USD Magazine, 1993 Winter-Spring 1994

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GIL BROWN ACHIEVED TRUE SUCCESS tion of integrity and down-home kind– ness. A number of professional and civic organizations were close to his heart, including the American Red Cross, the San Bernardino-Riverside Industry Education Council, the American Association of University Professors, the San Felipe del Rio Cor– poration in Taos, N.M., St. Madeleine Sophie's Center for developmentally disabled adults in El Cajon, Calif., and the Philip Y. Hahn Foundation. Largely through the Philip Y. Hahn Foundation, Brown was instrumental in securing a substantial portion of the funding to establish USD's School of Nursing. He was a recipient of the B'nai B'rith's Leadership Award, the Ameri– can College Public Relations Associa– tion's Seasoned Sage Award and the Southern California Industry Educa– tion Council's Educator of the Year Award. To honor Brown's contribu– tion to USD, the Gilbert L. Brown Jr. Memorial Scholarship was established at the university in 1993. Brown is survived by his wife of 52 years, Marion, and his four children, Candace Brown Deaton, Jill Brown Becotte, Gilbert Douglass Brown and James Nicholas Brown. He had 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. "Gil gave so much to this university community," Hughes says. "He served with great distinction for 21 years. He will be missed."

I n 1972, shortly after he was named USD's vice president for university relations, Gilbert L. Brown Jr. asked his secretary to bring him the list of donors to the school. Minutes later, she returned with the names - on a sin– gle sheet of paper. At the time, Brown laughingly said he knew there was no place to go but up. In the ensuing years, first as vice president for university relations and later as spe– cial assistant to the president, Brown played an integral role in boosting that handful of donors to more than 3,500 by 1984. Under his leadership during that same period, contributions to USD grew from less than $100,000 to more than $6.2 million. But when Brown passed away this past July at age 75 after a long battle with cancer, USD lost much more than a successful fund-raiser. "Gil was proba– bly the best friend-raiser this university has had," says John McNamara, USD's present vice president for university relations. "He came on board at a time when the university desperately needed to be exposed to the community. Gil helped achieve that." One way Brown achieved that expo– sure was through the establishment of the Invisible University, a program of community outreach that Brown said was designed to "provide academic enlightenment and a chance for people to discuss intellectual problems together." The program is fueled by USD faculty members who volunteer their time and expertise by giving talks to various groups throughout the community. "We call it 'invisible' because there are no rules, no fees, no nothing," Brown once said. "Ideally, we want the program to serve the public by providing experts and interesting speakers on timely sub– jects. But, selfishly, I guess we just want the university to become better known." Brown's service to the Invisible Uni– versity was recognized at a luncheon and rose garden dedication near Sacred Heart Hall last spring.

Gil and Marion Brown

The dedication was attended by hun– dreds of university and community friends and, importantly to Brown, his wife, children and grandchildren. That day he noted, "True success is when you manage to balance your home life with your career. I hope I have done that." According to his son, also named Gil, Brown needn't have worried. "The person I admire most in the world is my dad. It's so nice to see what he means to all of these people," he said at the dedi– cation, gesturing toward the tables full of well-wishers. "I know USD has meant a lot to him over the years." A native of Pasadena, Brown received two degrees from the University of Red– lands before earning his Ph.D. at the University of Southern California. His career began in 1939 when he joined the University of Redlands as a public relations assistant. Over the next 33 years, Brown served the university as director of public relations, associate professor of journalism and vice president for development and public relations. In 1972, he joined the newly created University of San Diego as its first vice president for university relations. In 1979, he was named special assistant to USD President Author E. Hughes, a post he held until his death. USD and the University of Redlands weren't the only institutions that bene– fited from Brown's endearing combina-

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