21 Dec Palm Beach Family Helps Fund Transformation of Brown University Football Stadium
Brown University Class of ’68, Richard I. Gouse, along with his wife, Cheryl, have announced a gift of $1.4 million to the Ivy League university to transform the historic stadium’s grass field into modern, synthetic turf. The new field, Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium, was unveiled this fall.
Gouse, a Palm Beach resident since 1984, is president of the New England Institute of Technology (NEIT) and is the longest serving college president in the U.S. Additionally, the Gouse family owns Bayberry Horse Farm in Wellington, Florida, and is the primary investor in commercial real estate projects in Florida, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Texas. Gouse has also developed and launched several career colleges, including two in West Palm Beach.
“As a major supporter of the Bears athletic programs for many years, we thought it was time to give the field a facelift,” said Gouse. “The field was the last Ivy League school to convert to synthetic turf, and Cheryl and I were absolutely thrilled to make this transformation a reality.”
Richard and Cheryl have a long-standing tradition of support for Ivy League athletics: the Gouse Trophy is presented annually to the Ivy League Women’s Tennis Champion, and Richard is a special member of the Brown University Athletic Hall of Fame. He has served on the Executive Boards of the Brown Football Association and the Brown Sports Foundation.
Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium was officially unveiled during the Bears’ football season opener, the 2021 Governor’s Cup against the Rhode Island Rams, on September 18, also the team’s first game after a yearlong hiatus due to the pandemic. Brown University President Christina Paxson honored Gouse during a presentation before kickoff and on the field during the game.
‘What an incredible experience this has been,’ said Gouse. ‘To see this historic field – built in 1925 – completely renovated with faster, safer, artificial turf and a stadium with students and alumni cheering on their Bears in this dynamic new environment, really was special. We’re so grateful we’ve been blessed to share this gift with this university our family loves so much.’
Richard and Cheryl met at Brown University – Cheryl is Class of ’70, M.A. ’71, and their daughter Carolyn Ross, a Wellington resident, is Class of ’02. The Gouse’s were one of the first families to purchase property at 2 North Breakers Row in the 1980s, and their family has owned property along Sloane’s Curve for more than 40 years.
Photo: Brown President Christina Paxson honors Richard Gouse ’68, the primary donor of the new Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium.
