Fred Brown, KLN ‘78, was an award-winning journalist and media manager who opened doors and launched careers for countless young people who dreamed of telling stories that matter and making a difference in their community. Brown passed away July 25, 2020, at the age of 69 at his home in Hartford, Connecticut. Yet his legacy, one of perseverance and inclusion, lives on in his family, and now in the many opportunities the Fred Brown Scholarship For Aspiring Journalists will create for generations to come.
Brown’s widow, Sarah Barr, KLN ’86, daughters Lauren, STHM ‘04, Carey and Makeda, and son Frederick have established the scholarship to provide financial assistance to communication students who want to follow in Fred Brown’s footsteps.
According to Lauren Brown, her father’s values were grounded in education. She fondly remembers talking to him on the porch about the significance of educational opportunities, and how he sent his children to top schools. “Dad was all about giving us opportunities he did not have, and doing it in an environment that felt comfortable,” she said. “He made his path. He wanted to make the path clear for those who came after him, and Temple just felt like the right place.”
Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Fred Brown traveled the world with the U.S. Navy before relocating to Philadelphia to study at Temple University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s of arts in radio/television/film. His trailblazing career in radio took off first on-air, and then within the management ranks at KYW News Radio in Philadelphia. Brown also worked a brief stint at WWJ-AM Detroit before returning to Philadelphia as station manager at WHYY-FM. He then moved on to American Urban Radio Networks in Pittsburgh before finishing his career as the director of recruitment and contract negotiation at ESPN. Throughout the entirety of Fred’s career, he was known for his passion and commitment for equality and opportunity.
One of the many colleagues Fred Brown influenced during his epic radio career was ESPN Anchor Kevin Negandhi, KLN ‘98. According to Negandhi, Brown’s values always shone through his efforts to uplift young people with education. “Fred’s entire belief system was opportunity through education,” Negandhi said. “And I think this scholarship is the perfect definition of that; it captures everything about who he is and what he believed in when it came to giving somebody the opportunity to extend their education, because that will open the door. Even with Fred not being here with us, I think this scholarship is an extension of his tree, it’s this legacy of saying ‘we believe in this, and we want to continue to help people.’”
The values that Fred Brown embodied, those of extending education and opportunities to the communities around him, can be summed up by friend, colleague and Klein College of Media and Communication’s Diversity Advisor to the Dean David Brown, who said, “When I think of Fred, I think of someone who dedicated his life to investing in the talent of others.”
David Brown continued, “Even when we were colleagues, I learned from him how to bring out the best in others by simply giving your time to shape the steps of those who would follow you. This was of particular importance for aspiring professionals of color who need the kind of mentorship that enables them to realize their fullest potential."
The Fred Brown family has initially established a four-year term fund for the scholarship. Klein is launching a campaign to establish a separate endowed fund in Fred’s honor at a threshold of $50,000, which will benefit deserving students for years to come. It is with Fred’s spirit of empowerment, equity and inclusion that the scholarship bestowing his name will continue to uplift the next generation of journalists for many years to come.
To make a gift to the Fred Brown scholarship, please follow the link below.
giving.temple.edu/fredbrownscholarship
About Klein College of Media and Communication
Klein's vision is to shape media and media-creators through a dynamic combination of academic rigor and practical training in the context of a diverse urban media market.
Klein fosters media solutions, innovation and discourse through its faculty, composed of both world-class scholars and renowned practitioners. With this variety of thought coursing through the college, discussions are at the cutting edge of the ever-changing communication industry. Located in the heart of Philadelphia, faculty and students are able to directly apply this knowledge to one of the nation's largest media communities.
Klein aims to educate students to be ethical, critical and inventive leaders, producers and citizens in a multimedia and multicultural society. When Klein students graduate, they have not only acquired a variety of skills and abilities, but have become discerners of truth and meaning prepared to bring precision and creativity into the workplace.