With few major capital projects left on its plate, the Corporation will meet this weekend to discuss various University policies and vote on next year's budget.
The University's highest governing body will review President Ruth Simmons' budget recommendations — including tuition and student fees — based on the report of the University Resources Committee, which will be made public this weekend, said Russell Carey '91 MA'06, senior vice president for Corporation affairs and governance.
A group of Corporation members visited Yale Wednesday to talk about university governance with their counterparts, Carey said. They took a similar trip last year to Princeton.
Members will attend a series of committee meetings today, breaking for the dedication of the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts this evening.
On Friday, the Corporation will meet as a whole during the day before breaking into committees in the afternoon and reconvening Saturday morning to vote in University Hall.
A memorial service for Joseph Fernandez '85, president of the Brown Alumni Association and a trustee of the Corporation at the time of his death in December, will be held Saturday at 12:15 p.m. in Sayles Hall.
In addition to the budget, Carey said discussion will likely also touch on housing and future capital projects, as well as ongoing projects such as the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center and Jonathan Nelson '77 Fitness Center and the Medical Education Building.
Carey said the University's investment in HEI Hotels and Resorts will also be on the agenda for the Corporation's Investment Committee following the December recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policy not to reinvest in the company.
Chancellor Thomas Tisch '76, who leads the Corporation, said that for the past few years the body has been "operating under the shadow of convulsions of the financial markets" in its discussions of fundraising and capital projects.
"Meeting at this time is an opportunity to both step back and to look forward," he said.
At its February meeting last year, the Corporation approved a 4.5 percent increase in undergraduate tuition and fees along with a 6.5 percent increase in the undergraduate financial aid budget.
Last year's budget set in motion an internal restructuring that led to about 60 layoffs and 140 early retirements by the start of this academic year.
Unlike the May and October meetings, the Corporation's February meeting does not usually include emeriti members. The 54 trustees and fellows expected to attend the meeting include a replacement for Fernandez, whose name will be announced after the meeting.
