Donathan Brown

Dr. Donathan L. Brown is an Associate Professor, former Vice Provost, and accomplished academic leader with over 12 years of progressive administrative experience spanning faculty recruitment, strategic planning, and institutional transformation.

On the academic side of the house, Dr. Brown is an expert in race and public policy, with specific focus on immigration reform, policing, and voting rights. Dr. Brown, a former United States Fulbright Professor and Fulbright Alumni Scholar Ambassador, has published numerous articles in top journals along with five books, including the latest volume, “Dream and Legacy, Volume II: Revisiting King in the Post-Civil Rights Era.” His research has earned grants from the Slovenian Research Agency and the U.S. Fulbright Program.

Dr. Brown’s expertise is regularly featured in national media, including NPR, Inside Higher Education, Forbes, and USA Today. He has served on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Committee on Environmental Justice and sits on multiple editorial boards. His five teaching excellence awards reflect his commitment to student success and inclusive pedagogy. Dr. Brown continues to work alongside his former Slovene Fulbright host with the launch of their PhD program in English and American Studies.

Prior to his arrival at Northeastern University, Dr. Brown served as an Assistant Provost and Assistant Vice President at Rochester Institute of Technology, leading the Office of Faculty Recruitment. In this role, Dr. Brown achieved transformative results; establishing a strategic nationwide faculty recruitment campaign. He too created the Pathways to RIT program, the Scholars Network and the #IamRITfaculty campaign. The end result: an 83% increase in diverse faculty referrals in 3.5 years; new nationwide university partnerships; internal and external praise as a tactical “best practice” for faculty recruitment.

Dr. Brown holds an M.A. from Syracuse University and Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.