Chancellor Roger G. Brown
Dr. Roger G. Brown, a proven academic leader and native Tennessean, is the fifteenth Chancellor of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. His appointment was celebrated by the campus in February of 2006.
Brown comes to Chattanooga from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where he served as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs beginning in 2000. During his tenure at Pembroke, the campus experienced a 60 percent growth in student enrollment and added degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Previously, he had served since 1991 in various academic and administrative capacities with The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. At UNC Charlotte, Brown held the positions of Coordinator of the Master’s of Public Administration Program, Chair of the Department of Political Science, and Senior Associate Provost and Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
A political scientist with particular academic emphasis in American government, Brown earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Political Science from The University of Tennessee and the Ph.D. in Political Science from The Johns Hopkins University. He began his teaching career at Iowa State University in 1983 before joining the UNC Charlotte faculty in 1985.
Brown has held membership in the American Association of Higher Education, the American Political Science Association, the Academy of Political Science, the International Association for Conflict Management, the International Personnel Management Association, and the Southern Political Science Association; he has been inducted into four national and international honor societies.
In 2002, Brown was appointed to the inaugural delegation of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Sino-American Leadership Development Training for Higher Education Leaders in China. He has traveled on assignment for the U.S. Department of State to Syria, Jordan, and Israel. He also helped establish international exchanges with universities in Germany, France, South Korea, and South Africa.
Along with his academic achievements, Brown has maintained a high level of community involvement and service. In 2004, the North Carolina Supreme Court appointed Brown to serve the Chief Justice’s Advisory Committee on the Political Conduct of Judges. He was a member of Rotary International, Leadership Charlotte, and the Public Safety Committee of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.
In Chattanooga, he continues membership in Rotary International and has also been named to the United Way of Greater Chattanooga Board of Directors, the RiverCity Company Board, and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He is a commissioner of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and has been appointed to the Southeast Tennessee PreK-16 Education Council.
Brown’s wife and partner, Dr. Carolyn Thompson, is also a committed community activist. In addition to her involvement and support of the university, she currently serves on the boards of the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Allied Arts of Chattanooga, Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Good Shepherd Church School and College Access.
The couple has two children, Caroline and Austin. Roger and Carolyn also share custody of “Madeline Albright,” a rescued husky mix with diplomatic immunity.
