About
the BAM

The Brown Alumni Magazine was founded by a group of alumni in June 1900 “to bring the University and its graduates into closer touch and sympathy.” The magazine, in print and in its digital presence, seeks to sustain and strengthen the connection between the University and its alumni through thoughtful and powerful content that highlights the contributions of Brown students, faculty, and alumni to society, their industries, their communities and the world.

For its first three decades, the BAM was a subscription monthly (for a dollar a year) edited by Henry R. Palmer, class of 1890. In 1931, Brown offered to take ownership of the BAM; by 1945 the University was distributing it free to all male alumni. When Palmer, who had become the chief editorial writer at the Providence Journal, agreed to turn over the magazine to the University, he and his fellow staffers stipulated that the BAM remain editorially independent. This led to the establishment of an alumni board of editors to ensure the continuing quality and integrity of the BAM.

Today, the BAM is distributed for free to all alumni, faculty, and staff, as well as to parents of current students—more than 115,000 people. Donations, voluntary subscriptions, and advertising make up a large percentage of the BAM’s operating budget.