In its October meetings this weekend, the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, approved a new term length for the New Alumni Trustee position, increasing its term from two years to three years, according to a Monday Today@Brown message.
The position, which is meant to be held by recent graduates, was created in 2009 to provide “a perspective that is more closely grounded in the student experience, at times acting as an interface with current Brown students,” according to the Corporation’s website.
The Corporation reserves two positions for New Alumni Trustees, who serve staggered terms and are elected by graduating students and recent alumni.
“Eligible voters in New Alumni Trustee elections include undergraduate, graduate and medical students in the final year of study, and undergraduate, graduate and medical alumni one to five years after their date of graduation,” President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 wrote in the Today@Brown message.
She added that the Corporation opted to extend the term length because “two years go by very quickly,” adding “that one additional year of service from each New Alumni Trustee would be of great value to the Corporation.”
Current New Alumni Trustees William Zhou ’20 and Shanelle Chambers Haile PhD ’23 — Haile became a trustee this year — will both serve one additional year, the Corporation decided. New alumni trustee elections will not be held this year due to the change, Paxson wrote.
In addition to Haile, four new trustees joined the corporation: Eldridge H. Gilbert III ’05, Christine A. Leahy ’86, Amra Sabic-El-Rayess ’00 and Gladys Xiques ’94.
The Corporation, which formally accepts gifts over $1 million, also approved more than $136 million in gifts and pledges made since their last meeting in May 2023. The gifts will “provide critical support for Brown’s priorities, including endowed professorships, financial aid, graduate education, the Integrated Life Sciences Building, athletics and a range of academic programs,” Paxson wrote in the message.
The meeting occurred the same weekend as the opening of The Lindemann Performing Arts Center. Corporation members attended the building’s dedication ceremony “ to thank and honor the many donors and members of the planning, design and construction teams who made this transformational academic facility a reality,” according to the message.
Additionally, the Corporation engaged in conversations about ongoing violence in Gaza and Israel, including “the implications and impacts on the campus and the Brown community as a whole,” Paxson noted in the message.
“True to the mission of Brown, many members of our community are leading efforts on campus and beyond to broaden and deepen understanding through scholarship, education, community gatherings and forums for discussion,” she wrote.
“While those efforts are underway, Brown’s primary focus has been, and will continue to be, on supporting the needs and safety of our students, faculty and staff who are Israeli, Palestinian, Muslim, Jewish, have ties to the region and are feeling impacted by current events,” Paxson wrote.
Ryan Doherty is a Section Editor covering faculty, higher education and science & research. He is a sophomore concentrating in chemistry and economics who likes to partially complete crosswords in his free time.
