Dear Members of the Brown Community,

The Corporation of Brown University recently completed its fall meetings. For those who are new to the community, the Corporation (the name given in the charter of the University, written in 1764) is the University’s highest governing body, with fiduciary oversight of the entire University. The Corporation comprises a Board of Fellows and a Board of Trustees and is responsible for matters of policy and long-term planning. Trustees and fellows represent a broad and diverse range of professions, experiences and perspectives, and are chosen through a variety of processes — including alumni and student elections — but always for their commitment to the University and its mission of education and research. Bound by fiduciary duties of care and loyalty, Corporation members are required to make good-faith decisions in Brown’s best interest.

More information about the trustees and fellows as a whole, biographies of members, and their roles and responsibilities can be found on the Corporation website.

As the Brown community knows from a prior communication from Chancellor Brian T. Moynihan and myself, the Corporation met earlier this month to act on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management (ACURM) not to divest. In various circumstances, the Corporation holds meetings in addition to its regular schedule of business meetings to address matters that require time and attention beyond the scope of the regular schedule. Further information about the decision reached in the Oct. 8, 2024, meeting of the full board is in the Oct. 9 communication and in ACURM’s report, which is available on the ACURM website. In this letter, I will address other areas of business and topics discussed by the Corporation in the fall meetings. 

First, I want to acknowledge the concerning behaviors arising from some of the protest activities during the course of the meetings, about which Russell Carey, Interim Vice President for Campus Life and Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy, wrote to the campus community Sunday. Behavior that is threatening and intimidating is unacceptable, regardless of who the behavior is directed against and whatever the context. We must commit with purpose and resolve to recognize each individual’s humanity and to treat each other with respect and dignity.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND PLANNING

Over the course of meetings in committees and as a whole, members of the Corporation discussed a variety of topics related to our ongoing initiatives to achieve academic excellence and to advance our mission as a research university. These included updates on academic capital projects and an annual discussion with the senior academic deans regarding faculty searches and hiring, including ongoing efforts to strengthen and sustain academic excellence through cultivating a diverse faculty. Members received an update from the Provost regarding planning to establish the School of International and Public Affairs, including the search for an inaugural dean. The recommendation to establish the school was made last year by the faculty and approved by the Corporation, effective July 1, 2025. 

In a strategic discussion session, I provided an update to the Corporation as a whole with regard to the priorities I communicated to the campus at the beginning of the semester. This included a discussion of the drivers of Brown’s structural deficit and how we are working together to address that challenge. I shared how Brown continues to build its standing for research excellence among university peers. Amid important work over the past 15 years to bolster Brown’s strength as a leading research university, we discussed that the institution has reached an inflection point in its transition away from Brown’s historic, undergraduate tuition-dependent funding model that is more reminiscent of colleges, and toward a model of more diversified revenue sources aligned with other research university peers. The Corporation discussed what this means for Brown, and the Provost and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration will engage our campus in these conversations in the coming year.

Associate Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Undergraduate Admission Logan Powell discussed the impact on the first undergraduate class affected by the U.S. Supreme Court decision prohibiting consideration of race in admissions decisions. Dean Powell reviewed the range of initiatives we are pursuing to fulfill our unwavering commitment to diversity as a critical tool for achieving academic excellence while complying with the law. Members of the Corporation affirmed the critical importance of this work and discussed strategies, including communications, education and alumni engagement, to ensure that high school students from historically underrepresented groups continue to apply to Brown and know that Brown is a welcoming campus for them. Dean of the College Rashid Zia, Associate Dean of the College and Executive Director of the Brown Center for Career Exploration Matthew Donato and Vice President for Alumni Relations Zack Langway reported on Connections, Communities and Careers, including the new Brown Connect+ platform, which has seen early success in greatly aiding all students in connecting with the broader Brown community in developing career pathways.

The Committee on Facilities and Campus Planning, meeting in the beautifully renovated new home of the Cogut Institute for the Humanities, Andrews House, heard and discussed presentations regarding a number of capital projects at various stages of planning, design and construction. These included project updates on the William A. and Ami Kuan Danoff Life Sciences Laboratories and the Indoor Turf Facility, both of which were also authorized by the Budget and Finance Committee to proceed to full construction, with fundraising milestones having been met. The selected architects for two projects in the initial stages of planning and design — Page architects for the Innovation and Design Hub at Brown (an exciting renovation of Prince Lab in the School of Engineering) and Stoss Landscape Urbanism for proposed accessibility and amphitheater performance space landscape improvements to Simmons Quad — also presented their early ideas and concept directions.

