Brown appointed dean of VCU School of Business
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that we have concluded our national search and selected Brian P. Brown, Ph.D., to become the dean of the VCU School of Business, effective April 25, 2025. The Board of Visitors will officially consider the appointment at its next quarterly meeting. Dr. Brown currently serves as a professor in the school’s Department of Marketing and has served as interim dean since January 2024.
As dean, Dr. Brown offers tremendous experience in academic leadership, research, teaching, and professional experience. After serving as an assistant professor for five years at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he earned an award for outstanding teaching, Brown joined VCU as an assistant professor in 2011, rising to the ranks of associate professor in 2013 and professor in 2019. Dr. Brown has more than 15 years of experience in marketing, management, and consulting. Specifically, his background includes several years at The Coca-Cola Company, including a role as brand manager of Coca-Cola Classic. More recently, he was vice president of marketing at Snapper Power Equipment.
Dr. Brown’s research interests include brand strategy, business-to-business marketing, and product management. He has published articles in several of marketing’s top academic journals, including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Brand Management, and Journal of Business Research. He serves on the editorial review board of the Journal of Business Research. The VCU School of Business awarded Dr. Brown a Most Inspiring Teacher Award in 2013 and an Award of Excellence in 2019. He was also selected to be a Provost Faculty Fellow in 2022.
Dr. Brown is active in the Richmond community. His board memberships include VCU’s Institute of Contemporary Art, Preservation Virginia, and VPM.
Dr. Brown earned his Ph.D. from Georgia State University, his MBA from Duke University, and his BA from the University of Virginia. He has been married to Angela Brown for almost 25 years, and they have two adult children: their son Brandon, and their daughter, Chelsea.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Brown on his important new role.
Warmest regards,
Fotis Sotiropoulos, Ph.D.
Provost and senior vice president for academic affairs