solipsistnation | WPI people: Bernie Brown

From: Janet Begin Richardson <[...]@WPI.EDU>
Subject: Bernie Brown
Precedence: bulk

It is with heartfelt sadness and deep regret that I must tell you of the passing
+of Bernard H. Brown, Vice President for Student Affairs.

As you know, Bernie took a leave of absence from WPI in May and was in treatment
at Mass General Hospital since that time. He is survived by his wife Gayle,
his son Matthew, and his daughters, Tara and Jody who wish to thank Bernie s
WPI family for all of your support and prayers during his recent illness.

Bernie began his long and successful career at WPI in 1966. It was Bernie s
position as Assistant Dean of Student Affairs that first brought him into
contact with WPI students. Over the years, he remained involved with those
students even as they graduated and became alumni of the university. Bernie s
friends knew him as a compassionate and supportive person with a great sense of
humor, and as a champion of students.

Bernie shaped everything that is good about student life at WPI and influenced
almost every campus program and activity during his 38-year career at the
university with his classy, detail-oriented style. He will long be remembered
as being the vision behind the Campus Center, the champion for the varsity crew
program, an advocate for women, international and underrepresented students, a
fan and supporter of WPI athletics, and the inspiration behind the
soon-to-be-built Admissions and Financial Aid Center. When the first women
students were admitted to WPI, Bernie, along with Father Scanlon and Carmen
Brown, went out of his way to make sure that our female students felt safe and
accepted both in and out of the classroom. Together with his wife Gayle,
Bernie opened up his home to hundreds of students over the years because it was
important to him to let our students know that they are at the center of all
that we do at the university.

Not many people these days can claim to have had the same boss for nearly a
quarter of a century and even fewer still like that boss. Bernie was my
friend, my mentor, and my boss for the past 24 years. There was not a day in
all that time when I would have said that I wanted to work for anyone else. I
will truly miss Bernie.