PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Set to launch on July 1, 2025, Brown University’s soon-to-open school focused on research and teaching on pressing economic, political, social and policy challenges will be named the Thomas J. Watson Jr. School of International and Public Affairs.
The Corporation of Brown University approved the name on Saturday, Feb. 8, during its winter meetings.
Brown’s highest governing body also established tuition and fees for the 2025-26 academic year, approved a 3.5% salary pool for faculty and staff, and elected Earl E. Hunt II, a 2003 Brown graduate and trustee since 2020, its new treasurer, effective July 1, 2025.
The name for the school honors the legacy of Brown Class of 1937 graduate Thomas J. Watson Jr., who served as U.S. ambassador to the former Soviet Union. Watson was a driving force behind Brown’s earliest programs in international studies and foreign policy, which ultimately became the Institute for International Studies, renamed as the Watson Institute in 1991. The school will be referred to commonly as the Watson School of International and Public Affairs.
The establishment of the school, approved by the Corporation in May 2024 based on a recommendation from the Brown faculty, follows years of planning during which Brown has expanded research expertise, education and academic initiatives in international affairs and public policy. Faculty, staff and scholarly activity from the Watson Institute will form the bedrock of the school upon its launch.
A search committee led by Brown Provost Francis J. Doyle III has cultivated a pool of accomplished leaders and scholars as candidates to become the school’s inaugural dean, and the committee’s goal is to complete the search and share news of the dean’s appointment this spring.
Tuition and fees for 2025-26
Based on the recommendations of the University Resources Committee (URC) — a committee of faculty, staff, students and senior administrators that leads the development of Brown’s budget — the Corporation approved undergraduate, graduate and medical school tuition and fees for the 2025-26 academic year.
A key area of focus during the URC’s deliberations was the $46 million structural deficit reflected in Brown’s current Fiscal Year 2025 operating budget. To achieve the Brown community's goals as a leading research university, URC members and University leaders are focused on slowing expense growth, exploring growth opportunities in education and research, and developing new revenue streams. Although the current deficit is only 3% of Brown’s operating budget, increases in the deficit over time are not sustainable, and the University can no longer maintain its historic, undergraduate tuition-dependent funding model, which is more reminiscent of colleges.
After an extensive analysis, the URC recommended and the Corporation approved a 4.85% increase in total undergraduate tuition and fees, which includes a 4.5% undergraduate tuition rate increase and other fee increases, effective July 1, 2025.
In making its recommendation, the committee reviewed and acknowledged the shifting macroeconomic environment and particularly inflation that is more comparable to pre-pandemic levels and is expected by economists to remain in that range for the foreseeable future. Following two years (FY22 and FY23) of tuition and fee increases that were considerably lower than most higher education peers, Brown’s increases of 4.75% in each of the past two years (FY24 and FY25) were more in line with peers.
The tuition and fees increase will be coupled with a significant increase in Brown’s financial aid budget, said Doyle, who leads the URC. Brown’s full budget presented to the Corporation in May will solidify financial aid resources across master’s, doctoral and all groups of students, and the undergraduate financial aid budget is projected to increase by approximately $17 million (8%), reflective of the University’s expanded initiatives and to help fund the rate increase for aided students.
“Our budget process is designed to ensure that Brown’s financial resources are allocated responsibly and strategically to advance cutting-edge research, promote academic innovation and invest in the students, faculty and staff who make our mission of teaching and research a reality,” Doyle said. “This year’s tuition rate and financial aid budget are carefully balanced to ensure we have the resources needed to support the Brown community’s strategic goals while making it possible for exceptional students from around the world to attend, regardless of their financial circumstances.”
The $17 million projected increase in undergraduate financial aid continues Brown’s efforts to strengthen its ability to attract the most promising students from all geographic and socioeconomic groups, while reducing financial obstacles for moderate-income families. Brown meets 100% of each student's demonstrated financial need and covers full tuition for families earning $125,000 or less with typical assets, while students from families making less than $60,000 a year with typical assets receive scholarships that cover all expenses — tuition, room, board, books and other expenses. Recent initiatives include eliminating loans from University financial aid awards, eliminating the consideration of home equity for a family’s primary residence in making aid awards, reducing the summer earnings expectation for high-need students, and, most recently, becoming need-blind for all undergraduate international students starting with the Class of 2029.
