Brown's partnerships; finger pointing on Capitol Hill

Providence Journal

Brown helps develop RI's middle class

Dr. Salvatore Domenic Morgera wrote an opinion column ( “Brown’s late awakening to RI’s needs,” Commentary, Sept. 27 ) asking us to “imagine if Brown had embraced partnerships with trade schools decades ago.”

Respectfully, no imagination is needed for this thought experiment. In 2007, Brown University partnered with Building Futures to ensure the next generation of skilled trades workers are trained via registered apprenticeship on all projects valued over $5 million that the university builds.

As a truly community-minded organization, Brown has leveraged its role as an anchor institution to ensure that all of its projects begin careers for new skilled tradespeople for the past 18 years. For example, 143,559 hours were worked b