Our March 11 Letter to Brown

March 11, 2024

Professor Kristina Mendicino

Vice Chair of the Faculty Executive Committee

Brown University

Providence, RI 02912

Dear Professor Mendicino,

As alumni of the Brown Classics Department, all of us benefited deeply from our education in Classics, and we take deep pride in the excellence of the Brown Classics Department and its achievements. We were excited to learn, for example, that Classics professor Sasha-Mae Eccleston recently attracted a $1M grant from the Mellon Foundation for her studies. However, we are not writing to express our admiration for the department, but to express our extreme concern at the physical state of the department’s home, MacFarlane House.

Some of us have recently visited MacFarlane House and were stunned by the fact that it appears not to have been refurbished, updated, or even well-maintained in the last thirty years. In addition, the fact that the basement has been condemned for a mold infestation for multiple years – leaving graduate students without a viable office space – is very upsetting, if it is not an actual OSHA violation. A world-class and well-renowned department should not have its professors and graduate students relegated to a place that isn’t even worthy of being called second rate. They should be enjoying accommodations worthy of their prestige.

One of us (Mr. Lack) is the parent of a recent Classics alumna, and while he is delighted with the education she received, he is upset by the seeming disregard of the university for the faculty and graduate students that provided that education. Another of us (Mr. Josefowicz) is the parent of a current undergraduate Classics major at Harvard, and while he maintains that our faculty is superior, he can also report that Boylston Hall puts MacFarlane House to shame.

We also note that the inadequacy of MacFarlane House has resulted in some department members being housed in Wilbour Hall, which is similarly dilapidated, with flooding and sewage issues that make sections of the building unusable.

We hope that the University will prioritize enabling our excellent Classics faculty and dedicated students to work in a home worthy of their endeavors. We are ready and willing to support this directly with financial contributions ourselves, and indirectly through fundraising from our fellow alumni for a speedy resolution to this unsafe and untenable situation.

Ever True,

Stephen Lack ‘79, P ’23

Raquel da Fonseca ‘94

Matthew Josefowicz ‘94

Edward O’Neal ‘08

CC: Professor Joseph Pucci, Chairman, Dept. of Classics; Professor Frank Doyle, Provost; Professor Ira Wilson, Associate Provost for Academic Space; Professor Leah VanWey, Dean of the Faculty; Ed Roskiewicz, Division of Advancement; Andrienne Morris, Division of Advancement; Darcy Pinkerton, Division of Advancement; Sarah Santos, Division of Advancement