News from the Corporation 2008
October 18, 2008
Dear Members of the Brown Community,
The Corporation of Brown University just completed its regular October meeting. Coinciding with a broader set of meetings of volunteer councils and Campaign leadership events, the meeting focused on operating, investment and academic priorities in view of recent global financial events. The meeting provided members of the Corporation and others in attendance with a deeper and fuller understanding of what is required if Brown is to maintain its pre-eminence in higher education during a challenging time. The discussions were robust, thoughtful and informative.
The several committees of the Corporation reviewed the status of ongoing and planned projects: buildings, infrastructure needs, status of the Campaign, the capital budget, national and international rankings, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation review, and plans for improvements in the undergraduate program, among other topics. http://brown.edu/web/letters/one
The Budget & Finance Committee in particular reviewed and discussed Brown's financial plans and projections in the context of an environment that will most likely feature flat or declining revenue streams in the coming year if not years. They determined that it is prudent for the administration and the community to plan for a more difficult and turbulent financial environment in the time ahead, and indicated that we should be prepared to take appropriate steps, within the framework provided by the Plan for Academic Enrichment, to bring our expenses more in line with our resources, if necessary.
There were also several important actions of the Corporation taken during the weekend. I would like to share a few highlights with you.
FINANCIAL AID
The Corporation endorsed and launched a new financial aid initiative that seeks to add $100 million to the existing $300 million financial aid endowment goal of the Campaign. Richard Barker ’57, P’03, P’05 is spearheading the initiative to increase the endowment giving in this area to $400 million by December 31, 2010. On Friday evening, the Corporation celebrated the launch of this initiative.
Consistent with the practice of other Ivy Plus schools, Brown, as part of its need-blind admission policy, now waives the parental contribution for most families earning less than $60,000; in addition, most students from families earning less than $100,000 now receive scholarships instead of loans. Between 2007-08 and 2008-09, the number of families whose parental contributions from income were waived increased from 284 to 818, and the number of students with no loans in their financial aid package rose significantly — from 143 to 1,479. Sixty-one percent of students who now receive financial aid may leave Brown without any student-loan debt.
The administration recommended and the Corporation agreed that, even in the current financial environment, the University should maintain its strong commitment to lower student and family loan burdens. Implementing these new policies has meant increasing this year’s financial aid budget to $70 million, twice the financial aid budget of 2001-02. Typically, about 40 percent of this budget has derived from endowed funds contributed by alumni and friends of the University. To help meet this increased commitment, Brown is undertaking the new financial aid initiative. To date, 81.5 percent of the original $300 million goal has been raised.
In the area of student support and academic programs, the Corporation accepted:
- an anonymous gift from an alumnus and parent couple in the amount of $1,000,000 for undergraduate scholarships,
- an anonymous gift of $1,780,000 to support programs in the Brown International Advanced Research Institutes, and
- a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in the amount of $3,000,000 to create an endowment that will support the Andrew W. Mellon Graduate Fellows in the Humanities.
Additional gifts accepted by the Advisory & Executive Committee and ratified by the Corporation include the following:
- $2.25 million for undergraduate scholarships;
- $7 million for the Creative Arts Building;
- $3.7 million for the Nelson Fitness Center;
- $600,000 for the Brown Annual Fund; and
- $1 million to endow the head baseball coach’s position.
The Corporation also established the The Friends of Brown Soccer Head Coaching Chair in Men’s Soccer’ with gifts totaling $1 million from eight donors.
FORWARD PLANNING
Provost David Kertzer, Dean of the Faculty Rajiv Vohra, and three members of the faculty (John Donoghue, Director of the Brown Institute for Brain Science and Professor of Neuroscience and Engineering; Jill Pipher, Professor of Mathematics; and Michael Steinberg, Director of the Cogut Center for the Humanities and the Barnaby Conrad and Mary Critchfield Keeney Professor of History) presented an overview of the challenges of sustaining programs of academic distinction. Throughout the weekend, Corporation committees reviewed the assumptions made in undertaking the Plan for Academic Enrichment and considered, on the basis of data presented, where goals have been successfully implemented. Given the current and anticipated economic challenges, the Corporation urged targeting allocations in the near term to reflect the most important priorities. They also affirmed the importance of the Plan for Academic Enrichment and the need to maintain the current course, although possibly on a different schedule.
The Corporation discussed the NEASC accreditation review and the draft of the detailed self study report that will be submitted in December, prior to the April visit of the evaluation team.
WEEKEND EVENTS
On Friday, the Corporation rededicated Pembroke Hall, which was renovated over the past year. Pembroke Hall, built in 1897, was the first building erected for the Women’s College and served students’ social, religious, academic and athletic needs. Today it is home to the Cogut Center for the Humanities and the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women. The keynote speaker for the occasion was Pamela Rosenberg, General Director of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of the Cogut Center’s External Advisory Board.
The Corporation repeatedly expressed gratitude for the diligence of faculty, staff, students and alumni who work so cooperatively and selflessly to strengthen the University in many important ways. Such collaboration will be important to the future strength of the University.
Thank you, once again, for your thoughtful participation in the life of this University.
Sincerely,
Ruth J. Simmons