It is difficult to believe that, at the time of this column’s publication, I have less than a year left of my undergraduate education at Brown. As graduation approaches, I am no stranger to the bittersweet mixture of excitement, dread and nostalgia for the years soon to be behind me.
But I also reflect with grave concern. College Hill today is a markedly different place from the campus I discovered when I first walked through the Van Wickle Gates in September 2023. I often wonder if I belong to one of the last classes to know higher education in calmer times, before President Donald Trump’s financial assaults. Yet unfortunately, Brown remains far from prepared to face these challenges. The task of meeting them cannot be left only to the Investment Office — it will require us, as students and future alums, to embrace the shared responsibility of preserving Brown’s independence through financial stewardship.
The past three years have unveiled our University’s vulnerabilities in this new age of uncertainty, particularly regarding our ability to defend ourselves from a government willing to use funding as political currency. For example, last year’s threatened federal cuts could have cost Brown over 200 jobs and numerous research projects had no agreement been reached. Yet I do not believe we fully understand the gravity of this fiscal dependence. With federal grants accounting for nearly 70% of Brown’s research spending — per a Herald analysis on 2023 expenditure data — Brown will remain dangerously exposed to any federal administration willing to use that support as leverage. Such dependence fundamentally puts our spirit — every contrarian, irreverent and unapologetically independent part of it — at serious risk.
These research programs are non-negotiable for a major research university like Brown — our graduate pipelines, faculty retention and scientific impact depend on them. From pioneering ALS assistive technology to tackling substance abuse, our University’s research has served Rhode Island and beyond for decades, and without funding, we risk losing the ability to continue this invaluable public work.
This problem is not unique to College Hill, but we cannot continue burying our heads in the sand with reassurances of collective security. With the Ivy League’s smallest endowment and the lowest median alum earnings, we are uniquely ill-prepared among our peers. Brown is not destitute, but it occupies an incredibly dangerous middle ground: privileged enough to garner little public sympathy and be targeted by the political right as a symbol of elite academia, yet lacking the massive endowments of Harvard and Yale or immense alum fortunes of Penn to weather prolonged federal funding challenges.
In the face of such vulnerability, our instinctive response on College Hill has been outrage — last summer many lambasted the agreement with President Trump as an embarrassing attempt at appeasement.But while vocal protest and activism are cornerstones of Brown’s identity, they will not be enough in due course. Political realities will demand more than angry voices in the street if we are to avoid the collective humiliation of becoming the first Ivy League institution to crumble under far-right political extortion. Perhaps this is unlikely, but we must prepare for the worst — Brown will need a strong, financially secure alum base willing and able to offer generous donations and expand our endowment when government funding may come with unacceptable strings attached. As students today, we must step up and be that base for students tomorrow.
As we contemplate our lives after College Hill, a key tenet of our duty is reconsidering what we value in our careers. We have long been wary of emphasizing earnings — perhaps we are proud of our low salaries as proof of selflessness and view high-paying careers as morally compromised. I have profound respect for our commitment to public service and civic impact, yet we must also build the financial strength to ensure those contributions endure — and recognize that our potential earnings can benefit not only ourselves, but the University community as a whole. We must remember that building the capacity to fund Brown’s endowment and advance its mission is no less great a service.
This reimagining of our professional ambitions far transcends the usual campus chatter of “career funneling” or “selling out” — it represents a necessary sacrifice in the face of existential threats. We cannot presume that generosity is guaranteed, nor can alums entirely replace federal funding. Yet we must remember that the foundation of our endowment is the generosity of the broader Brunonian community — and as future graduates, we bear a profound duty to safeguard the University’s long-term fiscal independence in times of such tremendous instability.
Our collective economic strength is a critical engine to secure true institutional independence beyond the returns our endowment managers can provide. Whether we can preserve the rights and freedoms of all future students to champion diversity, research how policy affects marginalized groups and lead unapologetic activism ultimately hinges not on protest but rather our financial resilience against external pressures — through the next round of negotiations, the next lawsuit or the next four years in Washington.
Brown’s unique model of open inquiry, pursuit of knowledge and public service has long served as a vital incubator for democratic leadership. This way of education must endure — not solely for our benefit, but for the nation at large. I have no doubt that we are brave enough to meet this challenge, if only we align our convictions with the practical, economic forces needed to defend them.
When I walk out of the Van Wickle Gates with the Class of 2027, I will leave College Hill to start the next chapter of my life. Three years ago, I imagined the simple excitement of putting on my cap and gown, yet today I face that moment with a deep sense of responsibility as I accept a lifelong obligation. I have loved Brown since I first set foot on campus for new student orientation, and I depart determined to protect its spirit — asking my fellow graduates, as well as those who follow us, to join me in shouldering that duty.
Lucas Guan ’27 can be reached at lucas_guan@brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
