We at the Residential College are sad to share the news that Donald R. Brown passed away on November 5, 2019, at the age of 94. 

Dr. Brown was a professor in the University of Michigan Department of Psychology (1964-1996) and director of the U-M Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT). He was also co-director from its inception of the Integrated Premedical-Medical Program, known as Inteflex. Professor Brown published many articles in the area of personality and student development; he also presented papers at many symposia and was a consultant on topics of learning and teaching. In 1967, Brown assisted Theodore Newcomb in establishing the Residential College, and conducted a longitudinal study on residential-academic units with a consortium of five universities. Professor Brown's work demonstrates that intelligence and intellectual ability alone are not the single predictors of academic success; personality and social factors, along with structural and environmental factors, also play a crucial role in determining which students will live up to their potentials.

In 2007, Professor Brown and his wife June established the Donald and June Brown Scholarship fund at the Residential College to support students in off-campus learning experiences. Since that time, the fund has supported hundreds of RC students in pursuing research and study abroad experiences all over the world. 

The Brown family has asked that any gifts in memory of Donald Brown be made to the Residential College, for which we are incredibly honored.  We send our condolences to Professor Brown’s family, which includes several RC alumni.