The Division of Campus Life eliminated a top leadership position in the Office of Residential Life this summer as a part of an internal restructuring that has shifted chains of command for housing, student support and experience offices.
Brenda Ice, the former assistant vice president for residential and community living, wrote on LinkedIn last month that she was “devastated” to learn in mid-June that her “position (had) been eliminated.” Vice President for Campus Life Patricia Poitevien ’94 MD ’98 announced Ice’s departure in a June 22 Today@Brown announcement.
Ice’s layoff follows a string of senior administrator departures from the division. Former Associate Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students Koren Bakkegard departed in February, and in June, Former Associate Vice President of Campus Life and Student Wellness Vanessa Britto left her position. Ice’s role is the only one the University did not announce plans to replace.
Ice did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Dana Hamdan EMBA’25, associate vice president for finance and administration for the division of campus life, confirmed in an interview with The Herald that Ice’s position was eliminated. Ice’s previous responsibilities will be split between Hamdan and Sue Layden, the associate vice president for strategic assessment and student experience.
“It became clear that the system was not working,” Hamdan said of housing processes. She placed the responsibility on the internal organization of the division and not “subject matter experts.”
“Everytime there’s a housing selection process, it does not, unfortunately, go as smoothly as we would like for it (to go),” she said. “We often hear from students that they don’t feel as engaged in their residential buildings — that we could do more.”
Hamdan said that division leaders have followed the example of other universities, which have increasingly assigned operational responsibilities — like occupancy, housing selection and facilities management — to finance administrators. Ice’s student experience responsibilities have been assigned to Layden.
Ice’s departure also widened the void at the bargaining table for the Labor Organization of Community Coordinators, which is currently in contract negotiations with the University. Ice and Bakkegard both took part in these negotiations.
“It was this year that almost out of nowhere, you come to the first bargaining session, and it was a complete shift” in bargaining members, said Karsten Assoua ’27, a member of the LOCC bargaining committee.
“I was surprised to see (Ice) go, even though LOCC is still actively negotiating with the University to get the things we want, the things that we believe we deserve,” Assoua said.
Hamdan wrote in an email that “regarding the bargaining team, there has actually been continuity throughout this process,” noting that the “core group” of members from the University’s offices of Employee and Relations and General Counsel remained the same.
Ethan Schenker was a university news editor covering staff and student labor. He is from Bethesda, MD, and plans to study International and Public Affairs and Economics. In his free time, he enjoys playing piano and clicking on New York Times notifications.
