October 27, 2005
Dear Brown faculty, students and staff,
I am pleased to write to you with news of the recently completed October meeting of the Corporation. We had a busy and productive session, capped off by the launch of Boldly Brown: Campaign for Academic Enrichment. The campaign, with a goal of $1.4 billion and $575 million in gifts and pledges raised to date, is off to an exciting start. I was especially moved on Saturday evening by the surprise announcement from members of the Corporation that over the previous 48 hours they had banded together to pledge an additional $3.5 million toward this year�s Brown Annual Fund goal. It is exactly this type of commitment and overwhelming support that we are seeing among Corporation members, alumni, parents, and friends of the University in this campaign. Their efforts reflect their belief in and support for the Plan for Academic Enrichment and the work that all of you do every day in the classrooms, laboratories, and offices across the campus.
Members of the Corporation had many opportunities over the weekend to see for themselves the quality of your work and the scope of your accomplishments. On Thursday, the Medical School Committee met with leaders of the Medical Student Senate. On Friday, members of the Campus Life Committee had lunch with students who have been displaced from their home institutions by Hurricane Katrina and who, thanks to the assistance of many Brown community members, have been able to continue their studies on College Hill. And on Saturday many Corporation members participated in the University Convocation and marveled at our eight "Stories of Brown" honorees: Barrymore A. Bogues, professor of Africana studies and Royce Professor of Teaching Excellence; Kristina M. Davitt Sc.M.'04, an engineering graduate student; Maria D'Onofrio, a library staff member for more than 30 years; Nicholas J. Hartigan '06, a captain of the football team and Academic All-American; Peiling A. Li '06, a graduating senior involved in social science research on campus; Jyothi Nagraj Marbin '96, M.D. '06, a current medical student and former executive director of City Year Rhode Island; Enis B. Taner '06, M.D.'10, a future medical student with an undergraduate concentration in applied mathematics and economics; and Jan Tullis, professor of geological sciences, whose service to Brown spans 35 years. The video stories of the honorees can be viewed online at http://boldly.brown.edu. The ceremony was a highlight of the weekend.
Amidst the celebrations, the Corporation also engaged in its strategic session discussions of a variety of important strategic and policy matters. On Friday afternoon, Mayor David Cicilline addressed the Corporation and spoke about his perspective and vision for the city's future, particularly in terms of physical growth and development. There has been a great deal of work between the University and the city on strategic growth, the Providence public schools, and other matters of mutual concern. The health and vitality of the city of Providence being extremely important to Brown, the Corporation was pleased to hear from the mayor and to learn more about the efforts that have been made in recent years to approach the challenges and opportunities together.
The Budget and Finance Committee reviewed the results of the FY05 budget and looked forward as well. As you have already heard, we are facing budgetary challenges, especially in terms of utility expenses. Although we had planned for about a 12 percent increase in utility costs, we are now expecting that utility costs, particularly for heating oil, electricity, and natural gas, will rise much more dramatically. We may be faced with expenses for utilities that exceed budgeted amounts by about $3 million. As the University plans for the next fiscal year and beyond, these external factors will be important considerations. The University Resources Committee, in its work this semester, will need to operate within these constraints. We will need to continue to work collaboratively on setting priorities, evaluating ways to increase revenues, and assessing the potential impact of slowing the pace of some of the academic enrichment initiatives, if necessary, in the current economic climate.
The Budget and Finance Committee reviewed a proposal to establish a home-school tuition model for all study-abroad programs for undergraduate students who matriculate to the college after July 1, 2006. Brown currently offers two options for study abroad: Brown programs and non-Brown programs sponsored by other institutions. Students pay different tuition and fees depending on which program they attend, and students on non-Brown programs must take a leave of absence and request transfer credits upon their return. This has not been a tenable model for academic, financial, and administrative reasons. The proposal, developed to implement a more rational and unified approach to study-abroad programs, recommended that Brown move to a home-school tuition model, under which all study-abroad students would be charged Brown tuition and would remain enrolled Brown students during their time abroad. The committee and the Corporation approved this recommendation. It is important to note that this policy change does not affect any currently enrolled students; it will only apply to those students who matriculate after July 1, 2006.
