By Kelsey Kendall
Dr. Nina Brown’s legacy can be felt by the students she taught, the colleagues she worked with, in the very halls of the college and across an entire campus where she built her career.
“Education is a gift,” are her words displayed in the Education Building.
Dr. Brown (MS ’68), a Professor and Eminent Scholar in the Department of Counseling & Human Services, is retiring after 57 years at 鶹ý, serving countless students and creating incredible impacts on the counseling field. She wrote more than 40 books on topics ranging from group therapy to narcissism and received many recognitions from professional organizations including the Past President’s Award from the Society of Group Psychology and Group Therapy, the Distinguished Service Award from the American Group Psychotherapy Association and the Marriage and Family Therapists and Substance Abuse Providers Services Award from the Virginia Board of Licensed Professional Counselors.
The southwestern Virginia native found a home in Norfolk and at the University. When Dr. Brown moved to the area with her husband, she never felt the need to move on to somewhere else because of the stability for her family and the people she met at the University.
“I was doing alright,” Dr. Brown said. “I liked what I did. I seemed good at it.”
One of the great “perks” of working at a university, Dr. Brown said, is the abundance of creative, curious and intelligent people she has been able to work with. Their ranges of experience and areas of expertise have been inspiring.
Those who worked with her felt that same inspiration. After so many years in the classroom, Dr. Brown has been able to see some of her students take on roles working beside her.
Tony Dice ’13 (M.S. Ed. ‘16, Ph.D. ‘20), an adjunct instructor in counseling, had Dr. Brown as a teacher from his undergraduate years through his doctorate. Each step of the way on his educational journey, Dr. Brown was there. He said he chose her to be his dissertation chair, because he knew she would challenge him, and he knew she would drive and encourage him to do his best work.
“I knew I would do exactly what you told me to do,” Dr. Dice said in a video tribute shown during Dr. Brown’s retirement party held April 10. “It has been an honor to be a very small part of your incredible legacy at 鶹ý, and you will be missed on a very deep, personal and meaningful level.”
Anyone who has come through Darden College of Education and Professional Studies during that time has felt her influence and leadership in the college. Darden College of Education and Professional Studies Dean Tammi Dice, Ph.D. said Dr. Brown exemplifies what it means to be a scholar, mentor and colleague. Dr. Brown offered support and wisdom to her and everyone else who had the opportunity to work with Dr. Brown.
“Dr. Nina Brown has been one of the most influential figures in both my personal and professional life, and it’s difficult to imagine 鶹ý or Darden College of Education and Professional Studies without her presence,” said Dean Dice. “She guided me through every promotion — I truly don’t believe I would have reached full professor without her insight and support.”
During the celebration, those who have worked with Dr. Brown over the years raised a toast and shared their tributes for her. Robert Oliver ’73 remembered taking EDU 431 Test and Measures class in the fall of 1972, and one thing Dr. Brown said has stuck with him over the last several decades.
“You admonished us not to use ‘be able to’ in our objectives,” Oliver, now an adjunct professor at another university, said in a statement. “Knock it out and directly state what the student will do! I frequently repeat that Dr. Brown mantra to many of my colleagues, students and student teachers.”
鶹ý President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D., spoke during the retirement event and shared his personal thoughts and professional experiences of working with Dr. Brown. He, along with Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Brian Payne, Ph.D., presented her with the Distinguished Faculty Service Award — which, moving forward, will be called the Nina Brown Distinguished Faculty Service Award — and the Presidential Medallion for Distinguished Service, a rare achievement and a direct reflection of Dr. Brown’s lasting legacy and incredible impact on so many Monarchs.
“I am truly honored to have the opportunity to be here and pay tribute to one of our greatest Monarchs in our 94-year history,” President Hemphill said. “She’s had the ability to witness, guide and even right the ship over a 57-year period, and this is a moment of celebration for Dr. Brown’s longstanding service and truly well-deserved retirement — even though I tried to talk her out of it three times.”
The gratitude and memories shared throughout the momentous occasion left Dr. Brown feeling overwhelmed and thankful for the kind tributes, she said. All her work and dedication to her students and research was done out of “professional responsibility,” which she said is the idea that it is a duty to ensure that her field of research has the “best information possible” to build the next generation up for success.
It was not about the honors, which Dr. Brown received plenty of, but about preparing her students for success in their professions as educators and counselors.
What comes next for her is unclear besides getting some rest, taking care of herself and enjoying the plethora of mystery novels sitting on her bookshelves.