For some people, education is one thing. For others, education is everything. Wayne Brown, Ph.D., is in the latter group. For nearly 20 years, Brown has worked in higher education at schools in San Francisco, Kansas, and New York. He is also the founder of the Center for Higher Education Chief Information Officer Studies, Inc., a non-profit organization designed to contribute to the education and development of the chief information officer position in higher education.

“Education changed my life. It not only created opportunity, it opened a world to me that otherwise would have been closed,” Brown said. Before entering civilian life, Brown was a member of the U.S. Air Force, serving in the Medical Service Corps, Education and Training, and Security Forces.

Brown’s passion and commitment to education has not gone unnoticed. In November 2017, he was recognized as a distinguished alumnus of NSU’s College of Engineering and Computing (CEC). His professor and dissertation advisor at NSU, Gertrude (Trudy) Abramson, Ed.D., fondly remembers Brown’s first day.

“That was the beginning of a long, mutually beneficial academic friendship,” Abramson said. “Wayne’s commitment to his work as a doctoral candidate was exemplary. He is a role model for NSU alumni and for the entire higher education community.”

In 2010, Brown and his wife, Teresa, established the Professor Trudy Abramson Endowed Scholarship to honor his professor. The fund awards a scholarship to students in the computing technology in education doctoral program. Earlier this year, the Brown’s pledged a second donation that will also go toward that fund.

“There is no other feeling like knowing you have helped someone achieve a significant goal that is a crossroad in his or her life. It is a major reason why I loved working in higher education — to help others achieve their goals. I’m grateful that we can give to others so that they might experience greater opportunities and, perhaps, change their lives”, Brown said.

To honor the couple’s commitment to the college, NSU is naming one of the computer labs in the Carl DeSantis building, Dr. Wayne and Teresa Brown Secure Lab.