Brown 2026

About Brown 2026

About Brown 2026

In anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in 2026, President Christina H. Paxson in January 2024 appointed a faculty-led committee to lead an initiative called “Brown 2026” to consider how the University can best contribute to scholarship, teaching and programming on the history and legacies of the American Revolution, as well as the role of research universities in a democracy.

Brown 2026 aspires to engage the full University community, reaching across the arts and humanities as well as the social, physical, and life sciences. This initiative builds on Brown’s long-standing commitment to open inquiry, a demonstrated willingness to engage in discussions of complex and contested issues, and a record of frank reckoning with history, which uniquely positions the institution among universities nationally to lead and conduct informed, nuanced discussions of the history and significance of the American Revolution and its legacies. 

This commitment calls upon the Brown community to confront important questions facing democracies both today and in the past leading up to and throughout 2026.

Brown 2026 Steering Committee

Co-Chairs

  • Karin Wulf, Director and Librarian of the John Carter Brown Library
  • Kevin McLaughlin, Director of the John Nicholas Brown Center for Advanced Study


Committee Members

  • Keisha Blain, Professor of Africana Studies, Professor of History
  • Anthony Bogues, Director of the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, Asa Messer Professor of Humanities and Critical Theory, Professor of Africana Studies, Professor of History of Art and Architecture
  • Mary Jo Callan, Vice President for Community Engagement, Stark Family Executive Director of the Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service
  • Prudence Carter, Sarah and Joseph, Jr. Dowling Professor of Sociology, Director of Race and Ethnicity in America
  • Philip Gould, Israel J. Kapstein Professor of English
  • Joseph Meisel, Joukowsky Family University Librarian
  • Seth Rockman, Associate Professor of History
  • Melvin Rogers, Associate Director of the Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Professor of Political Science
  • David Skarbek, Director of the Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics; Professor of Political Science and Political Economy
  • Sydney Skybetter, Director of Brown Arts Institute, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies
  • Rashid Zia, Dean of the College, Professor of Engineering, Professor of Physics

Brown 2026 Coordinator

  • Rebecca Brenner Graham

    Rebecca Brenner Graham, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Public Humanities at the John Nicholas Brown Center, is a 2021 PhD from American University, where she wrote a dissertation about American religion-state relations in the nineteenth century through the lens of Sunday mail delivery. She has also completed a book about Labor Secretary Frances Perkins (the first woman to serve in the cabinet) focused on her refugee policy. She is a public historian who has been recognized both for her scholarship and for her capacities for outreach and organization.

Get Involved

Have ideas, proposals, or questions about participating in the Brown 2026 initiative? Contact brown2026democracy@brown.edu to share your thoughts and get involved.