Please Remember in Your Prayers Faculty Member Dr. Michael Brown

Please remember in your prayers faculty member Dr. Michael Brown

Please remember in your prayers Dr. Michael D. Brown, 64, a longtime member of the University of St. Thomas School of Education faculty who died unexpectedly at his home in Richfield Wednesday night.

Funeral services are pending, and a memorial service at St. Thomas is being planned. The flag on the university’s St. Paul campus will fly at half-staff today in his memory.

Michael D. Brown

Brown was a member of the St. Thomas community for 28 years and for the past four years has been chair of the School of Education’s Special Education Department.

“We are deeply saddened by his death,” said Dr. Miriam Williams, dean of the School of Education. “We treasured having him here. Dr. Brown contributed much to the School of Education, to the university, and to Minnesota. He served on many state committees that dealt with special education.”

For many years, Williams said, Brown took great pride in serving as the faculty marshal at the university’s graduate commencement exercises.

Dr. Ann Ryan, who had worked with Brown for three decades, said that “people will first remember Michael Brown as a kind and gentle man. Then they will remember him as gifted educator who was always there to help students with their questions and concerns. Finally, they will remember Michael as someone who worked hard to uphold the dignity, worth and rights of people with disabilities. Michael believed people are more alike than different; he was a good man.”

Brown was an associate professor who specialized in the areas of learning disabilities, emotional behavioral disorders, mental retardation and early childhood special education. He was a member of eight professional organizations related to his field.

Members of the St. Thomas community who would like support or assistance in dealing with Brown’s death are welcome to contact Campus Ministry, (651) 962-6560; Personal Counseling, (651) 962-6780; or the Life-Work Center on the Minneapolis campus, (651) 962-4763.