Michael Brown was the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs of the University of California until 2023. As UC provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, he directed the development of academic and research policies; provided administrative oversight of the University’s academic planning efforts and associated budget matters; served as liaison with the University-wide Academic Senate, executive vice chancellors/provosts of the 10 campuses, student governments, and academic leaders of other segments of California higher education, and directed planning, policy development, and strategy in such areas as K-12 academic preparation, international academic activities, library planning, University Press, research, and student affairs. His efforts are organized around the vision of UC as a pre-eminent public research university, with each campus in its time and its own way achieving this status. The provost is authorized to act on behalf of the president in his or her absence or inability to act.
Brown began his career at UC Santa Barbara in 1993 as an associate professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology, and was appointed professor in the same discipline in 2000. In 2009, he became acting dean for Extension and Off-Campus Studies before being named as dean of UC Santa Barbara Extension in 2011. He has held numerous leadership positions within the UC system, including chair and vice chair of the UC Academic Senate, chair and vice chair of the Academic Senate’s Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS), faculty representative to the Board of Regents, and member of the Regents’ Study Group on University Diversity.
Brown was elected fellow of the American Psychological Association in 2001. Over the course of his career, he has published book chapters and articles focused on the cultural variables underlying career and educational choices, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities and women. His research also has focused on the importance of equity and diversity in freshman admissions.
Prior to joining the faculty at UC Santa Barbara, Brown was a faculty member at Ball State University and Wayne State University. He received his B.A. in psychology from UC Irvine, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in counseling psychology at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois.
