Some of the things the University was able to do earlier in Simmons' term created a buzz that said, 'Wow, that is bold, that is aggressive.' The fact that we have been able to keep it up ... shows that Brown is a force to be reckoned with.

Over time the city's planning affects us a lot. The city is trying to make plans and so are we. There are a lot of moving parts.

Basically, the last couple of years, people have been working on a master plan for the central utilities systems. Many of the components have reached the end of their useful life.

Their continuation to the full extent of the Plan is absolutely contingent on the success of the campaign.

It is probably true that lots of places get by without (such a plan). But I think it adds enormous value because, in a university, there are so many good ideas ... you could easily spend all your time chasing after just a small fraction of those great ideas. The net result would be individual examples of success, but the institution as a whole would only be significantly better off by accident.

This goes back two or three years, (when we were) sorting out what we could do for the (Plan for Academic Enrichment) in advance of the campaign.