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Dr. Michelle Brown to begin new position on July 16: WCSU appoints dean of Macricostas School of Arts & Sciences

image of Dr. Michelle Brown
WCSU Dean of the Macricostas School of Arts & Sciences Dr. Michelle Brown

DANBURY, CONN. —   Dr. Michelle Brown has been appointed dean of the Macricostas School of Arts and Sciences at Western Connecticut State University.

Brown begins her new position at WCSU on July 16, 2018. The school is home to 13 academic departments in the sciences and liberal arts, which offer a total of 21 undergraduate majors and five graduate majors.

Brown has served since June 2017 as university fellow for academic excellence at Shenandoah University. In this capacity, she has been a member of the senior academic leadership team, assisting the vice president for academic affairs in many areas including university program accreditation reaffirmation, strategic planning, and faculty and curriculum development. She also administered the honor code and created and led a series of diversity initiatives.

A member of the Shenandoah University faculty since 2010, Brown is an associate professor of English and served from 2014 to 2017 as English Department chair, leading a restructuring and expansion of the department curriculum that earned her the Wilkins Appreciation Award for Significant Contribution to the Development of the University. She previously was coordinator of Core Quest, an initiative to develop a centralized framework of academic advising for students who have not declared a major.

Other assignments at Shenandoah University have included her roles as coordinator of a College of Arts and Sciences assessment of oral and written communications needs and instruction across all disciplines in the college, and as a unit leader and steering committee member responsible for a general education program overhaul funded by a Teagle Foundation Consortium Grant. Brown was a member of the team managing the grant, which was shared with three other institutions. She also served as chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate, addressing faculty concerns in areas of professional development, shared governance, and contract and benefits provisions.

Brown said that her recent visit to WCSU left her deeply impressed with the scholarship and vitality of the university community. “After interacting with Western’s fantastic students, faculty, staff and administrators, I was smitten,” she said. “I am honored and excited to have this opportunity to lead the Macricostas School of Arts and Sciences, where talented, innovative faculty help students become engaged world citizen-learners. I look forward to working with campus and community partners to achieve our collective vision for inclusive academic excellence.”

Brown received her Ph.D. in English in 2008 from the University of Maryland at College Park. She earned an M.A. in English and a B.S. in Communication and English at James Madison University. Her research and instruction have focused on African and post-colonial literatures, with additional teaching experience in women’s and gender studies, critical theory, LGBTQ literature and creative writing. She also has participated extensively in academic programs for first-year university students. She received several research grants at Shenandoah University as well as a Wye Faculty Fellow award from the Aspen Institute.

An active participant in community service activities, Brown has served since 2010 as a classroom volunteer at public elementary and middle schools in Rockingham County, Virginia.

 

 

Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.