Dear Members of the Brown Community,

I am delighted to share that, thanks to the extraordinary generosity donors dedicated to supporting Brown’s commitment to excellence, the University has surpassed a pivotal milestone in the BrownTogether campaign — more than a year ahead of schedule, we have eclipsed the campaign’s original $3 billion goal.

In the six years since its launch, the campaign has made a positive impact on nearly every corner of campus. The support of alumni, parents and friends has strengthened access and affordability for new generations of Brown students, enabled important new community engagement initiatives, and supported innovative research on pressing issues. These investments have deepened the educational experience for talented students and enabled our scholars to make an ever-increasing impact on societal challenges with implications well beyond campus.

Given such tremendous momentum, we will extend the campaign timeline. In the coming months, Brown’s senior leaders and members of the Corporation will update the campaign’s priorities and establish a revised fundraising target and new end date. The commitment behind BrownTogether has been absolutely exceptional, and we will continue to focus on fundraising for initiatives central to our mission — making a Brown education accessible to the best and brightest students, attracting leading scholars to teach and conduct research in a spirit of free inquiry, and advancing discovery in areas where we can make breakthroughs that improve lives. We will also build on that energy and philanthropic engagement in new ways that advance Brown’s meaningful impact both at home in Providence and across the globe.

The Impact of the Campaign

Launched in 2015, the BrownTogether campaign has raised funds that are advancing Brown’s mission through investments in people, innovative research and education, campus infrastructure and the student experience. More than 66,000 alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff and students have contributed to date. It is their generosity, along with the deep commitment of our campaign co-chairs — Joan Wernig Sorensen ’72 LHD’19 hon., P’06 P’06, Theresia Gouw ’90 and Ralph F. Rosenberg ’86, P’17 — and of our Advancement staff under the leadership of Senior Vice President Sergio Gonzalez, that is truly having a transformative impact.

• Among the campaign’s key goals, $814 million has been raised to support priorities including student financial aid, endowed chairs that advance faculty teaching and research, and diversity and inclusion initiatives. This also includes $110 million raised for The Brown Promise initiative, which replaced loans with scholarships in all University-packaged undergraduate financial aid awards beginning in 2018-19.
• Approximately $1.2 billion has been raised in support of education and research, a total that significantly exceeds the original goal of $900 million. These gifts support scientific discovery, data-driven scholarship, the continued growth of entrepreneurship and innovation programs, and catalyzing research on race and inequality.
• The BrownTogether campaign has made far-reaching contributions to our campus and community. This includes modern laboratories to support research that can spark solutions for more efficient energy sources and better treatment of human diseases, state-of-the art performing arts and athletics facilities, and student initiatives that open doors to learning and leadership outside the classroom.
• Additional investment in the student experience has also been made possible through BrownTogether’s focus on immediate-use giving and the Brown Annual Fund. The annual fund has seen record-setting growth, with a total raised of more than $325 million since the campaign launch, which has been put to use for a variety of student needs, from financial aid to emergency support for students, including those who faced financial challenges transitioning to remote learning due to COVID-19.

It is impossible to touch on all of the ways students, faculty and staff are benefiting from that generosity (and please look for more details in a Brown news story that will publish later today), but I do want to underscore a few highlights in the areas of investment in Brown’s people, research and education and facilities.

Investing in People

Strong support for financial aid totaling $347 million is enabling Brown to attract the brightest students in the world. Support for The Brown Promise has resulted in a 56% drop in the number of students across all income levels incurring debt to cover the costs of attendance, and since its launch, 1,500 students have benefited from financial aid packaged by the University with no loans.

Another success made possible by campaign funds is the launch of a new initiative to double the number of U.S. military veterans enrolled as Brown undergraduates by admitting student veterans through a need-blind process and offering full financial support. Donors have given $21.3 million to the initiative, with a 71% increase in student veterans enrolled at Brown in just two years.

