Dear Members of the Brown Community,

Last week, the Corporation of Brown University held its May meetings, which take place leading into Commencement and Reunion Weekend. A wide variety of topics related to academic excellence and strategic planning were discussed in committees and meetings of the whole, as well as actions taken, which are detailed below.

The Committee on Academic Affairs, for example, discussed ongoing work led by the provost with the senior deans and other academic leaders across campus to develop a plan for growing the University’s research enterprise, with the ambition of doubling research expenditures over the next five to seven years while also expanding support for those disciplines in which productivity is not measured in grant dollars. Helping Brown faculty to increase their scholarly impact will contribute to the expansion of knowledge that can address urgent challenges, from pandemics to economic inequality to social justice, and create educational and research opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and medical students. The draft plan will be shared with faculty for feedback and input in the coming weeks.

Budget for Fiscal Year 2023

At its February meeting, the Corporation approved a 2.85% tuition and fees increase for undergraduate and non-variable graduate programs, matching the lowest increase in the past 11 years. The same month, the Corporation approved a faculty and staff salary and equity pool of 4.25% for Fiscal Year 2023, the highest increase in over a decade, and a special one-time bonus payment that was made in March to eligible Brown employees in recognition of the shared extraordinary efforts of faculty and staff. Salary pools are allocated by deans and senior officers to fund annual performance-based salary increases, equity adjustments, retention and promotions over the course of the fiscal year.

At the May meeting, the Corporation acts on the consolidated base budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Consistent with that process, the University Resources Committee (URC) presented its recommended budget for next year to me for action at this meeting. I recommended to the Corporation, and they approved, a $1.55 billion consolidated base budget for the University for Fiscal Year 2023.

For FY23, student aid and support comprise more than a quarter of the budget at $418 million (a 13% increase over the current fiscal year). This increase is driven by the University’s announcement in October that Brown will significantly increase scholarships for moderate-income students, reduce the summer earnings expectation for our highest-need students, and move toward need-blind admissions for international students over the next several years. Importantly, the incremental financial support will be made possible, in part, by the extraordinary performance of the University’s endowment in the 2021 fiscal year and the success of the BrownTogether fundraising campaign. The FY23 budget also reflects significantly enhanced support for graduate students.

In addition to the broad-based investments in people described above, the budget also includes important targeted investments in a range of areas, such as dean and research commitments, campus life, athletics, facilities, including the recently named Lindemann Performing Arts Center, as well as other strategic initiatives. The FY23 budget is intentional in recognizing the inflationary environment we are currently operating in and the related pressures those increases may create. Toward that end, there has been and will continue to be a concerted effort to proactively shift costs from unrestricted to restricted funds in order to more fully utilize gifts and endowments.

I strongly encourage all members of the community to read the full URC report, which is available on the committee’s website:

https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/provost/committees-reports/university-resources-committee

The Committee on Budget and Finance also approved a number of capital projects, including the renovation of Andrews House (the former location of University Health Services) to house the Cogut Institute for the Humanities; the renovation and expansion of Churchill House for the Department of Africana Studies and Rites and Reason Theatre; as well as the next three-year capital plan, which includes planned renovation projects of varying scopes, such as the Barus & Holley infrastructure renewal, Sharpe Refectory, Verney-Woolley Dining Hall, Josiah’s and significant residence hall investments.

Election of Trustees and Fellows and Other Actions

The Corporation elected the following individuals to the Board of Trustees: James P. Esposito ’90, Xochitl Gonzalez ’99, Joseph P. Healey, Ayanna MacCalla Howard ’93, Harald O. Mix ’83, Mya L. Roberson ’16, Omar K. Shoman ’01 and Maria T. Zuber ScM’83, PhD’86. In addition, Divya Mehta ’18, who has served a COVID-disrupted two-year term as a New Alumni Trustee, was elected to an additional one-year term. William Zhou ’20 will serve a two-year term as a New Alumni Trustee, following an election process in which current students and recent alumni participate directly. Robert P. Goodman ’82 and Alison S. Ressler ’80 were elected to the Board of Fellows.

Brief biographical notes on the new Trustees and Fellows will be available later this morning on the University’s news website:

https://www.brown.edu/news/2022-06-01/corporation

The Corporation approved the appointment of the following faculty to named chairs:

Senior Chairs:

