Dear Members of the Brown Community,

The Corporation of Brown University recently completed its winter meetings. The Corporation (the name given in the Charter of the University, written in 1764) is the University’s governing body. The Corporation comprises a Board of Fellows and a Board of Trustees and is responsible for matters of policy and long-term planning. 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.

Brown Ever True, Healing and Recovery

As the Brown community continues its path of recovery after the tragic events of Dec. 13, members of the Corporation engaged in numerous conversations about resources and support. They discussed a commitment to ensuring that safety is at the heart of everything we do in the weeks, months and years ahead, with a focus on ensuring members of the community feel they have a secure environment to live, work and learn.

Across committees and as a whole, other priorities included attending to the mental health and well-being of all members of our community and a focus on the strength and resilience of the campus as Brown pursues its mission of education and research. Members of the Corporation were briefed on Brown Ever True as a central initiative to advance efforts for all faculty, students and staff to heal. This included an overview of programming that uplifts Brown as an inclusive and caring community, and a recurring commitment expressed across Corporation meetings to communicate to the world that “Brown is still Brown.”

Most committee meetings focused on campus safety and security, including committee discussions of the implications, near- and long-term, for the charge and priorities of each committee as the campus continues to heal. Corporation members discussed how their work may evolve and adapt to address recommendations emerging from the external Campus Safety and Security Assessment currently being conducted by experts from the global consulting firm Teneo under the direction of an outside law firm, with oversight from the Corporation. Members were interested in plans being developed by Teneo to engage members of the campus and local communities to inform any recommendations about Brown’s safety and security policies and infrastructure.

Members of the Corporation discussed many of these matters with undergraduate students at a breakfast on Friday morning hosted by the Committee on Campus Life, and that evening the Corporation hosted a reception for students, faculty and staff thanking them for their leadership as the campus navigated many changes over the past weeks.

A small number of Corporation leaders attended Saturday’s University Memorial Service, which was hosted in Sayles Hall and spanned locations across campus, honoring and celebrating the lives and impact of Ella Cook ’28 and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov ’29. Other Corporation members viewed the service online to prioritize seating for students and other campus community members.

ADVANCING ACADEMIC PRIORITIES

Throughout the weekend members of the Corporation engaged in discussion with deans, faculty and others about the ongoing work and importance of advancing Brown’s academic priorities, which is critical to carrying out our mission. This included a dedicated strategic discussion session focused on the academic and administrative implications of artificial intelligence for both research and operational excellence. A faculty panel led by Associate Provost for Artificial Intelligence Michael Littman featured Professors Holly Case (History, Cogut Institute for the Humanities, Data Science Institute), Michael Frank (Psychology, Brain Science) and Brenda Rubenstein (Chemistry, Data Science Institute). They provided engaging insight into how they are individually and with colleagues across the campus leveraging AI in their research and teaching.

The faculty panelists emphasized the manner in which faculty at Brown work together across academic disciplines and traditional boundaries, from the humanities to the physical sciences, and how that distinctive approach to AI complements and supports the values of the Open Curriculum and the academic interests and goals of students attracted to Brown. Accompanying this discussion, Provost Francis J. Doyle III spoke about the projected need for investments in computing infrastructure (graphics processing units and storage) that will be required to sustain and support the growing array of research activities that rely upon AI tools. In the same session, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Sarah Latham and Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Christopher Keith provided members with an overview of the AI strategy, learning communities and tools that are being utilized across administrative departments to improve the delivery of services and support to the academic mission.

In the Committee on Academic Affairs, Provost Doyle updated members on planning that is underway to build a robust framework for corporate engagement, which is designed to position Brown advantageously with key corporate partners, advance research and create career opportunities for our students. Closely related to these efforts, the Division of Research is focused on reducing barriers to research success, and recent improvements in this arena include a new type of professional agreement specifically tailored to researchers; a centralized resource for faculty seeking advice about the complex requirements around research agreements, grants and contracts; and a new Reducing Red Tape in Research website that provides guidance and support.

Members of the Committee on Facilities and Campus Planning heard an update on the excellent construction progress of Danoff Laboratories, which is rapidly moving toward its expected completion date approximately one year from now. This project, and many other academic initiatives led by faculty across the campus, represents a generational investment in the teaching, learning and research mission of the University that will have a positive impact on the campus, Providence and Rhode Island, the nation and the world for decades to come and beyond. Members of the Corporation throughout the weekend echoed what I hear from faculty, students and staff every day — namely, the critical importance of sustaining and continuously improving academic excellence at Brown.

FISCAL YEAR 2027 TUITION, FEES AND SALARY POOL

Each year at the February meeting, the Corporation considers the mid-cycle report and recommendations from the University Resources Committee (URC), which is composed of faculty, students and administrators, regarding tuition, fees and the faculty and staff salary pool. The URC operates on a full-year schedule and will present to me its recommended budget for Fiscal Year 2027 later this semester for action at the May meeting of the Corporation.