The campaign has also enabled Brown to invest in talent. Funds have been raised to establish 110 professorships in academic areas ranging from the humanities and economics to environmental science and computer science. These positions enable the University to recruit scholars who are at the top of their fields and retain faculty who are outstanding teachers and researchers.

Meanwhile, in support of the University’s ambitious Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, the campaign is also playing a key role in diversifying the Brown faculty. We have nearly achieved our goal of doubling the number of faculty from groups historically underrepresented in higher education, with an increase from 58 HUG faculty in 2014-15 to more than 100 this year

Investments in Education and Research

Other gifts are supporting innovative education and pioneering research. In areas spanning the sciences and population health, the Carney Institute for Brain Science is exploring cures to persistent and devastating diseases; a new Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research is focused on identifying markers of the preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s; and the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute brings together researchers, physicians, students and community partners to transform children’s health in Rhode Island and beyond. Building upon these successes, we’ll soon announce the exciting details of a new center for cancer research.

The Political Theory Project is diving beneath easy ideological labels and encouraging scholarship and debate that convenes brilliant minds from a wide diversity of viewpoints, while gifts to the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, and the Pembroke Center are advancing research on race, gender and inequity. With a focus on student innovation, the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship is providing support to young visionaries at every stage of the entrepreneurial process.

Strengthening Facilities and the Student Experience

Support for new facilities and centers are creating spaces to support Brown’s growing influence in multiple academic areas, as well as aspects of student life. Donors supported the launch of a state-of-the-art Engineering Research Center, home to specialized facilities for nanoscale and biomedical engineering; the renovation of Wilson Hall into Friedman Hall, which transformed the space by adding modern classrooms and common areas; Sternlicht Commons and Brown University Health & Wellness Center opened in 2021, marking the first new residence hall at Brown in 30 years. In addition, the Watson Institute for Public and International Affairs debuted the Stephen Robert ’62 P’91 Hall building in 2018, and a cutting-edge Performing Arts Center will open in 2023 in the heart of campus.

More than $178 million in support for Brown Athletics is enriching the student-athlete experience. Donors have supported 25 endowed coaching positions and upgrades to facilities including the Marston Boathouse, locker rooms in the Pizzitola Sports Center, baseball and softball fields, football training facilities, and the Center for Lacrosse and Soccer at Stevenson-Pincince Field. Other gifts have allowed for upgrades for playing surfaces for football and track, as well as much-needed infrastructure renovations at Meehan Auditorium for men’s and women’s ice hockey.

Campaign funding has also enhanced the undergraduate and alumni experience through giving to BrownConnect, a program and digital platform that connects students with alumni — and alumni with each other — and expands accessibility to research and internship opportunities. Since its 2015 launch, Brown has raised more than $32 million to support participation in research projects and internships for thousands of students. And after the arrival of COVID-19, donors gave approximately $25 million to the President’s Response Fund and the Student Emergency Support Fund, covering unexpected pandemic-related costs for students and enabling the University to support those facing financial challenges as they transitioned to remote learning.

Conclusion

While BrownTogether has already made a wide-ranging positive impact on the University community, there are significant opportunities to build on our success to do even more to advance the impact that Brown student and faculty scholars have locally, nationally and around the world. Raising funds for endowed scholarships and professorships will continue to be a priority, and changes in areas like public health and the geopolitical landscape will influence the ways in which Brown’s senior leaders update additional priorities as the campaign continues. 

When we launched BrownTogether, we saw it as the engine to help us fuel our Building on Distinction strategic plan. The plan’s areas of focus — including Deciphering Disease, and Creating Peaceful, Just and Prosperous Societies — have in the last few years taken on even greater global significance. Brown has made remarkable strides in unearthing new knowledge to help address these and other societal issues.

This is all thanks in large part to campaign support, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to reaching and surpassing this milestone even sooner than expected. We stand ready to advance our commitment to making an impact at a time when the world needs the kind of talent, education and research that we have to offer. The generosity of our campaign supporters to date makes clear that countless members of the Brown community stand ready to join us in achieving that goal.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson
President