Dear Members of the Brown Community, 

When the Van Wickle Gates swing open for Convocation next week, it will launch the opening exercises for my final academic year as Brown’s president. In recent weeks, and increasingly over the past several days, I have loved seeing the gradual return of familiar faces, the arrival of new students, and the energy that comes with new beginnings. It is a pleasure to welcome back those returning to Brown after summer breaks and vacations and to greet those who are just beginning to make College Hill their home.

As we embark on this new year, I am inspired by Brown more than ever. I am especially grateful for the people who make Brown so extraordinary. Together, we have advanced Brown’s distinctive strengths, expanded opportunities for students, grown research that is making a difference in the world, and supported one another through moments of both celebration and challenge. There is much to be proud of, and there is also much more to do. 

I look forward to working with all of you in the year ahead. As I shared in my message over the summer, Brown is moving ahead with ambitious plans, and I am excited for all that we will achieve together. In this letter, I will highlight accomplishments of the past year and share aspirations for the coming year.

But first, I invite you to take part in Brown’s 263^rd Opening Convocation, which marks the start of the 2026–27 academic year. Convocation will take place at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, on the College Green. The opening exercises will feature a keynote address from Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, and Environment and Society James R. Kellner. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

REFLECTING ON THE PAST YEAR

Without question, the past year was incredibly challenging. The tragedy we experienced on Dec. 13, 2025 affected our entire community, and we will continue together on the journey of mourning, recovery and healing via the Brown Ever True Roadmap to Recovery. I encourage all of you to read Brown’s Safety and Security Overview and Action Plan, which details the work we have done and will continue to do to ensure a campus that is both secure and accessible to members of our community. Moving forward on the Safety and Security Action Plan will be a major area of focus in the coming year.

Other challenges have been driven by unprecedented shifts in federal policy and the legal landscape. Brown, like other American research universities, is facing impediments to bringing international students and scholars to campus, reductions in federal financial aid for graduate students, declines in research funding, scrutiny of admissions practices, and more. We are closely monitoring these developments and actively advocating on behalf of Brown and higher education so that the positive impact that institutions like Brown have on the world is more widely understood and appreciated.

Despite the challenges, last year was also a year of tremendous progress. We strengthened student-centered education, advanced research and scholarship that makes a difference in the world, and moved forward with important investments in our campus.

Our academic community achieved recognition at the highest levels. Last December, Brown University Professor Emeritus of Economics Peter Howitt accepted the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in Stockholm. Among the many Brown faculty members recognized by prestigious national and international organizations, four were elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, two earned Guggenheim Fellowships, one received a MacArthur Fellowship, and one received the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. Three Brown students were named Rhodes Scholars, while five students were named among this year’s classes of Marshall, Schwarzman and Health Policy Research scholars.

Last year, we made substantial progress on our Discovery Through Dialogue (DTD) project. DTD provides students, faculty and staff with skills and opportunities for meaningful conversations across a range of perspectives. The DTD initiative will continue this coming year with the launch of a new initiative, sponsored by the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning and the Dean of the College, that will anchor dialogue practice within the Open Curriculum. More information will be available and an inaugural faculty cohort will be recruited this fall.

We also completed a number of capital projects in support of academics and campus life. In October, the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women welcomed Brown community members into its newly-renovated space, and the Department of Classics, which had been split across three buildings, moved into consolidated new space in Horace Mann. In January, we opened Penner Field House, enabling year-round training for student-athletes and allowing for the substantial expansion of intramural sports programs and recreational activities for the entire campus community. 

Finally, we had a strong fundraising year last year, with new gifts and pledges at the second-highest level in Brown’s history. Major gifts were received in support of financial aid, professorships, research support and the capital projects described below. We also had a record-breaking year for the Brown Annual Fund which included, as a new initiative, a special fund to support the humanities, which is earmarked for departments that have relatively low levels of endowed funding. We plan to continue and, I hope, grow this special fund into the coming year.

THE YEAR AHEAD

As we look to the year ahead, we will continue to advance Brown’s mission of high-impact scholarship and research, despite a challenging external environment. The breadth and quality of the teaching and scholarship taking place in departments, schools, centers and institutes across Brown is remarkable. My primary goal is to ensure that faculty and students have the resources they need to continue that great work, and in an environment that protects their ability to freely ask and answer questions that advance knowledge and understanding. 

In what follows, I note several specific areas of focus in the coming year.

Advancing Plans for Teaching, Learning and Working in the Age of AI

The explosive growth of Generative AI has created tremendous opportunities for enhancing how we teach, learn and work. At the same time, it has produced well-founded concerns about possible negative consequences for learning and knowledge production, and adverse effects on society and the environment. Brown’s goal is to carve a path that takes full advantage of the opportunities of AI, while at the same time ensuring that it is used appropriately and ethically, and fosters students’ ability to think critically, communicate clearly, and draw on evidence to make sound judgments. 

Over the summer, Provost Francis J. Doyle III released a report on Generative AI in Teaching and Learning. In the coming days, the provost will provide more information about how Brown’s AI strategy will be advanced this year. I am especially excited about emerging plans to showcase innovative uses of AI in Brown research and teaching, and provide Brown staff with more opportunities for professional development in incorporating AI into their work. More information will be forthcoming during the fall semester.