The Committee on Facilities and Design was thoroughly occupied with a number of ongoing capital projects, each at different stages of development. Farthest along is the planning for the Friedman Study Center, which will occupy the entrance level, the mezzanine, and the lower level of the Sciences Library. The library materials now in those areas will be moved elsewhere, mostly to the library annex at 10 Park Lane, and the space will be extensively renovated to provide 24-hour study space for students. The committee approved the schematic design for this project, and we hope to begin the actual work by the end of this coming spring, with an expected completion of spring 2007.
The committee reviewed and commented on conceptual designs for the major renovation planned for Pembroke Hall to house the Humanities Center and the Pembroke Center. The architect for this project is Toshiko Mori
There are two major new buildings being planned: Sidney Frank Hall and the Jonathan Nelson Fitness Center. We are still early in the design process for both buildings. Sidney Frank Hall will be the first new building on The Walk between Lincoln Field and the Pembroke Campus. It will provide state-of-the-art facilities for cognitive and linguistic sciences and will also house a recital hall and other public facilities. Conceptual designs for both projects were presented to the committee by the respective architects.
I have asked Dick Spies, executive vice president for planning, and his colleagues to develop opportunities for members of the community to be better informed about and participate in the design processes for these important capital projects. While the decisions to be made are the sole purview of the Corporation, it is valuable for faculty, students and staff to be able to view and provide input on the emerging designs, especially of new buildings that will become integral components of our campus landscape.
The Investment Committee considered the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investing (ACCRI) that the University offer a social choice fund to prospective donors. The members of the committee were appreciative of the time and effort members of the ACCRI devoted to crafting this thoughtful recommendation and for the useful background information they provided. The committee feels strongly that the University should be vigorous in thinking about the areas in which we invest our resources with regard to issues of social justice and shareholder responsibility in our daily operations. The committee agreed that they should remain open to considering such a fund at a later date, particularly as donor interest in such an option manifests itself at a significantly higher level than we have experienced so far.
Finally, the Corporation took action on a number of items of business. These included:
- Acceptance of gifts, including $5 million from an anonymous donor, $4.5 million of which is designated for the Creative Arts Building and $500,000 for the Brown Annual Fund, and a gift of $1 million from an emeritus trustee for the Brown Annual Fund, reflecting a designation of income from a trust established in 1997 for the benefit of Brown University.
- Appointment of several members of the faculty to endowed chairs: Thomas F. Banchoff, Royce Family Professor in Teaching Excellence and professor of mathematics; Glenn C. Loury, Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences and professor of economics; Kevin McLaughlin, Nicholas Brown Professor of Oratory and Belles Lettres and professor of English; and Kurt A. Raaflaub, Royce Family Professor in Teaching Excellence and David Herlihy University Professor and professor of classics and professor of history.
- Approval of the site recommended by the Committee on Facilities and Design for the new creative arts center, which was approved as a capital project by the Corporation in February 2005. The approved site is along the planned walk, adjacent to Waterman Street in the area currently occupied by 82 Waterman Street (American Civilization) and 86 Waterman Street (an apartment building). The creative arts center will provide a place for flexible, modular, and acoustically designed performance spaces, exhibition spaces for new media, and multimedia and digital arts labs and production studios.
The launch of the Boldly Brown campaign represents another step forward in our collective work to build on the University's historic strengths. I remain grateful to the entire Brown community - the faculty, students, alumni, and staff - for the hard work and enthusiasm that has thus far accomplished so much. This is an exciting time for Brown, and, although much has already been accomplished, our best days are still ahead.
Sincerely,
Ruth J. Simmons
President