On Tuesday, President Christina Paxson P’19 announced that the BrownTogether campaign was extended to Dec. 31, 2024 with a new $4 billion target. The extension comes after the campaign reached its original $3 billion goal in November.
The BrownTogether fundraising campaign was established in 2015 to fund “Building on Distinction,” a long-term strategic plan released in 2013 to guide the University’s growth and development.
According to the University, the campaign aimed to “support investments in people, innovative education and research” and “initiatives in campus infrastructure and student life.” The fund also seeks to “increase support for addressing important world issues through research and scholarship in areas outlined as ‘integrative themes’ in ‘Building on Distinction.’”
“When we established the $3 billion goal for BrownTogether, we knew it was ambitious — the most ambitious fundraising goal in the history of the University,” Paxson wrote in an email to The Herald. “Our community has shown amazing commitment and generosity to helping Brown realize the vision we shared in 2015 for making a transformative impact on the ways we educate Brown students, pioneer new paths for research and discovery and make a real difference in the world.”
The campaign — which is led by Chancellor Samuel M. Mencoff ’78 and campaign co-chairs Joan Wernig Sorensen ’72, Theresia Gouw ’90 and Ralph Rosenberg ’86 — originally aimed to reach its $3 billion goal by December 2022. Having reached the target over a year early, the campaign has raised an additional $212.5 million since November.
“We could not have imagined that we would eclipse the goal a full year ahead of schedule,” Paxson wrote.
Paxson added that students, staff and faculty feel the impact of the campaign “through enhanced financial aid and student support, the recruitment and retention of top faculty who are leaders in their fields, strengthening research and expanding into new fields, improving facilities across campus and enhancing the student experience with new programs, initiatives and services.”
“The difference that the campaign is making has clearly resonated with alumni and donors in exciting ways,” Paxson wrote. ”We knew we had an opportunity to build on that momentum to do even more.”
The funds from the extension will be used to finance “research and teaching in medicine, public health, engineering and the arts, as well as student financial aid, Brown Athletics and transforming its career service program,” according to the Today@Brown announcement.
The campaign will continue to fundraise for original campaign priorities such as the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, the Pembroke Center and the Brown Annual Fund.
“The revised $4 billion target will take the energy that this campaign has generated and allow us to finish what we started in some priority areas and raise funds in areas that will help Brown build additional strength,” Paxson wrote.
