Brown University has launched a $1.4-billion fundraising campaign to secure its place “among the world’s finest universities,” as President Ruth J. Simmons put it, by supporting and enriching academic life at all levels and improving Brown’s facilities.
The campaign, dubbed “Boldly Brown,” has a goal more than three times larger than any previous Brown fundraising efforts. It was launched officially on Saturday, Oct. 22, with a target date of December 2010, but has already raised $575 million in its silent phase.
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The heart of the campaign is Brown’s Plan for Academic Enrichment, a comprehensive vision for the school that includes an expanded faculty, new research centers, better financial aid, major investments in the graduate and medical schools, and some new construction.
Already, Brown has hired more than 50 new faculty members, and starting with the Class of 2007, admitted two years ago, it’s had need-blind admissions. Funding for graduate student stipends, health insurance and summer support has increased, and several new multidisciplinary initiatives have been launched, including the Cogut Humanities Center, the Institute for Archeology and the Ancient World, the Environmental Change Initiative, and the Center for Computational Molecular Biology.
In addition, Brown opened its new Laboratories for Molecular Medicine opened in August 2004, it’s building a new Life Sciences Building slated to open next fall, and it is planning facilities projects for humanities, ancient studies, cognitive and linguistic sciences, student life and the creative arts.
“We’re not trying to redefine Brown – we know exactly what it stands for – but we are taking everything to a new level,” said Rajiv Vohra, dean of the faculty. “The fact that it’s happening now, and creating lots of optimism on campus, is testament to our confidence.”
Looking forward, “Boldly Brown” aims to raise:
• $660 million for the University’s endowment, including $300 million for undergraduate financial aid and $250 million for professorships;
• $200 million for construction and renovation of facilities, including $50 million for the Life Sciences Building, $35 million for Sidney E. Frank Hall (Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences), $30 million for a new fitness center, and $30 million for a creative arts building.
• $540 million for immediate programmatic support, including $275 million for departments, centers, institutes and programs.
The campaign is being led by Simmons with Chancellor Stephen Robert and three alumni co-chairs: Elizabeth Z. Chace, Matthew J. Mallow and Jerome C. Vascellaro. From now through the spring, Simmons and other officials will be promoting the campaign on the road, with events planned in eight U.S. cities, from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.
The campaign Web site is www.boldly.brown.edu.
