Biography of Willie Claiborne Brown

Professor Brown received his Bachelor’s degree from Virginia State  University (formerly Virginia State College). Later, he received the Master of Science degree (under Bill Sandine) and the Ph.D. degree (under Dorothy Fraser) in Microbiology from Oregon State  University. His research career included training at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, California with Dr. Frank Young, and Oxford University, United Kingdom with Professor Joel Mandelstam. Prior to retiring from research in 1994, Brown published widely in scientific journals and presented his work at meetings in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. He was an ad hoc reviewer for several journals, and served on private and public scientific review panels, including those of the National Science Foundation and the Bacteriology and Mycology Study Section of the National Institutes of Health.

Professor Brown has received many teaching awards including the Academic Senate Career Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of California, San Diego in 1998, and the UCSD Alumni 2002 Distinguished Teaching Award. Although several faculty receive distinguished teaching awards each year, only two other faculty at UCSD have received the Career Distinguished Teaching Award.

In addition to teaching classes in microbiology, Brown initiated and directed several student success and research programs including the Minority Access to Research Careers Program; the Minority Biomedical Research Program-both funded by the National Institutes of Health; and, the Honors Achievement Workshop. He has also worked extensively with students in groups as well as on an individual basis. Dr. Brown developed a broad interest in educational issues while he was an American Council of Education Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley with Dr. Roderick Park from 1982 to 1983.

During his tenure at UCSD, Professor Brown noticed that many students have a variety of self-defeating attitudes and behaviors, which prevent them from reaching their full potential. By working closely with many of these students and helping them overcome these deficits, he observed a vast improvement in their academic success and personal well-being.

In 1990, Dr. Brown introduced a course on thinking and learning strategies, to his campus. This highly successful two-unit course was the first of its kind at the University of California, San Diego. To date, thousands of students have benefited from this initiative.

Dr. Brown's book, Reaching Your Full Potential: Success in College and Life published by Prentice Hall, Inc., is an outgrowth of his combined experiences of over three decades of academic and community service. He appeared at publisher sponsored workshops in several U.S. cities during 1998-99 to promote his book among teachers and students. His second book, “Good Germs/Bad Germs: How to Keep You and Your Family Safe in a Dirty World without feeling Paranoid,” is forthcoming.

Dr. Brown is a longstanding member of the American Society for Microbiology, a member of the National Speaker's Association, and a trustee of The United Methodist Higher Education Foundation,

Professor Brown's wife, Manuelita is a retired UCSD staff member and lecturer. She is also a sculptor, specializing in bronze figurative and portrait sculptures. They have two adult sons--Marvin and Vincent. Vince is a UCSD graduate, and has a Ph.D. degree in American History from Duke University. Both he and his wife, Ajantha Subramanian are Assistant Professors at Harvard in the Departments of History and Anthropology, respectively. They have a two year old daughter, Zareen.