Brown University News Bureau

The Brown University News Bureau

1996-1997 index

Distributed January 7, 1997
Contact: Mark Nickel

Brown President Vartan Gregorian named to head Carnegie Corporation

Vartan Gregorian, Brown's 16th president, will leave the University in July 1997 to become president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. During his presidency, Gregorian successfully reendowed and enhanced the University's core academic activities of research, instruction and service.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Vartan Gregorian, 16th president of Brown University, announced today that he will become president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, one of the nation's largest and most prestigious grant-making foundations, in July. The Carnegie Board of Trustees will meet Thursday, January 9, to formalize the appointment.

Gregorian will continue his work at Brown through the current academic year and will assist the University during its search for his successor.

"The eight years of the Gregorian administration have been a time of tremendous rejuvenation for the University," said Brown Chancellor A. O. Way. "Our faculty, libraries and student body have achieved new levels of excellence and enjoy an unprecedented level of endowment support. President Gregorian has also instituted effective programs of strategic planning and resource management that have made Brown an efficient and well-run university. He leaves Brown a better and stronger institution."

Chancellor Way announced that he will chair the search committee for a new president. Names of committee members will be announced Friday, January 17.

In assuming the Carnegie presidency, Gregorian will return to New York City. Prior to his appointment at Brown, Gregorian was president of the New York Public Library and was widely credited with saving one of the city's and nation's most significant cultural and intellectual treasures. At Carnegie, Gregorian will lead a foundation with an endowment of more than $1.3 billion, dedicated to identifying and addressing critical social issues, such as education and international peace. In fiscal 1994-95, the Carnegie Corporation awarded 273 grants totaling $55 million.

"Members of the board join me in congratulating Vartan Gregorian wholeheartedly on his election as the Corporation's president," said Carnegie's chairman-elect Thomas Kean. "The twenty-first century will usher in dramatic new challenges for education and human resource development. It demands a leadership that will balance the needs for continuity and change in the Corporation's programs but that will also bring a fresh conceptual eye to the consideration of each. We are confident that Gregorian is the ideal choice for maintaining this balance."

"On behalf of the faculty, I thank Vartan Gregorian for all he has done and will continue to do for Brown and congratulate him on his new position as president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York," said William F. Wyatt Jr., professor of classics and chair of the Faculty Executive Committee at Brown. "He has been a great president and will leave Brown in excellent shape. We will miss him, his energy and his dedication, but we are delighted that he will continue his good work on a national scale - with strong Rhode Island ties."

Gregorian was chosen as Brown's 16th president in August 1988 and was sworn in on Jan. 11, 1989, succeeding Howard R. Swearer. He arrived at Brown with characteristic enthusiasm, declaring his intention to strengthen the faculty, expand support for the libraries and enhance the academic and intellectual experience of Brown students. During his tenure, Brown and Gregorian have:

In his inaugural address in April 1989, Gregorian explored themes of mutualism - the obligation all educational institutions have to support and improve the nation's ability to educate its youth. Excellence, Gregorian has frequently said, can never be the exclusive province of elite private institutions. Private institutions cannot succeed if public institutions, particularly primary and secondary schools, are allowed to fail. During Gregorian's presidency, Brown has:

Although Gregorian arrived at Brown saying he did not intend to become known as a fund-raising president, he established an admirable record for institutional advancement, reendowing the University and providing it with an unprecedented level of solid support. During his tenure, Gregorian and Brown have:

"I have found Brown University to be an institution of surprising breadth and extraordinary quality," Gregorian said. "During our years here, Clare and I have found the Brown faculty, students and staff to be a constant source of delight and intellectual stimulation. And while leaving such an extraordinary place will not be easy, I firmly believe that Brown is ready to enter the twenty-first century with confidence, determination, vigor and optimism."

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96-060

Related documents available from the News Bureau:

96-060a -- Biographical information about Vartan Gregorian
96-060b -- Accomplishments of the Gregorian administration
96-060c -- Statement by Brown Chancellor Alva O. Way
96-060d -- Historical timeline of the Gregorian years