Constance Sancetta ’71 ScM’73 

Seeking a great coeducational school, still rare in the 1960s, Constance “Connie” Sancetta ’71 ScM’73 applied early decision to Brown and moved north from Virginia to Rhode Island. As Connie tells it, this period was one of pivotal transformation for Brown as an institution and for her individually. 

“The whole of my professional life evolved from my time at Brown,” says Connie, reflecting on her time at Brown and the launch of the Open Curriculum. With this academic freedom, Connie created a concentration that combined courses in geology and biology, marking the beginning of a lifelong journey of discovery. 

Connie’s concentration in paleontology and evolutionary theory led her to join Professor John Imbrie on the ground-breaking CLIMAP research program (Climate: Long-range Investigation, Mapping, and Prediction). This multi-institutional research program analyzed microfossils from marine sediments to map Earth’s ocean temperatures and other conditions during the last glacial period. 

This foundation propelled Connie through her Ph.D. in oceanography and a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford. Connie ultimately contributed her expertise at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University before serving as a program manager in ocean sciences at the National Science Foundation, a role directly linked to the seeds planted at Brown. 

Recognizing the impact that Brown made on her own life, Connie has made an unrestricted planned gift to the University. Her generosity will expand access to opportunities for a wide range of students for many years to come.