• Anna Aizer, Maurice R. Greenberg Professor of Economics;
• Omer Bartov, Samuel Pisar Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies;
• Robert Blair, Arkadij Eisler Goldman Sachs Associate Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs;
• Holly Case, John P. Birkelund Distinguished Professor of European History;
• Ugur Cetintemel, Khosrowshahi University Professor of Computer Science;
• Bathsheba Demuth, Dean’s Associate Professor of History and Environment and Society;
• Macarena Gómez-Barris, Timothy C. Forbes and Anne S. Harrison University Professor of Modern Culture and Media;
• Yan Guo, L. Herbert Ballou University Professor of Applied Mathematics;
• Matthew Guterl, L. Herbert Ballou University Professor of Africana Studies and American Studies;
• Leigh Hochberg, L. Herbert Ballou University Professor of Engineering;
• Mukesh Jain, Frank L. Day Professor of Biology;
• Adam Levine, Perri Peltz and Eric Ruttenberg Professor of the Practice of Human Rights;
• Michael Littman, University Professor of Computer Science;
• Stelios Michalopoulos, Eastman Professor of Political Economy;
• Vesna Mitrovic, L. Herbert Ballou University Professor of Physics;
• Tara Nummedal, John Nickoll Provost’s Professor of History;
• Emily Oster, JJE Goldman Sachs University Professor of Economics and International and Public Affairs;
• Marc Redfield, Florence Pirce Grant University Professor of English and Comparative Literature;
• Bernard Reginster, Romeo Elton Professor of Natural Theology;
• Amy Remensnyder, Giancarlo Family Provost’s Professor of History;
• Gerhard Richter, L. Herbert Ballou University Professor of German Studies and Comparative Literature;
• Noliwe Rooks, L. Herbert Ballou University Professor of Africana Studies;
• Björn Sandstede, Alumni-Alumnae University Professor of Applied Mathematics;
• Michael Satlow, Dorot Professor of Judaic Studies;
• Susan Short, Robert E. Turner Distinguished Professor of Population Studies;
• Michael Silverstein, George Hazard Crooker University Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice;
• Peter Weber, Jesse Houghton Metcalf Professor of Chemistry;
• Alexander Weheliye, Malcolm S. Forbes Professor of Modern Culture and Media;
• Ming Xian, Jesse Houghton Metcalf Professor of Chemistry; and
• Gang Xiao, Ford Foundation Professor of Physics.

Royce Family Professors of Teaching Excellence:

• Carlos Aizenman, Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Neuroscience; and
• Juliet Hooker, Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Political Science.

Junior Chairs:

• Benjamin Brown, Mimi Pichey Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology;
• Jonathan Collins, Mary Tefft and John Hazen White, Sr. Assistant Professor of Political Science, Public Policy, and Education;
• Carsten Eickhoff, Manning Assistant Professor of Medical Science;
• Andrea Flores, Vartan Gregorian Assistant Professor of Education;
• Susanna Haziot, Drs. Ruth and Howard Triedman Tamarkin Assistant Professor of Mathematics;
• Adrienne Keene, Joukowsky Family Assistant Professor of American Studies;
• Brian Lander, Stanley J. Bernstein Assistant Professor of History and Environment and Society;
• Laura López-Sanders, Stephen Robert Assistant Professor of Sociology;
• Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, David S. Josephson Assistant Professor of Music;
• Jerome Robinson, Manning Assistant Professor of Chemistry;
• James Tompkin, John E. Savage Assistant Professor of Computer Science; and
• Erica Walker, RGSS Assistant Professor of Epidemiology.

The Board of Fellows approved the candidates for 2,731 degrees to be awarded at Commencement on Sunday, May 29, and the recommendation of the faculty to establish the Center for Philosophy, Politics and Economics, effective July 1, 2022.

Acceptance of Gifts

The Corporation formally accepted individual gifts and pledges made since February in the amount of $1 million or more. Totaling more than $96 million, these generous commitments provide critical support to a wide range of Brown’s academic priorities. The success of the BrownTogether campaign to date and in the future builds from gifts of many dollar amounts, and all are essential to our success and deeply appreciated.

The Corporation approved the establishment of a number of endowed positions in recognition of generous gifts having been received, and also established several endowed positions from the increased market value of previously established professorships. The latter is an example of ongoing efforts noted above in the description of the FY23 budget to deploy endowed resources in an effective manner, in support of University priorities. When there are circumstances in which an endowed fund grows to the point that it can support an additional faculty position at the same level as a newly created endowed professorship, and when the donors agree, a new professorship will be established. Professorships established at this meeting include the following:

• The George A. and Marilyn M. Bray Professorship with the generous support of George A. Bray, Jr. M.D. '53;
• The Holly R. Hagens '93 and Todd B. Sisitsky Assistant Professorship at the Watson Institute with joint appointment at the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, with the generous support of Holly R. Hagens '93 and Todd B. Sisitsky;
• The Levinger Family Professorship through the increased market value of the Ruth and Paul Levinger Professorship in Cardiology;
• The Samuel Pisar Assistant Professorship in Holocaust and Genocide Studies with the generous support of the Pisar Family;
• The Professorship at the Institute at Brown for the Environment and Society was renamed the Professorship at the Institute at Brown for the Environment and Society I, and a second professorship, the Professorship at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society II, was established through the increased market value of the original endowment and with the generous support of anonymous donors.

The Corporation also approved the naming of a building:

• The building located at 22 Benevolent Street, currently under renovation to house the LGBTQ Center, will be named Stonewall House with the generous support of Brent and Catherine Gledhill P’21.

Finally, the Corporation presented resolutions of appreciation for three senior officers who will be stepping down from their positions at the end of this year: Dean of the Graduate School Andrew Campbell, Sorensen Family Dean of Engineering Larry Larson and Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson