Letter from the President
October 2005
Dear Brown parents, alumni, and friends,
The new academic year at Brown has unfolded with unexpected challenges, yet much promise. The dynamic class of 2009 – along with new transfer, resumed undergraduate education, graduate, and medical students – marched through the Van Wickle Gates with high spirits to the applause of faculty and staff who lined up to greet them on opening day. More than 40 outstanding scholars have joined the ranks of the faculty, and a number of new faces have joined the staff and senior administration.
Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts
The joy and excitement of a new year notwithstanding, I regret very much that we began yet another semester on the heels of tragedy. The previous January we had struggled to find appropriate ways to respond to the devastation wrought by the tsunami. Last month, inspired by the post- Katrina conditions in New Orleans and areas across the Gulf Coast region, we joined with our colleagues across the state and nation to respond to the overwhelming needs of those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
The response has been heartening. Members of the Brown community, including some members of Brown’s emergency medical services staff, began assisting with relief efforts shortly after the hurricane hit. Our Program in Public Health and Brown Medical School worked with federal agencies to arrange consultations on critical health issues and to identify needed resources, including hospital beds, for patients requiring evacuation from the Gulf Coast. We have done our best as an institution to support students and faculty from the colleges and universities that are unable to re-open this semester because of damage inflicted by Katrina. As of September 30, Brown had enrolled more than 80 students from colleges and universities that were closed by the hurricane, including 59 undergraduates and 27 graduate students who have matriculated for one semester on a tuition-free basis.
I am proud of the response that we have received from the Brown community. No sooner had my message gone out regarding our efforts than scores of e-mails began arriving offering housing and other resources to those in need. Our efforts have been bolstered considerably by a magnanimous gift of $5 million from Sidney E. Frank ’42. These funds will support faculty and student relocation and other costs associated with enrolling temporarily at Brown; student, faculty, and staff volunteer efforts on behalf of hurricane victims; visiting scholars displaced by the storm; assistance to Tougaloo College for hurricane relief; and other critical needs during this crisis.
Efforts on campus continue. Students, faculty, and staff are organizing fund-raising and awareness activities. We are actively supporting our colleagues at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, a historically black college that has a 40-year relationship with Brown. In addition, Brown and Princeton are partnering with Dillard University to restore its operations after its New Orleans campus was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Flooding after the storm left Dillard’s campus under as much as eight feet of water. Up-to-date information on this initiative and our other Katrina- related efforts is available on the University’s Web page, www.brown.edu/web/katrina, and on the Medical School’s Web page, bms.brown.edu/news/katrina.
New Students
In spite of this difficult time, it is wonderful to have the students back on campus and to begin the new year. The class of 2009 – the third to enter under our need-blind policy – was admitted from an applicant pool of nearly 17,000 candidates, up more than 10 percent over last year and the largest in Brown’s history. We accepted 2,561 students, or 15 percent of the applicants, for a total class of 1,450 students. The class of 2009 is 49 percent male and 51 percent female, represents 48 states and 43 nations of the world, and will receive more financial aid than any previous class.
Among these students are the first Sidney Frank Scholars. Of the 60 students who have been awarded Sidney Frank Scholarships, the average parental income is $18,600, and we know that at least 37 of the students are the first in their families to attend college. The personal stories and outstanding achievements of these students are deeply moving.
Applications to the Graduate School were also up from last year, including an increase in international applications, which was somewhat surprising given that most universities are suffering a decline in that area. We received 5,750 applications and accepted 18 percent of the applicants, and
41.7 percent of those accepted have matriculated – a number that is up slightly over last year. Of our 34 programs, 14 attracted top-ranked applicants, 26 had at least one of their top three candidates accept, and four had all three top-ranked applicants accept. The Medical School’s class of 2009 has 72 matriculants, including 11 students from the new standard route of admission. Applications to the school through this new route show a 71 percent increase over last year at this time.
Faculty
We have also welcomed more than 40 new faculty members to campus. They are an impressive group of individuals, and I invite you to read more about many of them in the online version of Inside Brown (www.brown.edu/Administration/InsideBrown/).
