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.

But first, I want to begin with a personal note. As you will have read in yesterday's community message from Chancellor Brian Moynihan, the Corporation requested and I agreed to extend my term as president from the current end date of June 30, 2026, to June 30, 2028. I do so with gratitude to every member of the Brown community. Having the opportunity to lead this great university continues to be a privilege and an honor, and the work we have done together has been both fulfilling and inspirational.

As Brown and other institutions of higher education continue to face unprecedented threats to our academic mission, I am committed to working with this amazing community to uphold a set of core principles that continue to anchor the University. These include ensuring our students and scholars can teach and learn without fear of government intrusion or censorship; maintaining an academic community where all who live, work and study at Brown can participate fully in the life of the institution, while we also maintain a campus that is free of all forms of harassment and discrimination for all community members; and providing support to members of our international community in the face of shifting federal policies. We also will continue our vigilance in being thoughtful and financially prudent as we address financial headwinds.

The uncertainty of the times we are in, while challenging, has reaffirmed my belief in our mission and the dedication of Brown faculty, students and staff to serve the community, the nation and the world with distinction. I am thankful to all of you, and I look forward to the coming years with great enthusiasm.

BUSINESS OF THE CORPORATION

The Corporation received engaging presentations from senior academic deans Tejal Desai, Sorensen Family Dean of Engineering, Mukesh Jain, Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences, Ashish Jha, Dean of the School of Public Health, and Leah VanWey, Dean of the Faculty, that highlighted faculty excellence and accomplishment in their respective areas. MJ Callan, Vice President for Community Engagement, reported on great progress with regard to Brown’s Community Engagement Agenda, and Matthew Guterl, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, provided thoughts and updates from his first few months in his important University leadership role.

Throughout the meetings, members of the Corporation discussed the ongoing challenges of navigating uncertain and unpredictable federal actions. They acknowledged that such actions pose great risk to high-impact research at Brown, as well as the individual experience and livelihoods of many members of our community, and the Corporation expressed its full commitment to the mission of the University and the good that Brown faculty, staff and students do every day for the community, the nation and the world.

STATEMENT OF UNIVERSITY VALUES AND VOICE

Upon the recommendation of the faculty, the Corporation approved the “Statement of University Values and Voice,” which will guide the University in the fulfillment of its mission for decades to come. While Brown's charter and mission statement have given the institution clear purpose across generations, the University had never before defined its core institutional values. Nor had Brown clearly set forth when the University should, or should not, use its voice as a public statement or action that intentionally expresses a position on an issue.

The charge of the faculty-led Ad Hoc Committee on University Values and Voice, which developed the values and voice statement over the course of several months, was to articulate in plain, uncomplicated terms a core set of principles that guide how the University goes about advancing its mission. From the outset, it was important that the Statement of University Values and Voice not be conceived as a response to any particular political moment, movement or controversy, but rather have durability as a lasting framework for University decisions and actions now and into the future. I feel that our community can be proud of producing a statement of institutional values and a policy for Brown's institutional voice that meets these goals.

The approved values and voice statement reflects the thoughtful input of thousands of members of the Brown community – faculty, staff, students and alumni – and was first approved by a vote of the full faculty before being submitted to the Corporation. I wish to thank the members of the Ad Hoc Committee on University Values and Voice, led by Chair and Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology James R. Kellner, for their efforts engaging the Brown community as part of their work. The committee's explanatory report, which reflects the thoughtful deliberations of the committee and input of the Brown community, is posted online, and I encourage everyone to read it.

When submitting its report, the Ad Hoc Committee additionally recommended the convening of a successor ad hoc committee or working group composed of students, faculty and staff to help establish how the Statement of University Values and Voice will be implemented. This working group, which I will work jointly with the Faculty Executive Committee to form in the next academic year, will have a charge that includes considering and making recommendations regarding how "principles of shared governance can most effectively support the administration and the University in the discretion in the use of its voice on issues that directly influence the University mission," as called for in the Statement of University Values and Voice. The working group will also review alignment between current University policies, committee charges and related governance structures to ensure consistency with the Statement of University Values and Voice.

