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Summer 2007                                                                  Back to Spotlight home page

Culture of Midwestern education entices new dean

A uniquely Midwestern brand of higher education has drawn Dr. Steven F. Brown to Emporia State University as the new dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Brown interviewed at ESU and recognized a quality of seriousness and intelligence that “far exceeds” other areas of the country, yet it is matched with Midwestern openness and honesty, he said. “There is a commitment to learning, an appreciation of knowledge and education, that I hope people (at ESU) don’t take for granted,” said Brown, 54. “It truly does not exist nationwide.”

Brown has just started at ESU, having finished teaching a summer course in hymnology at the University of Mississippi. His background is in music, an interest piqued by his high school choral teacher. As an undergraduate at Arkansas State University, he was thrilled to realize he could earn a degree just by singing– or so he thought. “I sat in my first music theory class and I felt I’d been slapped in the face. ‘This was not what I’d expected,’” he recalled saying. Nonetheless, he went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education at Arkansas State, and a doctorate from North Texas State University in 1986.

Administrative duties first landed on Brown’s desk while he was at East Central University in Oklahoma. He found it rewarding to empower others, and he soon moved to Northwest Missouri State University as chair of the music department – where he fell in love with the work and Midwesterners. In Mississippi, he rose to associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Now he’s back in the Midwest, drawn to ESU’s academic reputation and its emphasis on teaching students.

Dr. John Schwenn, vice president of academic affairs, said Brown’s experience in involving students matches ESU’s emphasis on the “first-year experience,” designed
to develop stronger, more committed students from the beginning. “His engaging personality seemed to fit Emporia State very well,” said Schwenn.

Last Updated April 17, 2008