Council and are located on Wriston Quadrangle . An alternative to fraternity life at Brown are the program houses , which are organized around various themes . As with Greek houses , the existing residents of each house take applications from students , usually at the start of the Spring semester . Examples of program houses include : St . Anthony Hall ( located in King House ) , Buxton International House , the Machado French / Hispanic House , Technology House , Harambee ( African culture ) House , Culinary Arts ( Cooking ) House and Interfaith House . Currently , there are three student cooperative houses at Brown . Two of the houses , Watermyn and Finlandia on Waterman Street , are owned by the Brown Association for Cooperative Housing ( BACH ) , an independent non - profit corporation owned and operated by house members . The third co - op , West House , is located in a Brown - owned house on Brown Street . All three houses also run a vegetarian food co - op for residents and non - residents . Secret Societies . Secret societies at Brown originated as literary clubs in the mid - 18th century , and primarily existed to organize debates among their members . One early literary club was the Pronouncing Society , which disbanded in the mid - 1770s . Another was Athenian at Queen ' s , founded in 1776 but also dissolved shortly afterwards . The Philermenian Society ( founded as the Misokosmian Society ) arose in 1794 . In reaction to the Federalist Philermenians , a Democratic - Republican club called the United Brothers Society organized in 1806 . In 1824 a third group , the Franklin Society , was formally recognized by the university president , and counted as honorary members Thomas Jefferson , John Quincy Adams , and Henry Clay . However , by the Civil War , most of these organizations had dissipated on account of newer Greek letter fraternities . There remains some dispute over the presence of these groups today , and at least one student organization , Pacifica House , claims descent from early secret societies . The Undergraduate Council of Students , Brown ' s student government , also reflects this historical legacy . The UCS originated as the Cammarian Club in 1893 , a semi - secret senior society that served as an intermediary between the student body and the administration , and which ritualistically " tapped " 15 new men each year until its dissolution after World War II . Traditions . Though the early history of Brown as a men ' s school includes a number of unusual hazing traditions , the University ' s present - day traditions tend to be non - violent while maintaining the spirit of zaniness . Van Wickle Gates . The Van Wickle Gates , dedicated on 18 June 1901 , have a pair of center gates and a smaller gate on each side . The side gates remain open throughout the year , while the center gates remain closed except for two occasions each year . At the beginning of the academic year , the center gates open inward to admit students during Convocation . At the end of the second semester , the gates open outward for the Commencement Day procession . A traditional superstition is that students who pass through the gates for a second time before graduation do not graduate . The Brown University Band famously flouts this tradition by marching in the yearly commencement procession . Undergraduate members , however , walk through the gates backwards , thereby avoiding the hex . Josiah S . Carberry . One of Brown ' s most notable traditions is keeping alive the spirit and accomplishments of Josiah S . Carberry , the fictional Professor of Psychoceramics ( the equally fictional study of cracked pots ) , who was born on a University Hall billboard in 1929 . He is the namesake of " Josiah ' s " , a University - run campus eatery . " Josiah " is also the name of the University ' s electronic library catalog . According to Martha Mitchell ' s " Encyclopedia Brunoniana " , " On Friday , May 13 , 1955 , an anonymous gift of $ 101 . 01 was received by the University from Professor Carberry to establish the Josiah S . Carberry Fund in memory of his ' future late wife . ' A condition of the gift was that , henceforth , every Friday the 13th would be designated ' Carberry Day , ' and on that day friends of the University would deposit their loose change in brown jugs to augment the fund , which is used to purchase ' such books as Professor Carberry might or might not approve of . ' " Students have followed this tradition ever since , and the fund currently has over $ 10 , 000 in it . Mitchell writes , " Professor Carberry has been the subject of articles in a number of periodicals , including " The New York Times " , which proclaimed him ' The World ' s Greatest Traveler ' on the front page of its Sunday travel section in 1974 , and in " Yankee " magazine , where he was ' The Absent - Bodied Professor ' in 1975 . A recent honor which came to Professor Carberry was the award to him of an Ig Nobel Prize at the First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony in 1991 . At this event sponsored by M . I . T . and the " Journal of Irreproducible Results " , Carberry , the 1991 Ig Nobel Interdisciplinary Research Prize laureate , was cited as ' bold explorer and eclectic seeker of knowledge , for his pioneering work in the field of psychoceramics , the study of cracked pots . ' " Spring Weekend . Starting in 1950 , Brown replaced the traditional Junior Week and Junior Prom , which were discontinued during World War II , with Spring Weekend , which featured athletic contests and dances . Concerts featuring invited performers began in 1960 , including Bob Dylan , U2 , Bruce Springsteen , Janis Joplin , James Brown and Snoop Dogg . Alma Mater . The " Alma Mater " was written by James Andrews DeWolf ( Class of 1861 ) in 1860 , who named it " Old Brown " and set it to the tune of " Araby ' s Daughter " ( which was later known as " The Old Oaken Bucket " ) . The song was renamed " Alma Mater " , after the incipit , in 1869 . It is sung and played after varsity athletic victories and at formal events such as Convocation and Commencement . Notable alumni and faculty . Brown University ' s alumni include numerous