The pursuits and achievements of Brown’s exceptional students fill us with pride. We revel in their successes. We enjoy connecting with them and answering their questions about life after Brown. We draw inspiration from the new paths they carve out in their chosen fields. They are tomorrow’s problem solvers, and we, as alumni and friends of Brown, stand behind them as they prepare for the future.
This year our students, and our seniors in particular, faced obstacles that no one could have anticipated. They've responded to these challenges with the resilience and dedication that has always permeated the Brown community. But they were not alone in their efforts to persevere. Alumni, parents, and friends of the University showed phenomenal generosity and thoughtfulness in providing support through the BrownTogether campaign for remote learning, creating alternatives to in-person internships, and expanding financial aid for students whose families were experiencing increased economic hardship.
Our community members also recognize that the development of our students depends upon a faculty body with a wide array of expertise and experience. Over the last year, there has been a groundswell of support for endowed faculty positions, which strengthen Brown’s ability to recruit exceptional teachers, scholars, and researchers in a highly competitive landscape. To date, alumni, parents, and friends have funded more than 100 endowed chairs during the BrownTogether campaign. When our students work and learn alongside these leaders in their fields, they see firsthand the impact they can have on the world.
As we continue to preserve the most distinctive aspects of a Brown education in a rapidly changing world, the campaign remains focused on key areas in which our faculty and students can produce real change, including medicine, public health, environmental sciences, and international and public affairs.
We hope you take just as much pride as we do in the progress we have made through the campaign. The stories of impact in this newsletter demonstrate the tremendous power we have when we come together as a community to shape and support a brighter future.
Ever True,
Theresia Gouw '90
Ralph F. Rosenberg '86, P'17
Joan Wernig Sorensen '72 LHD'19 hon., P'06, P'06
(Spring 2021)
Read the Spring 2021 Campaign Impact Newsletter
As 2020 draws to a close, we want to express how truly grateful we are for the Brown community’s collective generosity and unwavering support. With your help, the University was able to successfully navigate this year’s unexpected challenges. We feel fortunate to have alumni, parents, and friends who thoughtfully directed their giving to the University’s top priorities through the BrownTogether campaign.
Over the past 12 months, campaign contributions have strengthened financial aid and access to internships; funded endowed chairs for faculty recruitment and retention; expanded our scholars’ capacity to produce research focused on some of society’s most pressing issues; accelerated the University’s pursuit of novel treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and cancer; helped maintain exceptional teaching as we transitioned to remote learning; and enabled the School of Public Health to lead the way forward in the fight against COVID-19.
In addition, the Brown family came together virtually for two successful giving days. For Bruno Gives Back Day (October 28), more than 4,000 donors contributed over $1.7 million in current-use funding for Brown Athletics, while Giving Tuesday (December 1) saw more than $4 million raised for financial aid and other immediate needs through the Brown Annual Fund.
These achievements and other notable campaign accomplishments this year have positioned us well to carry this momentum forward in the coming months through a number of activities. These include a fundraising challenge that will match 1:1 all endowment gifts to The Brown Promise, a drive to create more Brown Annual Fund Scholarships in celebration of 30 years of scholarship support through BAF, and a challenge that will match 1:1 all gifts to the Inman Page Council BAF Scholarship.
We invite you to join us in sustaining Brown’s commitment to academic excellence and service to society, and reinforcing the power this community has to make a difference in the world.
With best wishes for the holiday season,
Theresia Gouw '90
Ralph F. Rosenberg '86, P'17
Joan Wernig Sorensen '72 LHD'19 hon., P'06, P'06
Since our last Campaign Impact Newsletter in late May, members of the Brown community have been hard at work addressing the various ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic. This work has made it clear that the support of our alumni, donors, and friends has fortified our capacity to respond to the biggest challenges we face as a society.
As co-chairs of the BrownTogether campaign, we are thrilled that you continue to stand with us as we secure funding to enhance financial aid for students coping with economic hardship, ensure the health and safety of all University constituents, and provide both faculty and students with the resources they need to thrive in a drastically different learning environment.
The success of the campaign to this point has positioned Brown for leadership in a variety of areas, but perhaps none more important at this moment than diversity and inclusion. Our community members are doing exceptional work to confront anti-Black bias and contribute to the elimination of systemic racism. In this newsletter, we are proud to highlight initiatives of Brown’s Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America through which we are building collective understanding and taking direct action to effect change.
This newsletter is intended to offer a snapshot of the contributions Brown is making to a rapidly evolving world and train a spotlight on the ways in which your generosity and involvement in the life of Brown are making a difference every day. We hope you will continue to follow our progress in the months and years to come.
Ever True,
Theresia Gouw '90
Ralph F. Rosenberg '86, P'17
Joan Wernig Sorensen '72 LHD'19 hon., P'06, P'06
Three months ago, we could not have predicted how the novel coronavirus pandemic would change our lives. But we certainly could have predicted how the Brown community would respond.
Brunonians are dedicated to finding solutions to society’s most pressing problems and improving lives. It comes as no surprise, then, that our students, faculty, alumni, and staff have immediately put their skills to work for the benefit of us all. Their flexibility, willingness to collaborate, and kindness mirror the values that have guided Brown’s contributions to the world for more than 250 years.
As the BrownTogether Campaign Co-Chairs, we are proud of the myriad ways in which our extended community has come together to help. So many have made gifts toward emergency support for our students, transformed planned internships at their companies into remote opportunities, or reached out to partner with faculty on COVID-related research and prevention. Although we are all in uncharted waters, these actions show that Brunonians are uniting to assist the University in weathering this crisis and continuing to fulfill its mission.
The consequences of this global health crisis present us with some of the biggest challenges the University has ever faced. But the situation also reminds us how deeply relevant Brown’s top priorities—including deciphering disease and understanding population health—are to our collective present and future. We hope you will read on to learn what our community members are doing to help others and live up to the ideal of Brown, together.
Ever True,
Theresia Gouw '90
Ralph F. Rosenberg '86, P'17
Joan Wernig Sorensen '72 LHD'19 hon., P'06, P'06
Read the Spring 2020 Campaign Impact Newsletter