The Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, approved a $1.9 billion budget for fiscal year 2026 at their May meeting last week. The new budget is projected to decrease Brown’s budget deficit to $29 million from a $46 million deficit in fiscal year 2025, according to a Wednesday Today@Brown message.
This improvement comes in the wake of various efforts to increase revenue, such as expanding master’s programs and cutting costs by reducing faculty and staff growth.
In a letter outlining the budget, which is recommended by the University Resources Committee, Provost Francis Doyle noted that the budget does not reflect large-scale federal impacts on Brown’s finances, the potential effects of which remain uncertain.
“However, the University must prepare in a proactive manner,” President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 wrote in the post. She noted Brown’s continuation of cost-saving measures such as a staff hiring freeze, a salary freeze for members of the President’s Cabinet and a voluntary freeze for other “highly compensated administrators.”
Paxson, Doyle and Sarah Latham, executive vice president for finance and administration, will all take a 10% salary cut for the coming fiscal year, as previously announced in March.
At the meeting, the Corporation also approved the statement of University Values and Voice. Paxson wrote that the statement aims to be a “core set of principles that guide how the University goes about advancing its mission.”
After being created by a faculty-led committee, the statement received input from “thousands of members of the Brown community,” Paxson wrote. It was approved by faculty vote before being forwarded to the Corporation, she added.
A draft version of the statement released in March sparked some concerns from community members.
In the next academic year, a group of students, faculty and staff will convene to determine how the statement of University Values and Voice will be implemented, ensuring University structures and processes are consistent with its guidelines.
The May meeting also saw the election of two fellows and eight trustees to the Corporation. These members will assume their roles at the October governing body meeting.
At a meeting with the Faculty Executive committee last week, the board of fellows approved a recommendation by faculty to establish four new master’s programs: a master’s in management, a master of science in organizational leadership, a master of science in business analytics and a fifth-year master of arts in Africana studies. The programs will be established July 1.
Corporation members also approved the appointments of 26 faculty members to senior chair positions and 22 to junior chair positions. Two professors — Brandon Marshall, professor of epidemiology, and Joshua Tucker, associate professor of music — were named as Royce Professors of Teaching Excellence.
The Corporation formally accepted over $47 million in gifts received since February. In recognition of these gifts, trustees and fellows of the Corporation approved six new endowed positions.
In the post, Paxson acknowledged her recent term extension, expressing her gratitude for the Brown community.
“The uncertainty of the times we are in, while challenging, has reaffirmed my belief in our mission and the dedication of Brown faculty, students and staff to serve the community, the nation and the world with distinction,” she wrote.
“I am thankful to all of you,” she added, “and I look forward to the coming years with great enthusiasm.”
Cate Latimer is a university news editor covering faculty, University Hall and higher education. She is from Portland, OR, and studies English and Urban Studies. In her free time, you can find her playing ultimate frisbee or rewatching episodes of Parks and Rec.