It is important that Brown now has a Statement of University Values and Voice, developed through an inclusive community process, that can stand the test of time.

BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026

At the May meeting, the Corporation acts on the consolidated base budget for the coming fiscal year. Consistent with that process, the University Resources Committee (URC), chaired by Provost Francis J. Doyle III, presented its recommended budget for next year to me for action at this meeting. I recommended to the Corporation, and the Trustees and Fellows approved, a Fiscal Year 2026 Brown operating budget that includes $1.87 billion in revenues and $1.9 billion in expenditures.

The budget reflects the University’s ongoing transition from a tuition-dependent financial model toward a more diversified set of academic offerings and accompanying revenue sources aligned with its research university peers. Importantly, and as the result of the hard work of colleagues across the University, a projected $29 million deficit for FY26 reflects an improved financial position from Brown’s budgeted $46 million deficit for FY25.

Revenue growth for FY26 is expected to outpace expense growth, reflecting a disciplined, sustainable approach to spending made possible by proactive financial planning and targeted actions focused on ensuring financial health. The budget continues Brown’s focus on investing in its academic mission and the people across campus who fulfill that mission. Employee salaries, wages and benefits account for the largest share (43%) of expenses, with a budget of $818 million, and student financial aid comprises the second-largest share (26%), with $503 million in investments.

The budget’s approval follows the October 2024 launch of Brown’s Financial Health Initiative, an effort to address a persistent gap between revenues and expenses that, if left unaddressed, will continue to widen. In recent months, ensuring the University’s financial health has become more urgent with Brown among the nation’s top research institutions confronting ongoing cuts in federal research funding, a possible increase in the tax on investment gains, and immigration policies that may hinder our ability to recruit international students. Any long-term federal funding cuts of significant magnitude would imperil, or possibly end, areas of high-impact research at Brown.

In a cover letter outlining the URC’s recommended budget, Provost Doyle noted that while wide-ranging financial scenario planning is underway to address potential major reductions in revenue, the FY26 budget does not directly reflect large-scale federal impacts, because those remain highly uncertain. However, the University must prepare in a proactive manner. Accordingly, in March, we implemented cost-saving measures that included a staff hiring freeze, a halt on non-essential travel and a slowdown of discretionary spending, as well as a salary freeze for members of the President’s Cabinet and a voluntary freeze for other highly compensated administrators in Fiscal Year 2026. 

In addition to this compensation freeze, Provost Doyle, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Sarah Latham, and I will each take a 10% salary cut.

These steps expanded on earlier budgetary actions, which included the cancellation of several faculty searches and the reduction of Ph.D. admissions targets across a number of graduate programs. Our goals remain to maintain flexibility, protect core academic functions and minimize long-term impacts to teaching, research and community support.

Among the principles informing budgetary decisions amid a challenging financial landscape are commitments to enroll talented students from all socioeconomic backgrounds; to support the world-class research of Brown faculty and scholars; and to support to the greatest extent possible the staff and operations that sustain the University’s community of teachers and learners. Each of those commitments is reflected in the FY26 budget:

• To sustain a commitment to meeting 100% of every undergraduate student’s demonstrated financial need, the budget includes a 7% increase in financial aid for undergraduates, as well as a total student aid budget of $503 million to support undergraduate, master’s, Ph.D. and medical students. The continued expansion of Brown’s undergraduate financial aid budget will expand on recent increases in financial support for students. The budget also provides $247 million in student aid and support for graduate students, continuing a track record of new investments in aid for Ph.D., master’s and medical students, which range from fellowships and stipends to support for students who are parents.
• As Brown pursues plans to reach ambitious yet achievable enrollment targets for its master’s programs, projected revenue growth reflected in the budget is driven largely by a strategic focus on expanding master’s education at the University. Since 2023, Brown has launched six new master’s degree programs in fields ranging from biostatistics to sustainable engineering to public humanities, and as noted below, the Fellows approved four additional new programs at these meetings. New enrollments in master’s programs increased by 20% from the 2023-24 academic year to 2024-25, and applications and enrollments to date for 2025-26 remain strong. In the FY26 budget, revenue from master’s programs is projected to grow by 24%, and the budget includes support for multiple new faculty and staff positions critical to the University’s plans for growth in master’s programs.
• Also reflected in the budget is a 3.5% salary pool for faculty and staff, which includes a 1% base component responsive to changes in the cost of living, a 1.75% “merit” component awarded based on performance, and a 0.75% component for promotion, retention and equity adjustments. As previously announced, the budget includes a fund to make one-time market adjustments to the compensation of longer-serving, highly productive faculty whose compensation has fallen behind, similar to investments in recent years to adjust pay for staff members whose compensation had lagged. The pool, and these initiatives, reflect an ongoing commitment to paying current faculty and staff competitively, even as we focus on moderating headcount growth.
• Other expenditures include support for faculty research, undergraduate teaching, campus laboratories, sustainability initiatives and strategic investments in the Brown University Health system.

