Board of Governors honors chair for his legacy of service, commitment and philanthropy

Greg Brown leaves a legacy of service and philanthropy that will last for decades as he departs as chair from the Board of Governors.
Photo courtesy of Motorola Solutions

NEW BRUNWICK, N.J. – Greg Brown, a Rutgers alumnus who helped lead the university through one of the most transformative periods in its 250-year history, leaves a legacy of service and philanthropy that will last for decades as he departs as chair of the Board of Governors this month.
 
The board today honored the chair and chief executive officer of Motorola Solutions for his guidance and personal commitment to the university. 
 
 Brown began serving as chair of the board on July 1, 2014, the same day Rutgers officially joined the Big Ten. During his seven years as a member of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors, he has helped shepherd the university through its merger with the former University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, its 250th anniversary celebration, significant fundraising campaigns, and the selection of a new president and four chancellors.
 
“Greg Brown has provided exceptional leadership as chair of the Board of Governors, and I have personally benefited from his partnership, his wisdom, his sincere passion for Rutgers and the great trust he has shown in me,” said President Robert Barchi.  “He has been a champion of excellence, and Rutgers is stronger because of Greg’s service on the board.”
 
Brown, who chaired the committee that chose Barchi as the 20th president of Rutgers, called the selection his proudest accomplishment as board chair. 
“He is uniquely qualified to run this university and was the right guy at the right time,” Brown said, crediting Barchi with creating a comprehensive strategic plan, tackling the “herculean task” of integrating UMDNJ, creating Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and making the decision for Rutgers to join the Big Ten Conference. 
“Each of these moves individually is significant,” Brown said. “Taken together, they are absolutely transformative.”
 
Brown, who graduated from Highland Park High School across the Raritan River from New Brunswick, graduated from Rutgers’ Livingston College in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. After rising in the leadership ranks at Motorola, he returned to Rutgers to help guide his alma mater through a time of great change.
 
The board honored Brown for his philanthropic contributions supporting the university’s athletics, psychology, cell biology and neuroscience programs.  Brown helped fund the Brown Football Recruiting Pavilion and Welcome Center, the Henry and Anna Starr Endowed Fellowship and the Big Ten Build Fund.
 
In April, the board approved a Gregory Q. Brown Chair in Cell Biology and Neuroscience, funded by a $1.5 million gift from Motorola Solutions Inc. The chair’s focus on neuroscience is in honor of Brown’s mother, Winifred Brown, who died in 2012.  It was established with the aim of helping find cures for diseases, such as dementia, by recruiting, retaining and honoring outstanding scholars in neuroscience who serve on the faculty of Rutgers-New Brunswick’s School of Arts and Sciences. 
 
Brown joined Motorola in 2003 and was elected to the company’s board of directors in 2007. He became CEO of Motorola in 2008. He now leads Motorola Solutions, the leading provider of mission critical communications to government and enterprise customers.
 
Brown served as vice chair of the Board of Governors before becoming chair in 2014. He also served on the Rutgers Board of Trustees and on the Rutgers University Foundation’s Board of Overseers and was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2010.
 
Gov. Chris Christie has nominated Brown for another term on the Board of Governors. That nomination is currently pending confirmation by the New Jersey Senate.
 
Brown said his focus as chair was to support the university president and help the board govern one of the largest universities in the country as it educates more undergraduate and graduate students than ever.
 
“During the last five years change has been constant,” Brown said. Going forward, he added, “people, processes, systems and governance structures need to be more contemporary and sophisticated so as to facilitate and enable the continued growth of this great university.”