Dean considers UWP position
January 26, 1993
The dean of NIU’s College of Business probably will be leaving NIU to take over the business college at the University of Wisconsin at Parkside (UWP).
Richard Brown said UWP has made him an offer and he has accepted it, but the contract has not been finalized.
“There are still a few things that have to be ironed out,” he said. “The odds are pretty high that I will accept the position at UWP.”
Brown has been offered the position of dean for the College of Business.
He said if plans work out with UWP, he most likely will finish this contract year at NIU.
The person Brown will be replacing is Ronald Singer, interim dean of the College of Business and the Accounting Department Chair at UWP.
Singer said Brown was chosen after previous College of Business Dean Beverly Anderson left in January 1992 to become a dean at California State University at San Marcos.
“Brown has accepted a position which is contingent on his rank and tenure,” Singer said. “We hope to have the whole contract finalized by the end of next week.
“We chose Brown because what we were looking for was his experience with accreditation,” Singer said. NIU’s College of Business is accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business.
“He has worked with the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and we want that experience,” Singer said.
Singer said Brown was nominated by someone at UWP. Brown was contacted by UWP and asked to apply, Singer said.
The total student population of NIU is about 22,000 while UWP has about 5,000 students.
Brown said a smaller school has a more sharply focused, limited mission. “I’ll get to spend more time with students and faculty, which I can’t do at a school as big as NIU,” he said.
NIU Provost J. Carroll Moody said if Brown leaves NIU, it will be a great loss for the university.
“I think he has provided excellent leadership in the College of Business,” Moody said. “Since he’s been at NIU the programs have been greatly improved and the administration has been excellent.”
“I’ve been at NIU for 22 years. I think it has come time for a change for me and NIU,” Brown said. “I think the NIU school of business could use some fresh ideas, too.”
Brown holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas at Lawrence, a master’s degree in Business Education from Kansas State Teachers College at Emporia and a Ph.D. in Business from the University of Illinois at Urbana.
Before coming to NIU, he taught at Emporia State, University of Illinois and Mississippi State College for Women at Columbus.
Brown came to NIU in 1971 as an associate professor of business education and administration services. He became a full professor in 1975.
He was promoted to assistant dean in 1976 and then associate dean in 1978.
Brown was appointed to the dean position in 1985 by a 10-member selection committee chaired by then acting Academic Vice President and Provost James Norris.
Norris said Brown was picked from a group of 35 candidates from across the nation.