Kelli R. Brown
Chancellor | Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC, UNITED STATES
Kelli R. Brown is the chancellor of Western Carolina University, serving more than 11,000 students with a wide range of bachelor’s degrees.
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Biography
Kelli R. Brown is chancellor of Western Carolina University, a regional comprehensive university that serves more than 11,000 students with a wide range of bachelor’s degrees across the spectrum of arts and sciences disciplines and professional programs in business, education, health care and engineering; more than 30 master’s degree and certificate programs; and five professional doctoral programs.
Brown took office as the 12th chancellor of WCU in July 2019, becoming the university’s first permanent female chancellor.
She previously served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Georgia College & State University.
Areas of Expertise (6)
Institutional Planning
Community Engagement
Leadership
Higher Education
Management
Health Sciences
Education (4)
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale: Ed.D.
The University of Toledo: M.Ed., Public Health
The University of Toledo: M.S., Public Health
The University of Toledo: B.S., Public Health Services
Affiliations (2)
- Journal of School Health
- Pedagogy in Health Promotion: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Links (2)
Media Appearances (6)
WCU Chancellor Kelli Brown included in Business NC magazine Power List 2022
Mountain Xpress online
2022-05-05
“Western Carolina University is the hallmark of academic experience and student success, and we are poised for continued success well into the future,” said Brown. “I appreciate Business North Carolina for putting me among such vaulted company and immediately look to the faculty, staff and university partners who helped place me there.”
WCU enrollment dips
Smoky Mountain News online
2022-02-02
“Some students we’ve heard from have expressed the pandemic has been hard on them and they wanted a break before resuming their collegiate career, while others found it easier to move into distance education programs rather than face-to-face,” said Chancellor Kelli R. Brown. “We are working hard and putting in place different strategies so that we can remain focused on student success and helping our students to achieve their goals.”
WCU Board of Trustees names three lower campus residence halls
WCU Stories online
2021-11-10
“In honor of WCU’s stewardship role in the western mountains of North Carolina, the university, in 2009, chose the names of Balsam and Blue Ridge for the residence halls in the central core of the campus,” said WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown. “To carry this tradition into the future and to create an integral core of residence halls on the lower campus, we proposed these names to our board and I am happy with the board’s positive response.”
Enrollment, student demographic figures announced for 2021 academic year
WCU Stories online
2021-09-08
“While 11,877 is a laudable number at this time in history, we also recognize those statistics reflect 11,877 students on an educational journey, each with their own individual goals and objectives,” said Chancellor Kelli R. Brown. “Western Carolina University is enhanced by each and every success story, each serves as our goodwill ambassador well into the future.”
Chancellor Brown inspires hope during Fall Opening
WCU Stories online
2021-08-18
“The Western Carolina University campus is situated within the ancestral homelands of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians,” Brown said. “At WCU, our work seeks to embrace and connect to this Cherokee landscape as we work to reinforce our mission. We will work to actively engage our community with the extraordinary indigenous identity and culture of this special place.”
WCU sets new legislative goals
Smoky Mountain News online
2021-03-09
Following November’s passage of the “best budget in a decade” for the University of North Carolina System, Western Carolina University has a clean slate for a new wish list. Chancellor Kelli R. Brown presented trustees with the highlights March 4 — an expanded engineering program, salary increases for employees and merit scholarships for in-state students. “WCU’s next legislative agenda reflects the priorities that we must address in the months and years to come,” Brown said. “It is imperative that we position WCU to meet the educational needs of our region and state.”
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