M. Christopher Brown II

M. Christopher Brown II is the past President of Alcorn State University. He was elected to the position unanimously by the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning in late 2010 and resigned in December 2013.^[1]

About M. Christopher Brown II

M. Christopher Brown II was the 18th president of the nation’s first historically black land-grant institution, Alcorn State University. He is the former executive vice president and provost at the Fisk University where he was also a professor. Prior to this appointment, he served as dean of the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, vice president for Programs and Administration at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, director of Social Justice and Professional Development for the American Educational Research Association, as well as executive director and chief research scientist of the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute of the United Negro College Fund. Dr. Brown has held faculty appointments at Pennsylvania State University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.^[2]

Alcorn State University Presidency

M. Christopher Brown was named president of Alcorn State University in November 2010. In three years with the university, Brown was regarded for efforts to increase enrollment at the historically black college,^[3] which grew to more than 4,000 for the first time in the school's history in 2011.^[4] In October 2012, months after Alcorn was named 'HBCU of the Year' by the Center for HBCU Media Advocacy,^[5] Brown accepted a unanimous four-year extension of his contract from the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees. ^[6]

In September 2012, Brown hired Jay Hopson as the first white head football coach in the history of Alcorn State, and the Southwestern Athletic Conference. ^[7] In 2014, Hopson and the Braves won the school's first SWAC conference football championship in 20 years. ^[8]

In 2013, under Brown's leadership, Alcorn State University unveiled a statue of civil rights activist and ASU alumnus Medgar Wiley Evers, the largest of its kind in the world. ^[9] That same year, Brown was named HBCU Male President of the Year by the Center for HBCU Media Advocacy. ^[10]

Alcorn State University Resignation

M. Christopher Brown II resigned from Alcorn State University. ^[11]

Educational Background

• 1993, Bachelor of Science, cum laude, Elementary Education, South Carolina State University (Orangeburg, SC)^[2]
• 1994, Master of Science in Education, Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation, University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY)
• 1997, Doctor of Philosophy, Higher Education, The Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA)

Administrative Experience

• Senior Fellow, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU)^[2]
• Executive Director and Chief Research Scientist, Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute, The College Fund/UNCF
• Director of Social Justice and Professional Development, American Educational Research Association (AERA)
• Vice President for Programs and Administration, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)
• Dean, College of Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Executive Vice President and Provost, Fisk University

Honors and Awards

• PSU Excellence in Education Award, The Highest Distinction bestowed by The PSU College of Education Alumni Society (2011)
• PSU Alumni Achievement Award (2005)^[12]
• AERA-CSCE Early Career Contribution Award (2002)
• The 100 Black Men of Charleston Image Award (2002)
• ASHE Promising Scholar/Early Career Award (2001)
• AT&T Technology Fellow (2001)
• PSU-COE Alumni Leadership and Service Award (2000)
• UIUC Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (2000–2001)
• UIUC Bureau of Educational Research Faculty Fellow (1999–2001)
• PSU College of Education Drexel Award (1997)
• AERA/Spencer Fellow (1996–1997)
• Robert W. Graham Endowed Fellow (1994–1996)
• Southwest Center Student Leadership Development Scholar (1994–1995)
• Herbert Bailey Graduate Fellow (1994)
• Lyman T. Johnson Fellow (1993–1994)
• National Collegiate Education Award (1993)}
• Outstanding Young Man of America (1992)
• University of Mississippi Summer Research Fellow (1991)
• University of Arizona Summer Research Fellow (1990)

References