In 2014, we launched Building on Distinction: A New Plan for Brown. At the
heart of this bold endeavor is our mission of exceptional academics. Across
the University, we have raised funds for more than 75 newly endowed
professorships, and these are helping us attract and retain talented faculty who
are leaders in their fields. We’re building our standing as a leading
research institution. Funding for pioneering research has grown by nearly
30%, and University scholars have secured over 300 grants of one million dollars or
more. We’re quickening the pace of scientific discovery, fueling innovation
in technology and engineering, and helping to find cures to some of the
world’s most devastating diseases. Brown is known for its student-centered
learning, and we continue to build strength in our undergraduate, graduate
and medical education. We have launched initiatives that will make a
transformative impact on the lives of children and families.
We’re bringing together entrepreneurial students and scholars in the sciences, arts, humanities
and social sciences.
We’re building capacity to take arts performance, practice and education to the next level.
We’ve created new hubs for interdisciplinary research.
We’re creating a robust community of scholars addressing important
global policy challenges.
And expanded special collections in our libraries provide a
foundation for teaching, learning and research.
We’re improving our athletics facilities
so that we can attract the very best coaches and student-athletes.
We’re catalyzing economic growth in Providence’s Jewelry District by driving
new construction as well as award-winning renovation.
We transformed one of Brown’s most heavily used classroom buildings into an
accessible, state-of-the-art facility for teaching and learning.
We continue to cultivate a community of faculty, students and staff with the
diversity and the breadth of experience required for excellence.
We implemented The Brown Promise, eliminating loans from all undergraduate
financial aid packages awarded by the University. And we increased graduate
student stipends.
We demonstrated our commitment to diversity and inclusion
with a comprehensive plan defined by concrete, achievable actions.
The University revived its ROTC relations with the Navy, the Marines, and the Air Force,
and expanded our existing ties with the Army.
We also developed new ways to engage
generations of alumni in the life of Brown.
We have an ambitious plan
to reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions to achieve net-zero no later
than 2040.
And just as Brown’s academics, physical campus and community have grown
in strength, the University’s overall financial position has become
substantially stronger.
For the next five years of “Building on Distinction,”
Brown is well positioned to fully meet the bold aspirations of our strategic plan —
to reach a new level of excellence that Brown will build on for generations to come.
We continue to be a community committed to open intellectual inquiry,
the free exchange of ideas, and mutual respect. And Brown is stronger since we
started this work. I hope the entire Brown family feels excitement for what
lies ahead.