A $10-million gift from Brown alumnus and trustee emeritus William R. Rhodes will fund a new professorship and Center for International Economics to expand the University’s teaching and research in international trade and finance.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Brown University announced plans today (Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007) to establish the William R. Rhodes Center for International Economics and the William R. Rhodes Professorship in International Economics. At its winter business meeting, the Corporation of Brown University formally accepted a $10-million gift from alumnus and trustee emeritus William R. Rhodes to fund the center and professorship, which will promote path-breaking research and teaching in the areas of international trade and finance.

“As a navigator and pioneer in the ever more intersecting worlds of economics and diplomacy, teaching and trade, William R. Rhodes is demonstrating great vision by establishing the Rhodes Professorship and Center for International Economics,” said Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons. “Mr. Rhodes’ renowned skills and knowledge in international financial diplomacy will inspire students seeking training in this area of international importance.”

“I am proud to support Brown as it broadens its focus on the global economy and increases its commitment to internationalization, ensuring that its students are well-equipped for their lives and careers in an increasingly flat world,” Rhodes said.

The William R. Rhodes Center for International Economics will be administered in coordination with the Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute for International Studies. The Rhodes Center will allow Brown to expand teaching and research at the undergraduate and graduate levels in international trade and finance and in entrepreneurship, promote scholarly research that advances fundamental understanding in the area of international trade and finance, and contribute to public and scholarly discourse on public policy issues by bringing together scholars and policy-makers for academic and policy discussion.

The William R. Rhodes Professorship in International Economics will be awarded to a distinguished scholar who makes significant contributions to scholarly research and teaching in the area of international trade and finance. The faculty member will help to expand course offerings at the undergraduate and graduate levels and will be a leading participant in a broader initiative to enhance Brown’s reputation in international economics and finance.

“The Watson Institute is very enthusiastic about the new gift from William R. Rhodes, a member of our Board of Overseers,” said Barbara Stallings, director of the Watson Institute. “The physical location of the Rhodes Center in the Institute and the close coordination on activities will substantially increase the interaction between the Economics Department and the Institute to the benefit of research and teaching at Brown.”

William R. Rhodes

William R. Rhodes is senior vice chairman of Citigroup Inc.; chairman, president and CEO of Citicorp Holdings Inc.; and chairman, president, and CEO of Citibank, N.A. As the senior international officer for Citigroup, Rhodes has specific responsibilities for client relationships in emerging markets worldwide, relationships with governments and other official institutions, and appointments of Citibank’s senior country officers outside the United States.

Rhodes has managed successful debt negotiations with such countries as Mexico, Brazil, Jamaica, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Korea and worked closely with U.S. treasury secretaries, prime ministers, and presidents. He is involved with numerous for-profit and not-for-profit boards and serves as chair of the Americas Society and the Council of the Americas, chairman of the U.S.-Korea Business Council, as well as first vice chair of the Institute of International Finance and the Board of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. He is also a member of South African President Thabo Mbeki’s International Investment Council.

Rhodes, an alumnus of the Brown Class of 1957, is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University and a trustee emeritus of the University. He received a Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 2005 and has been honored with the Brown University Independent Award and the William Rogers Alumni Award.

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