President Ruth Simmons officially kicked off the University's most ambitious fund-raising campaign in its history Saturday night, announcing plans to raise $1.4 billion by December 2010 to improve the University's endowment, facilities and current programs.
In a campaign kickoff gala attended by about 600 Brown alums, students, faculty members and donors at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center, the University revealed for the first time how the $1.4 billion will be spent. Of that total, $660 million will go into the endowment - with $300 million of that sum supporting undergraduate financial aid - $200 million will build and improve facilities and $540 million will provide "immediate programmatic support," according to a campaign booklet.
"This campaign we announce tonight has many goals but a single purpose, and that purpose is to secure Brown's place among the world's finest universities," Simmons said.
The $1.4 billion goal announced Saturday topped the previously stated goal of $1.3 billion. Leaders also announced a theme for the campaign: "Boldly Brown."
Simmons also revealed that the campaign's "nucleus fund" stands at $575 million, or 41 percent of the total goal, due to the support of about 200 Corporation members and alums who contributed during the "quiet phase" of the campaign over the past two years.
"The vision we have pursued within the last three years is now within reach," said Chancellor Stephen Robert '62 P'91. "We are now well-positioned to launch a drastic new period in Brown history."
Simmons told The Herald after the gala that she was "surprised and ecstatic" about the success of the campaign's quiet phase.
"We have been heartened by the support of our friends and alums," Simmons said. "We've far surpassed our goal we set in the first days."
The gala dinner, held at the spruced-up OMAC, was aimed mostly at donors, but several prominent Brown alums, professors and students spoke about their own experiences at the University to show "the magic of Brown" to which Simmons referred in her address. Speakers included Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz M.F.A. '74 and Stephanie Nichols-Smith '00, a coxswain on the men's crew team while at Brown.
Wilfredo Perez '08 M.D. '12, in introducing Simmons, gave one of the most moving speeches of the night when he described struggling with homelessness before coming to Brown. Perez spoke about the inspiration he now draws from Simmons, prompting her to invite him to her house for dinner.
The speeches were simulcast to the Live on Lincoln event on Lincoln Field.
Gala attendees were impressed by the enthusiasm surrounding the campaign, which campaign leaders predicted would be a "stunning success." Raymond Rhinehart '62, the Brown Alumni Association house committee chair, said the gala demonstrated the University's commitment to being a prominent institution.
"It bodes well for Brown's future," Rhinehart said.
Deanna Chaukos '08, Undergraduate Council of Students Campus Life Committee chair, echoed his words.
"I think there's really great energy surrounding the campaign," Chaukos said. "Just listening to everyone (Saturday) night, I'm really excited because it really speaks well to Brown's future and the potential for that future."
The Corporation first approved the Campaign for Academic Enrichment in October 2003. The working goal of the campaign at the time was $1.3 billion, but the surprising success of the quiet phase prompted campaign officials to raise that goal to $1.4 billion, Vice President of Development and Campaign Director Neil Steinberg '75 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. If successful, the campaign will raise over two-and-a-half times as much money as any previous Brown campaign.
See The Herald's "Reporter's Notebook" on the weekend's events.