The Committee on Facilities and Campus Planning also heard from the Provost and Associate Provost for Academic Space regarding pressures on academic classroom and office space on College Hill, resulting from growth in the size of our faculty and student body and expansion in the number of academic programs. A study was conducted with the assistance of the design and planning firm Sasaki to evaluate the current use of academic classroom and office space and to determine the additional space that may be required to meet the goals of the University, including projected growth in master’s degree programs. This work will inform planning, fundraising and capital budgets in the coming years.

The Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion discussed the recently released 2024 Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan Progress Report and expressed gratitude and admiration for the leadership of Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity Sylvia Carey-Butler, who will step down from her position at Brown later this month. Vice President Carey-Butler was presented with a resolution before the full board celebrating her service and sharing the many accomplishments of the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity under her tenure.

The Committee on Campus Life learned about and discussed findings from the Student Leadership and Development Survey, as well as the Community Dialogue Project (CDP). CDP is an initiative designed to provide educational programs and resources that build relationships and advance open inquiry across differences in identities, histories, backgrounds, experiences and beliefs. CDP will continue this coming year to offer programming that provides students with the skills and strategies needed to engage across differences.

The Committee on Medical and Health Affairs received an update from Dean Ashish Jha on progress on strategic initiatives in the School of Public Health. Committee members also toured the new laboratory space in 225 Dyer St. and heard from a number of faculty about their research in RNA, aging and cancer. The full Corporation discussed plans for Brown University Health, formerly Lifespan, with Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences Mukesh Jain and Brown University Health President and CEO John Fernandez.

In addition to the construction authorizations noted above, the Committee on Budget and Finance discussed ongoing planning and efforts with regard to building long-term economic sustainability for Brown. As noted above, there will be further communications to the community on this important topic in the coming weeks.

ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS, ESTABLISHMENT OF ENDOWED POSITIONS AND OTHER ACTIONS

The trustees and fellows formally accept gifts and pledges in the amount of $1 million or more. At this meeting, they formally accepted gifts and pledges made since the May 2024 meeting. Totaling more than $68 million, the approved set of generous commitments will provide critical support for Brown’s priorities, including endowed professorships, the humanities, financial aid, graduate education, the William A. and Ami Kuan Danoff Life Sciences Laboratories, athletics and a range of academic programs. The success of the BrownTogether campaign to date builds from gifts of many dollar amounts, and all are essential to Brown’s success 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 established at this meeting include the following:

• The Peltz Ruttenberg Family Directorship for the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America was established with the generous support of Perri A. Peltz '82, P'19, P'22 and Eric M. Ruttenberg P'19, P'22.
• The Shoukang Lin and Jing Wu Assistant Professorship was established with the generous support of Shoukang Lin AM'87 PhD'91, P'23, P'28 and Jing Wu P'23, P'28.
• The Briger Family Distinguished Professorship in Computer Science was established with the generous support of an anonymous donor.
• The Fried Family Assistant/Associate Dean of the College for Student Exploration was established with the generous support of Leah Fried Sedwick '90 and Barbara J. Fried P'86, P'90.
• The Dean's Professorship at the Center for Philosophy, Politics and Economics was established with the generous support of an anonymous donor.
• The Liz Lange Professorship in Women's Health was established with the generous support of Liz Lange '88, P'23 and David E. Shapiro P'23.
• The William Rogers Provost's Professorship was established with the generous support of Thomas Lister P'22, P'25 and Amanda Lister P'22, P'25.

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

• Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan, Schreiber Family Professor of Economics
• Ellie Pavlick, Briger Family Distinguished Associate Professor of Computer Science
• Aurora Pryor, J. Murray Beardsley Professor of Surgery
• Vadim Semenov, LFZ Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics

Also at these meetings, the Board of Fellows met with the officers of the Faculty Executive Committee, and new trustees were welcomed to the Corporation. The new trustees are Anne Beal '84, Kwame Campbell '92, David Cicilline '83, Claire Hughes Johnson '94, Margaret Munzer '94 and Zach Schreiber '95. Samuel M. Mencoff '78 joined the Board of Fellows. Biographical information for these individuals and other members can be found on the Corporation website.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson
President