The Undergraduate Council of Students met with administrators to discuss the progress of the Campaign for Academic Enrichment at its weekly meeting in Petteruti Lounge last night.
The council also met with BuDS student managers to discuss ways UCS can better support BuDS workers.
Vice President of Development and Campaign Director Neil Steinberg '75 and Assistant Director of Student Programs Johanna Corcoran briefed the council on the progress of the campaign.
"Right now we're just shy of $800 million," Steinberg said. "The campaign itself ends in four years. We have four years left and we're more than halfway there." The campaign aims to raise $1.4 billion by the end of 2010.
The goals of the campaign are to raise money, increase participation by alums, students and corporations, spread the word about Brown and build a sustainable model for raising future funds, Steinberg said.
So far the campaign has raised 63 percent of its target goal for the endowment, which is $660 million. The facilities and maintenance goal is $200 million - 54 percent of which has been raised so far, Steinberg said.
Steinberg said he is confident the campaign will reach its overall goal in the next four years. He added that the University sees an average return of $1 for $0.08 spent on fundraising.
"We're finding new capacities (for fundraising) all the time," he said. "We are constantly researching what alumni and corporations are doing, and we have not seen our last big gives."
When asked if he had ever heard negative reactions from alums who do not understand the University's current needs, Steinberg said this is not usually the issue it might be at universities with larger endowments like Harvard and Yale.
"Our endowment is about $2.2 billion and we have a legitimate table of needs that is about twice what we're going to raise, so we really do need this money," Steinberg said.
"It's the balance between large and small donors," Steinberg added. "The number two goal is participation - we want all alumni to contribute to the campaign. The best thing that will sell people on giving money to the University is coming back for reunions, to meet students and see the faculty."
Within the last year, 34,000 donors contributed to the Brown Annual Fund, Steinberg added.
Corcoran spoke about the University's goal to increase student involvement in the campaign.
"Participation for the student body really means that students should be able to talk with alums about their experience at Brown and get alums to support the campaign (or) students being able to talk with their friends and peers about the campaign," Corcoran said.
A committee of students working to support the campaign is holding a 24-hour thank-a-thon this Saturday.
"Last year students called to thank every donor who had contributed to the campaign that year," Corcoran said. "The alums loved it and the calls were really well received."
Corcoran added she thinks thank-a-thons are a great way to get students personally invested in the campaign's success.
Following the campaign presentation, Angela Sherwin '07, the general manager of BuDS, and Kate Horning '07, the Blue Room unit manager, spoke about ways the council can better support BuDS workers.
According to a demographics sheet Sherwin distributed, BuDS currently employs 264 student workers, and the average BuDS student worker works approximately 12 hours per week.
"The greatest number of students work at the Gate," Sherwin said. "After that, the Ivy Room and the Blue Room are probably the second-biggest employers."
The same handout reported student worker satisfaction ratings at the different BuDS-staffed locations across campus. The bake shop in the kitchen of the Sharpe Refectory received the highest rating, boasting a 4.55 out of five, and Josiah's received the lowest student worker satisfaction rating with 2.89.
One of the main complaints voiced by student workers at Jo's is harassment by intoxicated students, Sherwin said.
"I think part of the issue is that Fish Co on Wednesday night is much closer to Jo's and also the class dynamic (is different at Jo's) because the Gate is typically more of a freshmen hangout," she said.
Sherwin also spoke about how the new Flex Meal Plans have affected student workers.
"People who work at retail dining units have given us pretty explicit feedback that they're pretty stressed out this semester due to the new meal plans and increased traffic," she said.
Members of UCS then spoke with the BuDS representatives about ways to improve student worker satisfaction. Topics discussed included looking for ways to encourage students to think of Jo's as a 24-hour study space, which might inspire students to keep the area cleaner. They also discussed posting signs and stickers reminding students to clear their trash when eating at Jo's, the Gate and the Ivy Room. Another possibility raised was to increase the involvement of the Department of Public Safety in conflicts at Jo's caused by intoxicated students.
UCS also voted to approve the creation of the Intergalactic Community of A Cappella at Brown University, a Category III organization that includes representation from 10 of the 11 major a cappella groups on campus. The organization will provide funding that will facilitate concert series and joint concerts, said Hugh Livengood '07, chair of the council's Student Activities Committee.