The Corporation approved the URC’s recommendation of a 4.25% increase in total undergraduate tuition and fees, which includes a 4.0% undergraduate tuition rate increase, effective July 1, 2026. This recommendation was made based on the review of significant data and analysis and considering multiple factors including financial trends, Brown’s continued expansion of financial aid initiatives in recent years, the University’s structural operating deficit and recent budget-reduction measures. The committee also considered external drivers including inflation, which is expected to remain higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Investing in student support and access remains among our highest priorities, reflected in a $6.5 million projected increase in undergraduate financial aid in the FY27 budget. Brown meets 100% of each student’s demonstrated financial need and covers full tuition for families earning $125,000 or less with typical assets, while students from families making less than $60,000 a year with typical assets receive scholarships that cover all expenses — tuition, room, board, books and other costs. Other new and expanded initiatives over the past several years include replacing loans with grants in University financial aid awards, eliminating consideration of home equity for a family’s primary residence in making aid awards, reducing summer earnings expectations for high-need students, and becoming need-blind for all undergraduate international students starting with the Class of 2029.

Student fees for the next academic year reflect increasing costs and include modest increases such as a $10 adjustment to the recreation fee, which will eliminate direct charges for group fitness and intramural sports participation and thereby expand overall student access to health and well-being resources. There will also be a $14 increase to the student activities fee to keep large student events, such as Senior Week, free of charge.

After careful consideration and thoughtful discussion, the URC recommended and the Corporation approved a faculty and staff salary pool of 3% for those earning up to and including $80,000 (2.5% base and 0.5% promotions, equity and retention components) and 2% for employees earning more than $80,000 (1.5% base and 0.5% promotions, equity and retention components), effective July 1, 2026. The promotions, equity and retention component reflects funds that are deployed by the deans (for faculty) and University Human Resources (for staff) throughout the year.

The URC deliberated extensively and with great care with regard to the faculty and staff salary pools, and the committee’s recommendation reflects a commitment to community members at the lower end of the salary scale while also recognizing the real constraints of the current budgetary moment. While the URC was mindful of the direction provided to the committee last year that salary pools should consist of a base and a merit allocation, the URC felt it is prudent to not further divide the allocation this year given the more modest size of the pool.

Accordingly, all employees (faculty and staff) earning $80,000 and less will receive a flat, across-the-board 2.5% base increase, and all employees earning more than $80,000 will receive a flat, across-the-board 1.5% base increase. Dividing the salary increase pool amounts into merit and base pools would have resulted in a very small merit pool that would not have a meaningful impact on the University’s performance evaluation process. It should be underscored that the absence of a merit pool does not obviate the need for and importance of robust performance evaluations and feedback processes conducted by all supervisors, as normally occurs in the spring of each year.

The URC’s salary pool recommendation was informed by multiple analyses, including data on faculty hiring and retention across all faculty ranks and disciplines, an overview of the University’s compensation philosophy, and significant market data and information on hiring and retention trends at Brown in all staff employment categories. The trends showed a meaningful decrease in voluntary staff turnover since the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee’s FY27 recommendation also considered actual equity, promotion and retention data that reflected significant, targeted investments in staff salaries in recent years as well as the positive impact of recent investments in faculty salaries outside of the annually budgeted salary pools. This included the $2.5 million faculty market adjustment fund allocated in FY26. The committee also reviewed peer data that reflected budget challenges across U.S. higher education, including data on the salary freezes and reductions implemented for staff on many other campuses.

ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS AND OTHER ACTIONS

The Corporation formally accepted individual gifts and pledges in the amount of $1 million or more made since October. Totaling more than $90 million, these generous commitments provide critical support for 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. Positions established at this meeting include the following:

·       The Suna and İpek Kiraç Professorship of Brain Science I was established with the generous support of an anonymous donor

·       The Thomas B. McMullen '62 Directorship of Men's and Women's Golf was established with the generous support of Thomas B. McMullen '62 and Deborah L. McMullen

The Corporation approved the appointment of the following faculty member to a named chair:

·       Malabika Sarker, Ashwin Pannalal Kothari Professor of the Practice of Behavioral and Social Sciences

In a separate action, the Corporation voted to appoint Jeffrey F. Hines ’83 MD ’86 to a first term as Secretary of the Corporation, effective July 1, 2026. The vote followed a review and consultation process involving all members of the trustees and fellows. Jeff will succeed Richard Friedman ’79, who has served the Corporation with distinction in this position over the past nine years. I join in congratulating Jeff and thanking Rich for all that he has done, and will continue to do, for Brown.

As noted above, the Committee on Campus Life convened discussions with undergraduate students over breakfast Friday morning. This is part of an ongoing commitment to engage with communities within Brown. The fellows will meet with officers of the Medical Faculty Executive Committee later this month to learn about issues of concern to Brown’s faculty members in our affiliated teaching hospitals.

In closing, I hope our students, staff and faculty continue to find strength in community with one another as we continue this semester. Being together in person and virtually in locations across campus and around the world for the University Memorial Service on Saturday was deeply meaningful. I continue to be inspired by the ways we demonstrate the strength and resolve of Brown as we pursue the teaching, learning and research at the heart of who we are.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson
President