October 2, 2010

Dear Members of the Brown Community,

At its just completed regular October meeting, the Corporation of Brown University received a variety of updates, engaged in a series of discussions about the next stages of the Plan for Academic Enrichment, and explored our goals as an international research university. In reviewing the budget results, members expressed appreciation for the hard work and difficult choices that members of the Brown community have made over the past year to align our expenses with our resources. As the Campaign for Academic Enrichment continues full-force towards its conclusion at the end of this calendar year, the Corporation also discussed how to maintain the fund-raising momentum beyond that period.

FY10 Year-End Results

The Corporation received reports from several standing Committees, including Academic Affairs, Facilities & Design, and Budget & Finance. Brown ended FY10 slightly better than planned, primarily due to fundraising achievements, as well as success attracting federal research funds. The leadership of the Campaign for Academic Enrichment reported that at the end of fiscal year 2010 in June, we had reached $1.542 billion toward our upwardly revised goal of $1.6 billion. The Brown Annual Fund achieved an all-time high of $36 million, with 31,342 individual donors. The total year-to-date return on the endowment was 10.2 percent. After a 6.5 percent payout and inclusive of new gifts received over the course of the year, the total endowment grew by 6.9 percent, to a value of $2.18 billion as of June 30, 2010. The five-year and ten-year returns were 4.6 percent and 6.2 percent respectively.

Student Housing

The Budget & Finance Committee approved funding for renovations, beginning next summer, to 315 Thayer Street to expand campus housing. Currently an apartment building, the project will result in a 66-bed dormitory within the residential hall system. The Facilities & Design Committee and the Committee on Campus Life have commissioned studies for housing renewal and modernization. The Corporation encouraged further work on expanding student housing capacity.

New Members of the Corporation

The Corporation welcomed three new Fellows: Laura Geller ’71, Peter Voss ’68, and Chuck Royce ’61; and six new Trustees: Andrea Baum ’83, Tanya Godrej Dubash ’91, Brian Moynihan ’81, Eric Rodriguez ’08, Barry Sternlicht ’82, and Nancy Zimmerman ’85. Eric Rodriguez joins Lauren Kolodny ’08 as the second Young Alumnus Trustee, following the creation of that position by the Corporation in 2009.

Professorship Appointment and New Chair Established

The Corporation elected Louis Rice, Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Alpert Medical School, as the Joukowsky Family Professor of Medicine. The Corporation also established the Sol Goldman Charitable Trust Professorship in International Studies and the Social Sciences, funds having been received from the Sol Goldman Charitable Trust and the Estate of Thomas J. Watson, Jr. ’37 to do so. The faculty member appointed to this new chair will hold a joint position in a social science department and the Watson Institute for International Studies.

New Gifts

The Corporation accepted with gratitude a number of gifts to the University. These include a gift of $3 million from anonymous donors to launch a Brown Humanities Initiative Fund. The fund will be used in concert with the recruitment of six new senior humanities professors to endowed chairs within the next three years. The Initiative will also sponsor a series of multiyear research seminars, developed by both new senior scholars and existing faculty and will be designed to draw many international figures to the Brown campus for presentations, deliberations, and debate. More information about the Humanities Initiative is available on-line at: http://brown.edu/web/corpnews. All of the gifts accepted by the Corporation follow below:                   

• From anonymous donors, a gift of $15,000,000; $3,500,000 of which is for Brain Science; $3,000,000 of which is for the Humanities Initiative; $2,500,000 of which is for Arts Initiatives; $1,000,000 of which is for the Marine Biological Laboratory for collaborative research initiatives; and $5,000,000 of which is pending donor designation in support of the Plan for Academic Enrichment;
• From anonymous parents, a gift of $5,000,000; $3,000,00 of which is for incremental faculty support for teaching focused on China; $900,000 of which is for endowed scholarships; $100,000 of which is for Brown Annual Fund Scholarships; $500,000 of which is for the Greater China Fund (endowment); and $500,000 of which is for the Greater China Fund (current-use);
• From the Suna and Inan Kiraç Foundation, a gift of $3,000,000; $1,500,00 of which is for the Suna Kiraç Fellowship and Research Fund in Molecular Biology, specifically for research on neurogenerative disease; and $1,500,000 of which is for the Kiraç Fund for Brain Science;
• From the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a grant of $2,993,431 for the Annenberg Institute;
• From anonymous donors, $2,500,000 for the President's Fund for Academic Initiatives;
• From His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, a gift of $2,000,000 for a Visiting Professor of Islamic Humanities;
• From the Sol Goldman Charitable Trust, a gift of $2,000,000 to establish the Sol Goldman Charitable Trust Professorship in International Studies and the Social Sciences, to be matched by the University with $2,000,000 from the Estate of Thomas J. Watson, Jr. ’37;
• From an anonymous friend, a gift of $1,545,000 for the Brown Annual Fund;
• From parents, a gift of $1,000,000 for a Brown Annual Fund Scholarship;
• From Trustee Martin J. Granoff P’93 and Perry K. Granoff P’93, a gift of $1,000,000 to name the Kasper Multipurpose Room in the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center.

As referenced above, maintaining the momentum of the fund-raising success of the Campaign for Academic Enrichment is a high priority. To ensure effective oversight of this essential function within the governance structure, the Corporation voted to establish a Corporation Committee on Development. The new Committee, which will take effect January 1, 2011, will have responsibility for overseeing the University’s fund-raising programs. The committee will be staffed by Senior Vice President for Advancement Steve King ’91.

On Friday, the Corporation, joined by many faculty, students, and staff, dedicated the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center. This facility has already had a dramatic impact on the campus, serving as the University’ s “front door” for visitors and prospective students, and providing a much-needed hub of social gathering for students. The Corporation expressed deep appreciation to Stephen Robert and his wife Pilar Crespi Robert for their leadership in realizing the goals of this project, and to all of the donors who enabled its successful completion.

Conclusion

The Corporation expressed awareness of the dedication and hard work that faculty, staff, and students have demonstrated so consistently over the past year. Thank you, once again, for your work and support.

Sincerely,

Ruth J. Simmons