Brown President Christina Paxson, along with leaders from around the state, has signed on to the newly formed College and University Research Collaborative, a partnership announced on Jan. 15, 2013 by Gov. Lincoln Chafee. Participants in the announcement included college and university presidents from across Rhode Island; Neil Steinberg, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation; Daniel Egan, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Rhode Island; and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC). The Rhode Island Foundation and RIEDC are providing $200,000 in public and private funding to support the collaborative’s strategic focus on consensus state economic policy issues developed by public policy representatives from the executive and legislative branches of state government in consultation with campus leaders. The collaborative will include a leadership team, panel of policy leaders, research fellows, and administrative support that will work together to use the knowledge resources of 11 higher education institutions.