$1.61 Billion Record!
Community Celebrates Campaign’s Achievements One Last Time
June 9, 2011
| End of Campaign Gala Photo Gallery |
Under a large tent on Pembroke Field, President Ruth J. Simmons, members of the Corporation, campaign leadership, and individuals from the Brown community gathered to celebrate the achievements of the Campaign for Academic Enrichment one last time.
In just five short years, it was noted, and thanks to the monumental efforts of those present and thousands of members of our community across the nation and around the globe, Brown has grown into its aspirations to become one of the world’s finest universities: an extraordinary accomplishment.
During President Simmons’ remarks, an interactive display was shown on monitors from a Microsoft Surface—sort of an “I-pad on steroids.” To illustrate the amount represented by the Campaign’s $1.6 billion final total, for example, the monitors showed a sketch of the Sciences Library filled to bursting with pennies. The pennies, as they poured out, each bore a likeness of one of the key players in the campaign, including, among others: former Chancellor Steve Robert ’62, P’91, current Chancellor Tom Tisch ’76, Campaign co-chairs Liz Chace ’59, Matt Mallow ’64 P’02, and Jerome Vascellaro ’74 P’07; and honorary co-chairs Arte Joukowsky ’55 P’87 and Tony Ittleson ’60 P’89 P’90.
The unusual format was made possible by a typically Brown collaboration: the illustrations were created by undergraduate Jak Koning ’12 and the programming by Computer Science graduate student Donnie Kendall ‘10; the students worked with Professor Andy van Dam, renowned for his work in computer science. This collaboration between a creative undergraduate working as an equal with a graduate student and one of Brown’s most distinguished professors epitomizes the culture of Brown, the President said.
The May 26th gathering culminated with music provided by the Brown/Trinity Rep Ensemble: a reprise of “It’s Our Time” echoed the music sung during the Boldly Brown launch program, while “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” set the stage for the University’s bold future.