<p>On Friday evening, Oct. 17, 2008, the Corporation of Brown University celebrated the launch of a new effort to raise an additional $100 million for financial aid, bringing the total financial aid goal to $400 million for the current Campaign for Academic Enrichment.</p>

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — With the Campaign for Academic Enrichment more than 80 percent of the way toward its $300-million financial aid fund-raising goal, the Corporation of Brown University has launched an additional $100-million effort, bringing the campaign's new goal for financial aid to $400 million.

“Providing dependable financial support for students with financial need is at the core of this University’s mission,” said Chancellor Thomas J. Tisch. “Brown has increased its financial-aid commitment to its students and their families. Raising our sights to $400 million, particularly during uncertain economic times, underscores our focus on that commitment.”

Richard Barker, a 1957 Brown alumnus and parent of two Brown graduates, is spearheading the initiative to increase endowment giving for financial aid and to reach the new $400-million goal by December 31, 2010.

Brown University has increased its financial aid effort dramatically since 2001. It has more than doubled its financial aid budget during those eight years, to $70 million for the current academic year. Currently, more than 40 percent of Brown undergraduate students receive financial aid from the University.

Between the 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years, the number of students with no loans in their financial aid packages rose more than ten-fold, from 143 to 1,479. Sixty-one percent of students who now receive financial aid may leave Brown without any student-loan debt. These figures reflect recent financial aid developments, including:

  • February 2002 — The Corporation endorses a commitment to need-blind financial aid, beginning with the Class of 2007, admitted in the fall of 2003. Brown also replaces work-study requirements with additional University grants for first-year students receiving financial aid.
  • September 2004 — A $100-million gift from Sidney Frank, a 1942 alumnus, allows the University to replace all educational loans with University grants for students with the greatest financial need.
  • February 2008 — A new financial aid policy eliminates loans for students with family incomes less than $100,000, reduces loans for all students who receive financial aid, and eliminates the parental contribution for most families with incomes up to $60,000.

Enhancing the University’s resources for support of all students — including its programs for undergraduate financial aid — has been one of the University’s highest priorities since the Corporation formally adopted the Plan for Academic Enrichment in February 2004.

Other Actions of the Corporation

University policy requires formal acceptance by the Corporation of all gifts to the University of $1 million or more. At its Saturday morning meeting, the Corporation formally accepted 12 gifts totaling more than $20 million from foundations, Brown parents and Brown alumni for the following purposes:

  • $7 million for the Creative Arts Building;
  • $3.7 million for the Nelson Fitness Center;
  • $3.25 million for undergraduate scholarships;
  • $3 million for graduate fellowships in the humanities;
  • $1.78 million for international advanced research institutes;
  •  $1.1 million for athletics;
  • $600,000 for the Brown Annual Fund.