Dear Members of the Brown Community,

At the end of December, we concluded the most ambitious and successful fundraising campaign in the history of Brown University. I am deeply honored to share that more than 76,800 alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff and students contributed more than $4.4 billion in gifts to the BrownTogether campaign to support Brown’s mission to serve society, the nation and the world.

BrownTogether ignited the amazing talent, dedication and innovation that defines the Brown community in new and exciting ways. The remarkable and inspiring generosity of our donors has enabled us to expand access to a Brown education, advance cutting-edge research, introduce new innovations in education and strengthen Brown’s role as a leading global institution. The impact of this historic effort can’t be overstated.

From the campaign’s launch in 2015 through its culmination in December 2024, BrownTogether has had a transformative impact on virtually all aspects of the University while exceeding both its original and expanded fundraising targets.

This is a moment to recognize the tremendous and lasting impact of BrownTogether for our community, and to extend my sincere gratitude to all who have contributed to the campaign’s success. Some of the most significant impacts of BrownTogether gifts include dramatically bolstering financial support for current and future students — by eliminating packaged loans from undergraduate financial aid awards and expanding Brown’s need-blind admissions policy to include international students and a growing number of undergraduate student veterans. We raised funds for 143 new endowed professorships across humanities and life, physical and social sciences departments, empowering faculty and students to take on groundbreaking research and innovative teaching. We also enriched campus life and revitalized the campus through major investments in new and renovated academic spaces, laboratories, student housing, athletics programs, and systems to support entrepreneurship, students’ robust career exploration, scholarship and health and well-being.

It is your generosity, along with the deep commitment of our campaign co-chairs — Joan Wernig Sorensen, Theresia Gouw and Ralph F. Rosenberg — and our Advancement staff under the leadership of Senior Vice President Sergio Gonzalez, that has made this transformative impact possible. Your support demonstrates the power of philanthropy to deepen the educational experience for talented students and enable our scholars to have an impact on the world’s greatest challenges.

It is impossible to note all the ways that Brown students, faculty and staff have benefited from the BrownTogether campaign. I invite you to read the Brown news story that showcases so many of the ways the campaign has shaped life at Brown for all who live, work and study here. Below I will highlight a few examples.

Investment in Distinct Areas of Strength

A major focus of BrownTogether was to bolster investment in targeted areas of academic strength at Brown — where the University is now positioned to realize bold ambitions to be on the leading edge of building knowledge, innovation and discovery. Approximately $1.58 billion in campaign gifts is supporting expanded research, educational innovation and integrative scholarship in fields ranging from cancer research and brain science to public health, environmental science, humanities, engineering, medicine and the arts.

In total, BrownTogether raised more than $777 million to support more than 35 facilities projects on campus, including new buildings, major renovations and reinvigorated spaces that have enabled the University to sustain and advance our mission for the future. Brown is also advancing its role as an economic engine for Providence, in particular through substantial investments in projects to bring new life to the city’s Jewelry District.

Realizing the Vision of "Building on Distinction"

The BrownTogether campaign launched publicly in 2015 to bring to life the vision for the University outlined in our strategic plan, Building on Distinction: A New Plan for Brown. Twice, the campaign surpassed its fundraising goals — in 2021, it eclipsed its original $3 billion target more than a year ahead of schedule, and in early 2024 (10 months before its end date) it surpassed an extended goal of $4 billion.

A primary focus was supporting the people who make it possible for Brown to fulfill its mission. This meant increasing resources to broaden access to a Brown education for the best and brightest students from a full range of backgrounds, and strengthening support for the University’s diverse community of scholars through endowed professorships and faculty recruitment. In total, BrownTogether raised more than $728 million for undergraduate financial aid and graduate and medical student support, including more than 400 new endowed financial aid funds.

Separately, landmark support for faculty recruitment and retention was catalyzed through more than $506 million in contributions to raise funds for 143 endowed professorships in medicine, psychology, climate and health, computer science, neuroscience, classics, economics, engineering, and pandemic preparedness and response, among many other fields. The new professorships are helping to cultivate a diversity of experience, expertise and perspective that is further advancing Brown’s academic excellence by bringing together the range of viewpoints needed to tackle complex problems.

Enriching and revitalizing campus life

Enhancing campus life for all Brown community members was another key focus of BrownTogether. As one example, the campaign generated $315 million in support for Brown’s Division of Athletics and Recreation to bolster its programs, resources and facilities. This included the construction of the Center for Lacrosse and Soccer in 2019, a new 76,000-square-foot indoor turf facility slated to open in 2026, as well as a fund to support student-athletes, and the endowment of the vice president for athletics and recreation position.

Fundraising support through BrownTogether enhanced living and learning at Brown in myriad other ways, including the construction of the first new residence halls in 30 years. The state-of-the-art Chen Family and William and Ami Danoff residence halls on Brook Street opened in 2023, supporting students while helping the University achieve a goal of housing the vast majority of Brown undergraduates in residence halls. The new Health and Wellness Center and Sternlicht Commons opened in 2021 as a unique residence hall and student services hub devoted to promoting health and well-being for our student population.

In addition, the Undocumented, First-Generation College and Low-Income (U-FLi) Student Center opened in 2016 to support low-income students and those who are the first in their family to attend college, while the launch of Brown’s new Center for Career Exploration in 2023 has significantly expanded career advising, resources, programs and partnerships to support students’ career paths.

Embracing the momentum cultivated by BrownTogether, donors gave in record-setting levels to the Brown Annual Fund during the campaign — driving the growth of the fund to more than $50 million annually for the past three years.

Momentum for the future

While the BrownTogether campaign has proven extraordinarily successful, the University’s continued aspirations include further investment to bring education and research to even greater heights. This includes ongoing investment in scholarship and research, further enhancing students’ access to a Brown education, cultivating the diversity of experience and perspectives needed for academic excellence, and continuing to reinvigorate Brown’s physical campus through targeted development.

Philanthropic support provides essential funding to ensure Brown is able to fulfill its ambitions. With continued support from generous alumni, parents, donors and friends of Brown, the University will be best positioned to advance the boundaries of teaching, learning and research in the fields of artificial intelligence, RNA research, international and public affairs and more — all while continuing to broaden access to academically exceptional students and supporting them once they enroll.

As Brown seeks to change the world through its pursuit of solutions to society’s most pressing challenges, the generosity of our community is strengthening the work that faculty, staff and students do on campus every day. We are grateful for their extraordinary contributions and appreciate that the support that comes from every corner of the world and every generation will continue to shape Brown for decades to come.

Sincerely,
Christina H. Paxson
President