<p>I also would be glad to see objective evidence about all these macarthur geniuses roaming around RI.</p>
<p>Searching for big differences between these universities, in terms of academic quality for an undergraduate, is a futile effort. There are not big differences along this axis. There are small ones. But as far as research quality and output of faculty go they are going to favor Northwestern for the simple fact that it is a research institution while Brown is a liberal arts college where some smart faculty do some good research. It is a fine school and there are many advantages to what it is, but a research university in the same sense as Northwestern is not one of them. If one of these schools wants to poach the faculty of the other, Northwestern has an easier time getting them from Brown than vice versa.</p>