'Unwavering dedication': UNC's first Black full professor dies at age 89

Frank Brown, Ph.D., was the first Black full professor and dean in UNC’s School of Education. He died in March at the age of 89. 

As a distinguished scholar, Brown authored more than 300 publications and held academic positions at several universities. He also helped obtain a grant to establish UNC’s first Black Cultural Center, was the first Black vice president in the American Educational Research Association and the first dean at a doctoral-granting professional school at UNC. 

J. John Harris III, a professor and dean emeritus from the University of Kentucky, knew Brown for 52 years. As close friends and colleagues, Brown acted as an “academic father” to Harris, helping him with his own career. 

“My friend Frank was so many things to so many people,” Harris said. “He was a renowned scholar, a supportive colleague, a mentor and a friend. I think that if you state it simply, he was in a class of his own with influence across multiple educational disciplines and sciences.” 

Harris said Brown was not only an academic luminary, but a committed advocate for the advancement of Black scholars and professionals.

“His own career was a testament to, shall I say, the brilliance and perseverance that he showed,” Harris said. “He was driven by a deeper purpose basically, and that purpose was to create pathways for Black scholars who came after him, and other scholars from oppressed groups.” 

Harris said that although Brown was admitted to medical school, he decided to work in public education because of the impact he could have on students. Beginning his career after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education U.S. Supreme court decision, much of Brown’s background work focused on the desegregation of public schools and higher education. 

Linda Tillman, professor emerita at UNC’s School of Education, worked closely with Brown in educational leadership. He served as a mentor for Tillman when she first became a professor. 

Tillman said that one of Brown’s greatest strengths was his dedication to help new professors and scholars. 

“If he was doing an edited book, he would ask us if we wanted to contribute a chapter,” Tillman said. “If he was doing a special issue of a journal, he would ask if we wanted to submit an article.” 

Tillman said that Brown always told her and other professors about the opportunities available to them. He would help them to submit proposals, get their research published and he recommend conferences for them to attend. 

“That was his challenge, basically, to us, to look and think beyond the physicalness of the walls that are before us or the barriers that confront us,” Harris said. “He taught us how to deliver in spite of the system.”

For Sherick Hughes, a distinguished professor in the School of Education, it's Brown’s positive attitude he remembers most. 

“I never had a course with Dr. Brown and I was too young to have been there when he was dean, but I can say that he was, when I saw him, he always had a smile, said hello, would shake my hand,” Hughes said. “It was encouraging.” 

The work that Brown did inspired Hughes, not just because of its magnitude, but because of its national and international influence. Beyond the academic positions he held, Brown spoke at the World Conference on Rights to Education and Rights in Education in Amsterdam and the Oxford Round Table in Oxford, England. 

Hughes said that Brown helped educate leaders to reach their highest potential, and helped him and many other students feel a sense of belonging. 

“Those of us who had the privilege of calling him a colleague, a professor, a leader or a friend, I think we are determined to carry forward the principles he cherished, and that is, I think, leadership, mentorship, excellence and an unwavering dedication to creating those educational pathways for Black children and scholars,” Harris said.

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