It is with deep gratitude and admiration that I write to announce the upcoming retirement of Reverend Janet M. Cooper Nelson, who will conclude her extraordinary 45-year career in higher education and 35-year tenure at Brown University at the end of this academic year. Janet has embarked on a well-earned administrative sabbatical until June 30, 2025, to prepare for this next chapter, which will bring reflection and rest after decades of profound service.

Janet's contributions to Brown University—and higher education more broadly—are remarkable. I first met her when I was a Brown undergraduate, and she was appointed to the position of Brown University Chaplain. It is now my honor to have this opportunity to highlight her incredible career of service. 

CARE OF BROWN COMMUNITY

A passionate advocate for interreligious cooperation, Janet has long been dedicated to supporting the spiritual and emotional well-being of our community. In 1990, she was appointed Chaplain of Brown University, becoming the first woman to serve as University Chaplain in the Ivy League. She has served under five Brown presidents–Vartan Gregorian, Gordon Gee, Sheila Blumstein (interim), Ruth J. Simmons, and Christina H. Paxson—and provided support and counsel to numerous University leaders. 

Over the course of her distinguished tenure, Janet has expanded and enriched the role of the chaplaincy, serving as director of the Office of Chaplains and Religious Life. She restructured Brown's chaplaincy to create a team of salaried multifaith associate chaplain positions and a widely diverse set of advisory Religious Life affiliates. In 2004, Brown was the second American private institution of higher education to hire an associate Muslim chaplain.

During some of the most joyful and sorrowful times, Janet has served as a touchstone of wisdom and guidance for the Brown community. She has provided confidential pastoral care to (and often officiated marriages for) students, faculty, staff, and alumni, many of whom have stayed in touch with her long after they have left Brown. She has been a source of support and comfort in times of great personal and community loss and tragedy. Her love of poetry and thoughtful prayers and words lend warmth and care to University events throughout the academic year, including Opening Convocation, Commencement, Baccalaureate, Lessons and Carols, and many more. 

In her undergraduate days, Janet envisioned a career as a physician but ultimately earned her undergraduate degree in history with a master’s degree in education. This background served her well as both Brown Chaplain and as a clinical faculty member at Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School, where she teaches future doctors the interconnected nature of pastoral care and patient support. Her dedication to ethical practice and leadership helped shape Brown’s approach to inclusive, compassionate medical education. 

IMPACT ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND BEYOND

Janet’s legacy extends far beyond the work she has done at Brown. She holds academic degrees from Wellesley College, Tufts University, and Harvard Divinity School. She began her career teaching in Massachusetts public secondary schools, holding leadership roles in negotiation and grievance procedures for public educators. Ordained to ministry in 1980 by the Grafton-Orange Association of the United Church of Christ, she began her career in higher education at the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College. She later had appointments at Vassar College and Mount Holyoke College before joining Brown University.

Janet has contributed to the broader landscape of higher education through writing, consulting and lecturing at some of the most respected institutions in the country, including Stanford University, Tufts University, Emory University, and Mount Holyoke College. Her expertise in religious and spiritual life has shaped curricula, program design, and leadership development across the nation.

Janet currently serves on numerous boards, including Home and Hospice Care of Rhode Island, Ensemble Altera, the Leadership Council of Harvard Divinity School, the Board of Religious and Spiritual Life at Harvard University, the United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network Steering Committee, and the Brown/RISD Hillel Foundation. 

RECOGNITION & ACCOLADES

Janet’s leadership has been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Recognition Award from the Association for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Life in Higher Education, the 2021 Hope and Dignity Award from Hope Health of Rhode Island, and Harvard Divinity School’s Billings Prize for preaching, the Rabbi Martin Katzenstein Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Peter J. Gomes Memorial Honors Award. Brown Athletics honored her with the Brown Bear Award. She has said that the Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award she received from Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School in 2024 is a bright link to her early professional aspirations and her continuing commitment to physicians and medicine. 

LIFE AFTER BROWN

As Janet prepares for her retirement–or Life After Brown (LAB) as she calls it–we reflect on the immense gifts she has shared with all of us. Her leadership, wisdom, and love have shaped the University in countless ways. She speaks about how deeply grateful she is for the thousands of people her time at Brown has enabled her to know, whose hearts and dreams were carried with them to the University and beyond, and whose stories continue. 

Later this semester, we will host a retirement event to celebrate Reverend Janet M. Cooper Nelson’s extraordinary career and the indelible mark she has left on Brown University, higher education, and the lives of all she has touched. We offer Janet our deepest gratitude for her decades of service and wish her the very best as she begins this new chapter, knowing her legacy will remain with us for years to come.

THE OFFICE OF CHAPLAINS AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 

While Janet is on sabbatical leave this semester, the Office of Chaplains and Religious Life’s multi-faith team of associate chaplains will continue their important work with students, staff, faculty, and religious life affiliates. Associate Vice President of Campus Life for Inclusive Community and Belonging Loc Truong will oversee and manage the office during this period. Any Brown community member needing counsel, support, information, or prayer is encouraged to email ocrl@brown.edu or call 401-863-2344. 

Sincerely, 
Russell C. Carey 

Interim Vice President for Campus Life, Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy