PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A $12 million gift from a family foundation founded and led by accomplished business leader and Brown University alumnus Orlando Bravo will fund the establishment of two endowed professorships and support research focused on pivotal economics and policy issues.

The creation of the Orlando Bravo University Professor in Economics and Policy faculty positions — jointly appointed within Brown’s Department of Economics and recently launched Thomas J. Watson Jr. School of International and Public Affairs — will strengthen the University’s ability to recruit and retain outstanding scholars and advance research and teaching in economics and policy. The gift is among the largest ever to support economic policy research at Brown. 

Brown University President Christina H. Paxson said the gift from the Bravo Family Foundation will benefit current and future Brown students, who will have the opportunity to learn from and conduct research alongside the leading scholars the University will be able to appoint.

“These two endowed professorships position Brown to grow our leading-edge economics department for years to come, while also creating momentum for collaborative scholarship at the Watson School, where we are educating the next generation of policy leaders,” said Paxson, a professor of economics and international and public affairs. “The generosity of Orlando Bravo and his family will advance Brown’s impact as a leading research university by broadening economics and public policy scholarship at a time of momentous challenge.”

Along with offering a prestigious honor for the appointed faculty members, named professorships provide an ongoing source of financial support for research and teaching in the designated fields of study. Most, including the two new Bravo professorships, are endowed in perpetuity, enabling support for generations of faculty and, in turn, the students they teach.

The Bravo Family Foundation and Bravo’s gift builds on a legacy of support, which includes a transformative $25 million gift to Brown in 2019, part of which funded the launch of the Orlando Bravo Center for Economic Research. To date, Bravo and his foundation have donated more than $45 million to the University. A Brown Class of 1992 graduate, Bravo earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science and went on to co-found Thoma Bravo, the world’s largest software-focused investment firm, with more than $183 billion in assets under management, where he is a managing partner.

“My family and the Bravo Family Foundation hope this gift will enable Brown University to continue to recruit the absolute best faculty to support both the Department of Economics and the Watson School,” Bravo said. “We specifically chose to allocate funding for the professorships to enable professors to explore research in exciting new and expanded ways. We’re glad to be able to support my alma mater in a significant way that will stand to impact future generations to come.”

Expanding economics and policy scholarship

John N. Friedman, inaugural dean of the Watson School, said the latest Bravo gift is a critical catalyst to support the strategic growth of research and teaching at the school, which launched in July 2025 and is built on the foundation of the well-established Watson Institute.

“The strength of the Watson School starts with its faculty, who are jointly appointed from departments across the University,” Friedman said. “This generous gift from Brown University alumnus Orlando Bravo will enable our new policy school to expand our dynamic faculty of scholars and teachers at the frontiers of their respective fields, who are coming together to help make breakthroughs and discoveries on the world’s most complex policy challenges.”

A search is underway for the first of the two positions, and the scholar hired could begin as soon as the 2026-27 academic year, said Friedman, a professor of economics and international and public affairs. He expects that Brown will appoint an international economist to teach and conduct research on topics such as global trade and tariffs, supply chains, international currency markets and investments.

Kareen Rozen, chair of Brown’s Department of Economics, said the professorships will help to expand the breadth of top-notch faculty at what is already a world-class department.

“Policy-oriented research is an essential part of what top economics departments do,” Rozen said. “This collaboration with the Watson School offers an exciting opportunity for growth.”

Rozen said the Bravo Center for Economic Research has been an essential catalyst for high-impact economics research since it launched in 2019. Bravo’s gift has enabled the department to expand funding for faculty and students through new research grants and assistantships, as well as additional support to attend conferences, host lectures, create new “mini courses” and fund visiting scholars at Brown.

“Through the continued work and development of the Bravo Center, and now these endowed professorships, I see a great investment in our faculty and students, and an opportunity to push the department to the next level,” said Professor of Economics Geoffroy de Clippel, director of the center.

Giving back to expand opportunities

Bravo and his wife, Katy, founded the nonprofit Bravo Family Foundation in 2017 after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and they were contacted by communities asking for help. The foundation focuses on funding initiatives that benefit community development, education and young entrepreneurs.

For Bravo, who has also served as a trustee on the Corporation of Brown University, it has been especially meaningful to give back to his alma mater and the scholars who advance Brown’s teaching and research, he said. In addition to support for economics, the Bravo Family Foundation previously made a $1 million gift to Brown’s Faculty Development Fund, which supports research and travel for faculty at Brown, and created a scholarship fund to support students.