Being collectively informed about University resources and priorities is critically important, and I strongly encourage all members of the community to read the full URC report, which is available on the committee’s webpage.

ELECTION OF FELLOWS AND TRUSTEES AND OTHER ACTIONS

The Corporation elected Theresia Gouw ’90, who served as Brown Corporation treasurer from 2016 to 2025 and has been a Corporation member since 2007, and Sara Leppo Savage ’90, who has served as a Trustee since 2019, to the Board of Fellows. The following individuals were elected to the Board of Trustees: Preetha Basaviah ’91 MD’95, Ami Kuan Danoff, Brickson Diamond ’93, Giammaria Giuliani, Tanya Katerí Hernández ’86, Harry William Holt Jr. ’84 and Daniel O’Keefe ’97. Kathryn D. Thompson Ph.D. ’23 will serve a three-year term as a new alumni trustee, following an election in which current students and recent alumni participated directly. Brief biographical notes on the new Fellows and Trustees will be available later this morning on the University’s news website.

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

Senior Chairs:

• Walter Atwood, Viatris Professor of Biology and Medicine;
• Michael Barnett, Sorensen Family Provost's Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice;
• Katie Biello, Provost’s Professor of Epidemiology;
• Angela Caliendo, Charles C.J. Carpenter, MD Professor of Infectious Diseases;
• Vivian Cheung, William Rogers Provost's Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry;
• Mark Cunningham, Karl E. Karlson, MD and Gloria A. Karlson Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery;
• Sarah Delaney, Vernon K. Krieble Professor of Chemistry;
• Emanuele Di Lorenzo, Albert Davis Mead Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences;
• Sergej Djuranovic, Mencoff Family RNA Research Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry;
• Rani Elwy, Warren Alpert Foundation Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior;
• William Grobman, Liz Lange Professor of Women’s Health;
• Johanna Hanink, John Rowe Workman Professor of Classics;
• Juliet Hooker, Merton P. Stoltz Professor of Social Sciences;
• David Jacobson, Dorot Professor of Judaic Studies;
• Shelley Lee, W. Duncan MacMillan II Professor of American Studies;
• Christopher Moore, Adam and Margaret Korn Professor of Brain Science;
• Dietrich Neumann, Christopher Chan and Michelle Ma Professor of History of Art and Architecture;
• Irene Papanicolas, Provost’s Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice;
• Seth Rockman, George L. Littlefield Professor of American History;
• Brenda Rubenstein, Vernon K. Krieble Professor of Chemistry;
• Andrew Ryan, Provost’s Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice;
• Jennifer Sacheck, Provost's Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences;
• Brendan Saloner, Donald G. Millar Distinguished Professor of Alcohol and Addiction Studies;
• Andrew Scherer, Pierre and Patricia Bikai Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology and the Ancient World;
• Esther Whitfield, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Professor of Comparative Literature;
• Laurel Bestock, Joukowsky Family Associate Professor of Archaeology and the Ancient World and Egyptology and Assyriology.

Royce Professors of Teaching Excellence:

• Brandon Marshall, Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Epidemiology;
• Joshua Tucker, Royce Family Associate Professor of Teaching Excellence in Music.