The Corporation approved the following undergraduate tuition and fees for the 2025-26 academic year:
Tuition: $71,700
Standard room rate: $10,410
Standard board: $8,104
Undergraduate student resources fee: $1,086
Health services fee: $1,236
Student activities fee: $428
Student recreation fee: $100
Graduate tuition for most doctoral and on-campus master’s degree programs will increase by 4.5% to $8,962 per course. Given a shift in 2018 to market-based pricing for some master’s degrees, approximately a dozen University master’s programs have tuition rates that vary from the standard — for most, tuition for 2025-26 will increase by 4.5%, with cost for a small number of programs remaining the same as for 2024-25.
Medical school tuition will increase by 2.75% to $73,150.
Investing in employees
When University leaders announced a set of community actions for reducing the operating budget deficit last fall, they noted that Brown would continue to prioritize paying competitive wages to faculty and staff. In that context, the Corporation approved a 3.5% salary pool for faculty and staff for Brown’s Fiscal Year 2026.
For the first time, that total salary pool will be divided into three components: (1) a 1% “base” component that is responsive to changes in the cost of living, which all faculty and staff will receive; (2) a 1.75% “merit” component awarded based on performance; and (3) a 0.75% component for promotion, retention and equity adjustments.
“Brown’s accomplished and talented faculty and staff are instrumental in driving the success of our teaching, research and community engagement efforts,” Doyle said. “To continue to advance our mission, it is crucial that we offer competitive compensation, invest in our employees and recognize, reward and retain the people who sustain our ability to make a lasting impact on society.”
The URC’s salary pool recommendation was informed by multiple analyses, including University President Christina H. Paxson’s response to recommendations from Brown’s Task Force on Faculty Compensation; data on faculty hiring and retention across all faculty ranks and disciplines; an overview of the University's compensation philosophy; and significant market data and hiring and retention trends at Brown in all staff employment categories.
Comparative data on faculty salaries reviewed by the URC indicated that Brown is competitive with peers at most ranks and across most disciplinary areas. Brown also has established a faculty market adjustment fund in the amount of approximately $2.5 million for FY26, which will be used to make one-time market adjustments to the compensation of longer-serving, highly-productive faculty whose compensation has fallen behind.
The committee’s FY26 recommendation also considered recent investments in faculty and staff salaries outside of the annually budgeted salary pools. Largely driven by the tight labor market and post-pandemic job mobility, the committee reviewed equity, promotion and retention data that reflected significant, targeted investments in staff and faculty salaries.
Importantly, industry market data provided by University Human Resources indicated that projected salary budgets across all industries for 2025 are projected to increase between 3.5% and 4.0%.
The approval of tuition and fees and the employee salary increase pool marks the first step in formalizing Brown’s full FY26 operating budget. The URC will continue its work to recommend a full budget for review by the Corporation in May.
The Brown Corporation’s next treasurer
With his election as treasurer effective July 1, 2025, Earl E. Hunt II will succeed Theresia Gouw, who has served in the role since 2016. Hunt will join a leadership team that includes Chancellor Brian T. Moynihan, who began as chancellor on July 1, 2024; Vice Chancellor Pamela R. Reeves, who was reappointed to her role through June 30, 2028; and Secretary Richard A. Friedman, whose term continues through June 30, 2026.
Hunt earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brown in 2003. In his accomplished professional career, Hunt joined Apollo Global Management in 2021 as a partner in global credit and serves currently as chairman and CEO of Apollo Debt Solutions. Previously, he was a partner in the global markets division at Goldman Sachs, where he served as a member of the Goldman Sachs Partnership Committee and Global Markets Operating Committee. Hunt also worked at Citi for 11 years, where he was a director in leverage finance sales, and he was recognized in 2019 with the Finance Catalyst Award by the Council of Urban Professionals in New York.
A member of the Brown Corporation since 2020, he has served also as co-chair of the Brown Annual Fund; co-chair of the President’s Leadership Council; member of the Sports Foundation Board of Directors; and member of his fifth, 10th and 15th Reunion Gift Committees.
In addition, at Brown, Hunt was a standout student-athlete and captain of the basketball team. He led the Bears to their first ever National Invitation Tournament appearance, remains Brown’s all-time leading scorer and was inducted into the Brown Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
Beyond his service to the University, Hunt serves on the boards for both the National Education Equity Lab and Apollo Opportunity Foundation.
“It is a true honor to join the leadership team of the Brown Corporation and to serve a great University that has meant so much to me,” Hunt said. “I look forward to working with Brian, Pamela and Rich and the trustees and fellows as we continue to make progress on the bold vision President Christina Paxson has set forth for Brown.”