Letter from the President
Dear Members of the Brown Community:
The Brown Corporation was on campus this weekend for a very productive
and informative fall meeting. Much of what the Corporation discussed,
both in its various standing committees and in plenary sessions, will
be the subject of meetings and discussions here on campus throughout
the year. Selected events, actions, and topics from Corporation
meetings are described briefly below.
The dedication of the new Sidney E. Frank Hall for Life Sciences was a
highlight of the weekend's activities. In addition to the formal
dedication ceremony at which President Susan Hockfield of MIT spoke,
there were tours, a reception, and dinner that followed.
At its strategic discussion session Friday afternoon and by the action
it took during its Saturday morning meeting, the Corporation passed a
resolution endorsing the idea of improving the University's standing
as an international leader in higher education. A strategic planning
process is under way under the direction of the Provost to develop a
coordinated set of efforts in this broad area. The Provost has
expressed the intention to appoint a senior officer for international
initiatives, to undertake a comprehensive review of our international
curricular offerings, to expand programs for student and faculty
exchange, to improve opportunities for international internships for
students, and more.
As an important first step, the Corporation endorsed a proposal to
increase the amount of financial aid the University will be able to
offer to international students. Following the University’s recent
significant improvements in graduate, undergraduate, transfer and RUE
financial aid, the University will seek to increase the financial aid
budget for international students by over 30% and to raise significant
additional funds to enable greater diversity of international
students. The Corporation was especially interested in seeing greater
aid for students from developing areas of the world.
The Facilities and Design Committee reviewed a number of building
projects and the Corporation also voted to proceed with architect
selections for 1) the new Creative Arts Building, to be constructed on
Waterman Street, and 2) renovations to Rhode Island Hall, which will
house the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World.
Several discussions took place to advance considerations of various
proposals. While the Corporation did not take specific action with
regard to the following subjects, the issues will be of continuing
interest.
Undergraduate student housing: The Committee on Campus Life and the
Facilities and Design Committee received a preliminary report on
options for increasing the University's on-campus housing capacity.
Construction of new residence halls would respond to a number of
important academic and social goals.
Social Choice Option: The Committee on Investment discussed the status
of the University’s deliberations about establishing a social choice
option for donors. The Committee was informed that the Advisory
Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investing (ACCRI) is
currently working on specific proposals to bring to the
Administration. The proposals will be discussed with the community
before being brought back to the Corporation for consideration at a
future meeting.
Campus Public Safety and Providence Police Incidents: The Corporation
discussed recent events in regard to the arrest of two students by
Providence Police. Discussion included questions of use of Providence
police details, status of any complaints filed, training of campus and
Providence police, and the campus climate generally.
Slavery and Justice Committee: The Corporation learned about the
progress of the committee’s work and commented on ways to make the
committee’s report available once it is completed.
Finally, the Corporation voted to accept more than a dozen major gifts
in support of the University's Plan for Academic Enrichment. These
included a $15-million gift from the C.V. Starr Foundation for the
Commerce, Organizations and Entrepreneurship program. The gift endows
one professorship in each of three participating academic departments
(economics, engineering and sociology) and will establish a $3-million
flexible program fund. The Corporation also formally accepted a gift
announced at the dedication Friday night by Sidney Frank's daughter,
Cathy Frank Halstead, who is a Brown trustee. The Sidney Frank
Foundation is providing an additional $3 million to create endowed
graduate fellowships in the Division of Biology and Medicine.
Information on these developments can be found on the University's
news page (www.brown.edu/news).
Sincerely,
Ruth J. Simmons