Dr. M. Christopher Brown II to Serve as Fisk’s Provost and Executive Vice President

June 15, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NASHVILLE, TN - After a national search, Fisk University has selected Dr. M. Christopher Brown II as its Executive Vice President and Provost, the school announced today.

Brown, who will join Fisk on July, is wrapping up his duties at University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he is Dean and Professor at the College of Education and leads a faculty of 101 full-time professors and manages a total budget of $22.7 million.  He is the author and editor of thirteen books and monographs and his research interests include educational equity, historically black colleges, P-16 collaborations, professorial responsibilities, and social reconstruction theory.

He previously served as 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 (AERA), 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 the Pennsylvania State University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

As Executive Vice President and Provost, Brown will be responsible for Fisk’s academic programs and faculty, curriculum realignment, institutional assessment, student life and, when the president is absent from campus, assumes leadership of Fisk’s day-to-day operation.

Dr. Brown looks forward to joining the Fisk administration, saying, “I am impressed by the ambitions of Fisk University and its intention to help students from a variety of backgrounds achieve their academic and professional goals. I am even more impressed by the Fisk students, faculty and staff that I have met. They express a sincere commitment to making the stated mission of Fisk a lived reality. President O’Leary’s strategic vision for Fisk positions the institution well as it moves forward towards the future. I am extraordinarily honored and humbled to become a part of the dynamic and energetic community which is Fisk University.”

Fisk’s President, Hazel R. O’Leary, says, “I am pleased that Dr. Brown has been selected to serve as Executive Vice President and Provost at Fisk University. His talents, experience and values match well with our mission. He will be at the center of a dynamic academic team whose work it is to further build our scholastic quality and reputation.”

“Dr. Brown is a first-rate example of the traits we seek in a leader, teacher and scholar,” O’Leary says. “His scholarship on higher education issues is well respected, having successfully managed programs, budgets and personnel. Among the skills he brings to his work as chief academic officer is the ability to listen, think, and speak candidly as an advocate of his programs while remaining committed to the overall mission and well being of the institution. He will contribute to the excellent chemistry of Fisk's current senior leadership. And it means much that his excitement about taking this position matches our own.”

Chairman of Fisk’s Board of Trustees, Robert W. Norton, agrees that Brown will have the chance to make his mark at the school, “This is a very critical appointment,” Norton says.” The provost will play a significant roll in forging the future of Fisk University. Dr. Brown can count on the board’s support as he transitions into office.”

Dr. Patrick Liverpool who, for eleven months, served as interim Executive Vice President and Provost will return to retirement in Virginia.

Fisk University is a coeducational university in Nashville, TN that is grounded in liberal arts and is ranked fifth among 81 schools listed in U.S. News and World Report’s “Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Top Schools”.   A recent National Science Foundation study revealed that Fisk alumni earned more doctorate degrees in the natural sciences than African-American graduates from any other college or university in the nation.  According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Fisk is ranked 1st of moderately selective colleges when it comes to graduating low-income students.

For more information about Fisk University, visit www.fisk.edu.