Undergrads Play Key Role in Brown's Research Orientation, Provost Says

Brown University has selected David Ketzer, professor of anthropology and chair of the Department of Anthropology, as the school's next provost. He is expected to return to teaching after serving a five-year term in this administrative post.

Ketzer is replacing Robert Zimmer, who is leaving Brown to become president of the University of Chicago.

Ketzer expressed excitement about his new duties. "We have great momentum behind us. If you look at how much has been accomplished in the last few years, it is really striking," he told a reporter for the campus paper.

Ketzer said that the creation of new programs and the hiring of additional senior and junior faculty had increased the "vibrancy" of Brown's academic environment.

In discussing the University's future, Ketzer noted that Brown's undergraduate college plays an unusually prominent role in research. Most research universities, he said, have a large number of graduate and professional schools that compete with the undergrad college for research opportunities and funding. That is not the case at Brown, meaning that undergrads have more opportunity to get involved in research projects. Maintaining a strong undergraduate program is therefore especially important to Brown's performance and reputation.

Source: "U. Names Ketzer as New Provost," by Eric Beck. The Brown Daily Herald, May 8, 2006.

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