Harold “Hal” K. Brown, the first Black administrator at San Diego State University in California, passed away on May 6. He died on his 92nd birthday.
In 1953, Brown enrolled at San Diego State University on a basketball scholarship; however his education was interrupted when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Following two years of military service, Brown returned to SDSU, where he resumed his scholarship and starting position on the basketball team. He also served as president of Kappa Alpha Psi, the university’s first Black fraternity.
After earning his bachelor’s degree, Brown co-founded San Diego’s Congress of Racial Equality and became involved with the movement to integrate the city’s residential neighborhoods in the early 1960s. Shortly after, Brown moved to New York City, where he earned his MBA from Fordham University and began a career in finance.
In 1971, Brown took a position in SDSU’s department of academic affairs, making him the university’s first Black administrator. One year later, he established what is now known as the department of Africana studies. Over the next two decades, Brown went on to serve in various leadership roles within the university’s business school, including director of the information technology department and associate dean for external relations.
Brown retired from SDSU in 1997, but continued to support the Fowler College of Business as a consultant. In this role, he established the Center for Community Economic Development, where he worked with local leaders to extend housing and employment resources to underserved communities. He permanently retired in 2004. In honor of his contributions to SDSU, Brown received the Alumni Award of Distinction in 2012 and an honorary doctorate in 2017.
Brown’s legacy lives on at SDSU through the Harold K. Brown Knowledge, Education, and Empowerment Program, an initiative that supports the understanding of the history, importance of education, and economic systems of those within the Black community. Additionally, the Harold K. Brown Civil Rights and African-American Experience Collection can be found at the SDSU library.
