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Meet Tony Brown

Professor has been the origin of countless student community projects

Tony Brown in the classroom

Professor Tony Brown thrives on empowering others.

"I enjoy helping people make their ideas come to life," he said.

Before Brown joined Duke, he spent 21 years in the insurance industry, including 10 as chairman and CEO of a company. He arrived at Duke in 1993 as a visiting lecturer to teach a leadership course at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy.

"It was the most exciting thing I'd ever done," said Brown, who is 64. "The students were great. I loved working with them."

Brown, with his contemporary teaching style and unwavering energy, has made his mark at Duke. This month, he will assume a new position as president of the Robertson Scholars Program, a merit scholarship program for select Duke and University of North Carolina students. And he will continue to teach.

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He launched into teaching 13 years ago because he wanted a change, and he wanted to invest in people. His first semester was so thrilling that by the next year, he was a permanent faculty member in the Sanford Institute's Hart Leadership Program, which includes various leadership courses with an experiential learning component.

Brown is a natural teacher. In 1997, he received the Howard Johnson Distinguished Teaching Award for undergraduate teaching excellence. Since then, accolades and accomplishments haven't stopped. But Brown modestly says his students are the real winners.

"The students make the class great; I just make it good," Brown said.

Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta has worked closely with Brown and his students on various projects related to his office. "He's one of the most inspiring people I know," Moneta said. "He's made social entrepreneurship cool. People want to be the kind of change agent he inspires."

Social entrepreneurship is Brown's trademark. He established the Enterprising Leadership Initiative (ELI) in the spring of 2001. Through ELI, students carry out projects on issues such as illiteracy, health and philanthropy to benefit the university, community and world.

Many programs have grown into nonprofit organizations and campus institutions. Some benefit Duke employees, like College Connection at Duke, which helps employees and their children navigate the college application process, and Partners for Learning (see page 1), which helps employees learn English and computer skills. So how has Brown motivated undergraduates to go beyond the rigors of college life to improve the community?

"The more meaningful you make the work and the higher you raise the bar, the more people will rise to the challenge and accept it," Brown said. "People don't complain about meaningful work."