politicians , prominent academics , authors , journalists , activists , businessmen , computer science pioneers , media company heads , stage and film actors , and royalty and nobility . Its prominent alumni include Chief Justice of the U . S . Supreme Court and Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes ( 1881 ) , father of American public school education Horace Mann ( 1819 ) , philanthropist John D . Rockefeller Jr . ( 1897 ) , Secretary of State John Hay ( 1852 ) , philosopher , civil libertarian , and Amherst College president Alexander Meiklejohn , first president of the University of South Carolina Jonathan Maxcy ( 1787 ) , Bates College founder Oren B . Cheney ( 1836 ) , Governor of Wyoming Territory and Governor of Nebraska John Milton Thayer ( 1841 ) , longest - serving University of Michigan president ( 1871 – 1909 ) James Burrill Angell ( 1849 ) , notable University of California president ( 1899 – 1919 ) Benjamin Ide Wheeler ( 1875 ) , Morehouse College ' s first African - American president John Hope ( 1894 ) , magazine editor John F . Kennedy , Jr . ' 83 , diplomat Richard Holbrooke ' 62 , presidential advisor Ira Magaziner , founder of The Gratitude Network and The Intersection event Randy Haykin ' 85 , legendary IBM chairman and CEO Thomas Watson , Jr . ' 37 , CNN founder and America ' s Cup yachtsman Ted Turner ' 60 , McKinsey & Co . co - founder and father of modern management consulting Marvin Bower ' 25 , Bank of America chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan ' 81 , Group of Thirty member and Citibank chairman William R . Rhodes ' 57 , Chase Bank chairman and CEO Willard C . Butcher ' 48 , Tiffany & Co CEO Walter Hoving ' 20 , DvF image director and Prince Alexander von Fürstenberg ex - consort Alexandra von Fürstenberg , Motorola and Eastman Kodak chairman and CEO George M . C . Fisher ( ScM ' 64 , PhD ' 66 ) , NASDAQ first president and CEO Gordon Macklin ' 50 , Quadrangle Group founder and Treasury Department " Car Czar " for auto industry reorganization Steven Rattner ' 74 , Apple Macintosh and Mac OS designer Andy Hertzfeld ' 75 , architect of Intel 386 , 486 , and Pentium microprocessors John H . Crawford ' 75 , Apple Computer CEO ( 1983 – 1993 ) John Sculley ' 61 , NASA head during first seven Apollo missions Thomas O . Paine ' 42 , chief scientist NASA Mars and lunar programs James B . Garvin ' 78 , National Security Council director of counter - terrorism RP Eddy ' 94 , inventor of the first silicon transistor Gordon Kidd Teal ' 31 , former Securities and Exchange Commissioner , Annette Nazareth ' 78 , Rockefeller Center and Tribune Tower architect Raymond Hood ( 1902 ) . As well as royals and nobles such as Prince Rahim Aga Khan , Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein , Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark , Prince Nikita Romanov , Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark , Prince Jaime of Bourbon - Parma , Duke of San Jaime and Count of Bardi , Prince Ra ' ad bin Zeid , Lady Gabriella Windsor , Prince Alexander von Fürstenberg and Countess Cosima von Bülow Pavoncelli . Notable prominent academics include Dartmouth College president Jim Yong Kim ' 82 , New York Institute of Technology president Edward Guiliano , Nobel Laureates Craig Mello ' 82 and Jerry White ' 87 , Cooley - Tukey FFT algorithm co - originator John Wilder Tukey ' 36 , Gurney Professor of History and Political Science at Harvard Adam Ulam ' 44 , physicist Lewis E . Little ' 62 , Lasker Award winning biologist and founder of microbial pathogenesis Stanley Falkow ( PhD ' 59 ) , MIT computer science department chair John Guttag ' 71 , MIT neuroscience department chair Mark F . Bear ( B . A . ' 78 , Ph . D ' 84 ) , Penn psychologist , Lasker Award winner and cognitive therapy originator Aaron Beck ' 50 , John Bates Clark Medal winning MIT economist Jerry A . Hausman ' 68 , University of Chicago School of Law dean Daniel Fischel , Chicago Booth economist Randall Kroszner ' 84 , Stanford Law School dean Larry Kramer ( legal scholar ) , ' 80 , and Arthur L . Horwich . Current governors include Governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal ' 91 , Delaware Jack Markell ' 82 , and Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee ' 75 . As of 2010 , Brown counts a total of 689 tenured faculty members . According to " The Brown Daily Herald " , in the 1980s there were only approximately 450 tenured faculty members at Brown . However , given its size , the Brown faculty has always been a small but elite group of world class researchers . Notable past or current faculty have included Nobel Laureates Lars Onsager , George Stigler , Vernon L . Smith , George Snell and Leon Cooper , Fields Medal winning mathematician David Mumford , mathematician Ulf Grenander , Pulitzer Prize winning historian Gordon S . Wood , Sakurai Prize winning physicist Gerald Guralnik for co - elucidation of the Higgs mechanism , award - winning physicist John M . Kosterlitz of the Kosterlitz - Thouless transition , computer scientist and inventor of hypertext Andries van Dam , computer scientist Robert Sedgewick , prominent engineers Daniel C . Drucker , L . Ben Freund , and Mayo D . Hersey , BrainGate inventor John Donoghue ( Ph . D 79 ' ) , neuroscientist Mark F . Bear ( B . A ' 78 , Ph . D ' 82 ) , biologist and prominent advocate of biological evolution Kenneth R . Miller , first president of the American Sociological Association Lester Frank Ward , economists Hyman Minsky , Peter MacAvoy , who was a former member of the US Council of Economic Advisers , William Poole ( economist ) , Ross Levine , Oded Galor and Peter Howitt ( economist ) , former Prime Minister of Italy and former EU chief Romano Prodi , former President of Brazil Fernando Cardoso , former President of Chile Ricardo Lagos , writers Carlos Fuentes , Chinua Achebe , Robert Coover , and Keith Waldrop , former Presidents of the American Philosophical Association Jaegwon Kim and Ernest Sosa , philosophers Curt Ducasse , Roderick Chisholm , and Martha Nussbaum , linguist Hans Kurath , political scientist James Morone and Senior Fellow Sergei Khrushchev . References . Notes