Senior Administration
As our new students and faculty are settling in, we are also pleased to welcome several new members of the senior administration. We recently appointed a new dean of admission, Jim Miller ’73, who has returned to Brown after serving as the dean of admission at Bowdoin College; Harriette Hemmasi, who served as executive associate dean of libraries at Indiana University at Bloomington, has joined us as the Joukowsky Family University Librarian; and Sheila Bonde, Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence and professor of history of art and architecture, began her duties as the dean of the Graduate School on July 1. Jim, Harriette, and Sheila join an exceptional team of senior officers committed to the mission and excellence of Brown.
Strategic Growth and Expansion
As our faculty and programs expand, we know that our space requirements will continue to grow, both on College Hill and beyond. A strategic growth initiative is guiding our investments in properties that meet our short- and long-term needs and interests. We recently hired a director of strategic growth to lead this effort and to focus on the University’s expansion beyond College Hill. Rebecca
Barnes ’71 returned to Brown this summer from her position as chief planner at the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
Over the summer, I informed the campus community about significant progress on our Strategic Growth Initiative. In July the Corporation authorized the University to purchase 121 South Main Street, the former Old Stone Square. The decision to purchase this building was based on the high- quality, flexible space that it offers, which the University can easily adapt to meet a range of needs over time. The 11-story building, constructed in 1984, includes retail and office space and a 160-space parking garage. It is within walking distance of the University’s historic campus and offers convenient access to University units in the Jewelry District and to several of Brown Medical School’s affiliated hospitals.
Fund-raising Success
None of these advancements would be possible without the generous support of Brown alumni, parents, and friends, and I am delighted to have so much good news to report on the fund-raising front. The 2004–05 giving year closed on June 30, and a record-setting 30,230 members of the Brown community made gifts to the Annual Fund, contributing $25 million. This all-time high in dollars raised represents an increase of 9.6 percent over last year’s total, while the number of donors increased by 10.8 percent. Part of this success can be attributed to the challenges that were met: the Ittleson GOLD Participation Challenge to encourage giving by young alumni, the Brown Annual Fund Leaders Challenge, and the Grand Challenge, issued by five BAF Leadership Council volunteers. In addition, the reunion classes raised $7.3 million, a 12 percent increase over last year, and seven classes set new Brown Annual Fund records. Brown’s Parents Annual Fund continues to be a national leader with $3.36 million dollars received last year from non-alumni parents. The Brown Medical School Annual Fund, too, enjoyed record results, raising $548,400 – a 22.5 percent increase over last year and almost $100,000 over its projected goal of $450,000. We are deeply grateful to all of our supporters for their generosity and commitment to Brown.
On October 22 we launched the public phase of the Campaign for Academic Enrichment, a bold initiative to fund the priorities of the Plan for Academic Enrichment, with a gala campus kickoff. Moving forward from the College Hill celebration, we will travel to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Palm Beach, Naples, Boston, Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C., for kickoff events in those locales. You will be hearing much more about the campaign in the months to come, and we look forward to your involvement and support.
The Year Ahead
At our 242nd opening convocation, Professor of Biology Kenneth R. Miller ’70 addressed the gathering. He spoke about Brown and the opportunities that the University, its faculty, and its curriculum offer students to explore new worlds and develop understanding and knowledge. He also spoke about students’ responsibilities as agents in their own learning:
Brown’s open curriculum is nothing less than a chance to fashion your own education – and like all chances in life, success is not guaranteed. In contrast to those universities where a common course of study is prescribed for all students, the Brown curriculum requires both wisdom and courage: the wisdom to recognize the gaps in your own knowledge, and the courage to do something about them.
Brown students come to us with uncommon wisdom and courage, and it is my hope that their years on this campus will both test and hone their ability to use those traits to their best advantage. The changing and challenging world we live in deserves no less. I look forward to another year of fulfilling that mission here on College Hill.
I wish you and your family all the best for a healthy and prosperous fall.
Sincerely,
Ruth J. Simmons