Developing a Vision for Applied Sciences, Computing, and Engineering 

The boundaries between the applied sciences, computing, and engineering have become increasingly fluid, creating new opportunities for collaboration and discovery. To maintain Brown’s position as a global leader in teaching and research, we must ensure that the University’s academic and research structures are best positioned to address these opportunities. 

With this goal in mind, over the summer Provost Doyle and I charged a task force with evaluating opportunities to enhance and stimulate new, large-scale collaborative research activities between the School of Engineering, the Department of Physics, the Department of Computer Science, the Division of Applied Mathematics and other programs, centers and institutes. Over the course of the fall semester, the task force will convene sessions to discuss these opportunities with both internal and external stakeholders, with a goal of producing a preliminary report with proposals for new and expanded research directions and the administrative framework that would support this expansion. I look forward to discussing the committee’s recommendations with the Brown community.

Supporting Diversity and Inclusion

Brown’s Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion: An Action Plan for Brown University (known as the DIAP) guided the University for a decade, fostering an extraordinarily diverse and inclusive community. Now that the DIAP has concluded, it is time to develop a new plan that is grounded in Brown’s mission of advancing knowledge and understanding, and reflects our commitment to openness and a diversity of ideas, perspectives and experiences, in alignment with our core institutional values. 

Since last academic year, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Matthew Guterl has been leading a committee of faculty, students and staff to develop a new approach for the future of diversity and inclusion at Brown. This is an effort that has been, and will continue to be, informed by the campus-wide climate surveys, focus groups and community conversations. I want to thank the students who participated last fall, and encourage all faculty and staff to take the employee climate survey that will launch in September. Both the employee and the student climate surveys will allow us to develop a broad, whole-campus approach to being a welcoming and inclusive community.

Increasing Corporate Engagement

One of last year’s priorities, which will continue into the coming year, was to develop and implement a plan to increase corporate engagement and faculty entrepreneurial activity. We approach this with the twin goals of reducing Brown’s reliance on federal grants and increasing the positive impact of faculty and student research in the world. To date, we have focused on setting up the infrastructure that will make this possible, including appointing Professor James R. Kellner as the inaugural Associate Provost for Corporate Engagement. 

Jim will work closely with the Division of Advancement, the Division of Research and academic units to develop an integrated approach to corporate engagement, so that relationships with corporate partners optimize research funding, research collaboration, and internships and jobs for our students. He will also lead efforts to update University policies and practices and provide mentorship opportunities to improve the ability of Brown researchers to engage with corporate partners and commercialize discoveries.

Growing Long-Term Economic Sustainability

An ongoing commitment to sound financial management is essential if Brown is to continue to support generous financial aid, a high-quality student-centered learning environment, outstanding research and scholarship across the disciplines, and the physical infrastructure needed to support the University’s mission. Brown is financially strong, thanks to careful expense management in partnership with academic and administrative units across the institution, excellent fundraising results and strong endowment returns. However, we continue to have a small but persistent structural deficit (normal operating expenses exceed revenues). This limits our ability to invest in building renewal and facilities improvements. 

Working in close coordination with the Budget and Finance Committee of the Corporation of Brown University, our governing body, we have developed an ambitious but feasible multi-year plan that will move Brown from a deficit to a surplus over the next five years. The Corporation’s Academic Priorities Committee, which advises on academic programs, and the University Resources Committee, which advises on tuition increases, salary pools and other components of the University's budget, will be important partners in setting spending priorities. 

Planning for Accreditation Review

Every 10 years, Brown is subject to an accreditation review by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). The University’s next review is scheduled for the 2027-28 academic year. As part of this process, Brown must prepare a University-wide self-study for the NECHE review committee by next fall. This presents an opportunity to highlight the many strengths of Brown’s distinctive research and teaching. In the coming year, academic departments will be called upon to contribute to this effort. The process of developing the self-study will require input from across campus. Provost Doyle will share more about this process in the coming weeks. 

Moving Forward on Capital Projects

Construction continues on the William A. and Ami Kuan Danoff Life Sciences Laboratories, which is expected to be complete in Spring 2027. I know many faculty are eager to move into this new research space. In addition, a new fitness center will open next spring in Davol Square, expanding health and wellness opportunities for faculty, staff and students in the Jewelry District. Also in the Jewelry District, the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology will open this year in its new space in Davol Square, providing opportunities for more students and faculty, as well as members of the public, to benefit from the collection. Work on the Lassonde Innovation and Design Hub (formerly Prince Lab) in the School of Engineering will continue during the coming year. And finally, work continues on plans for a new unified home for the Department of Economics (currently spread across multiple buildings), and more information about this project will be shared later this semester.

CLOSING 

This is an important time of transition for Brown. As you have heard from Chancellor Brian Moynihan, an inclusive search process for the University’s next president will begin this fall. It will involve Corporation members, many of whom are also Brown alumni, and faculty, students and staff. I look forward to celebrating the selection of Brown’s 20th president in the spring. 

Personally, I expect that this year — my 15th as Brown’s president — will be bittersweet. As I said when I announced that I would step down at the end of this academic year, I will look back on my time as Brown’s president as the most rewarding job I could possibly have had, in large part because I have had the great privilege of working with Brown’s amazing students, faculty, staff and administrators. I look forward to continuing that work, together, over the coming academic year. 

I hope you enjoy Labor Day weekend.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson
President