Venessa A. Brown, PhD, joind SIUE's Intercollegiate Athletics staff in March 2021
Brown, who has been a longtime supporter of Athletics, will become the first Associate Athletic Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Athletics Chief Diversity Officer. Brown is tasked with putting SIUE Athletics at the forefront on campus and across the country with regard to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Originally joining the University in 1995 as an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work, Brown became a full professor in 2006. She was most recently the associate chancellor for the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, chief diversity officer and ethics officer at SIUE. She holds a tenured faculty appointment as professor in the Department of Social Work. She also has served as associate provost in the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs and executive director of the SIUE East Saint Louis Center (ESLC).
Brown already has led several training sessions with SIUE coaches and athletics staff.
In February, 2021, Brown was recognized by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine as one of 25 women who have a made a difference in higher education. The special issue was released in March, 2021.Â
Brown also will serve as a Special Assistant to the Chancellor and will work to develop an SIUE speaker series on diversity. She will continue her work on SIUE’s annual HEED recognitions as well as her training with SIUE police in building quality relationships with SIUE faculty, staff, and students.
Brown earned a bachelor’s in social work and psychology at Greenville University in 1983 and a master’s from Atlanta University School of Social Work in 1985. She received a PhD in social work with a concentration in statistics and computer science from Clark Atlanta University in 1994.