Junior Chairs:

• Mohamed Amer Meziane, Robert Gale Noyes Assistant Professor of Humanities;
• Stephen Bach, Eliot Horowitz Assistant Professor of Computer Science;
• Lindsay Caplan, Andrea V. Rosenthal Assistant Professor of History of Art and Architecture;
• Anda Chirila, Manning Assistant Professor of Neuroscience;
• Donghyun (Danny) Choi, Stephen Robert Assistant Professor of Political Science;
• Mara Freilich, Thomas J. and Alice M. Tisch Assistant Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences and Applied Mathematics;
• Loukas Gouskos, Christopher M. Barter Assistant Professor of Physics;
• Saloni Gupta, Jonathan M. Nelson Assistant Professor of Education and Entrepreneurship;
• Leo Kozachkov, Howard E. Zimmerman Assistant Professor of Engineering and Brain Science;
• Soonwoo Kwon, Groos Family Assistant Professor of Economics;
• Lorenzo Lagos, Shoukang Lin and Jing Wu Assistant Professor of Economics;
• Harriet Lau, Manning Assistant Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences;
• Ainsley LeSure, Richard and Edna Salomon Assistant Professor of Political Science;
• Ying Ma, Edens Family Assistant Professor of Healthcare Communications and Technology;
• Elisa Macchi, August Family Assistant Professor of Economics;
• Leenoy Meshulam, June and Howard Zimmerman Assistant Professor of Physics, Neuroscience, and Brain Science;
• Elizabeth Miller, Joukowsky Family Assistant Professor of Philosophy;
• madison moore, John Atwater and Diana Nelson Assistant Professor of the Arts;
• Arman Oganisian, Thomas J. and Alice M. Tisch Assistant Professor of Biostatistics;
• Theresa Raimondo, Manning Assistant Professor of Engineering;
• Srinath Sridhar, John E. Savage Assistant Professor of Computer Science;
• Jacinda Townsend, Vartan Gregorian Assistant Professor of Literary Arts.

The Committee on Campus Life convened discussions with students from the Warren Alpert Medical School over breakfast Thursday morning, and the Fellows met with the officers of the Faculty Executive Committee. The Board of Fellows approved the recommendations of the faculty to establish several new degree programs: a Master’s in Management, a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership, a Master of Science in Business Analytics, and a 5th-Year A.M. in Africana Studies, all effective July 1, 2025. The Fellows also approved the faculty recommendation that the Department of Diagnostic Imaging be renamed the Department of Radiology. The Fellows approved the candidates for 3,310 degrees awarded at Commencement on Sunday, May 25.

ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS AND ESTABLISHMENT OF PROFESSORSHIPS

The Corporation formally accepted individual gifts and pledges in the amount of $1 million or more made since February. Totaling more than $47 million, these generous commitments provide critical support to a wide range of Brown’s academic priorities. The success of the University depends on gifts of many dollar amounts, and all are essential to fulfilling our academic mission and deeply appreciated.

The Trustees and Fellows also approved the establishment of a number of endowed positions in recognition of generous gifts having been received. Professorships and chairs established at this meeting include the following:

• The Vascellaro Family Dean for International and Public Affairs was established with the generous support of Mary E. Vascellaro '74 LHD'24 hon., P'07 and Jerome C. Vascellaro '74 LHD'24 hon., P'07;
• The Ashwin Kumar Pannalal Kothari Professor of the Practice was established with the generous support of an anonymous donor;
• The Panetha Theodosia Nychis Ott Assistant/Associate Dean of the College for International Students was established with the generous support of an anonymous donor;
• The S. Robert Freedman Professorship in Screenwriting was established with generous support from an anonymous donor;
• The Sandra MacMillan Provost Professorship of International and Public Affairs was established with the generous support of Sandra E. MacMillan P'23 ScM'24, P'25;
• The Ever True Men’s Crew Coaching Position was established with the generous support of an anonymous donor.

The Corporation presented a resolution of appreciation to Dean of the College Rashid Zia, who will step down from his position at the of this fiscal year, concluding seven years of impactful leadership on behalf of undergraduate students. The Corporation also approved commendations of gratitude, admiration and respect for the service of current Chair of the Faculty Executive Committee, Professor and Chair of German Studies Kristina C. Mendicino, and past FEC Chair, Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences Steven A. Sloman, for their leadership serving the Brown University faculty.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson
President