J. Lee Brown III, Ph.D., has been named dean of the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies at Coastal Carolina University, effective Aug. 1, 2021. He replaces Rob Young, Ph.D., who served a two-year term as interim dean of the College of Graduate Studies. Young will now serve as associate provost for research.

“We are fortunate to have someone with the academic leadership experience that Dr. Brown has joining the University to lead the College of Graduate Studies and Continuing Studies,” said Daniel Ennis, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “Dr. Brown has a proven track record of building and fostering community partnerships, which will now be to the benefit of our students and the surrounding area. He is familiar with both the challenges and the opportunities that face a university the size of Coastal, and he is well-prepared to meet both.”

In his new role, Brown will oversee all of CCU’s graduate programs, and provide leadership of all continuing and community-based credit and non-credit education offered through the University.

Brown comes to CCU following a 10-year stint at Fayetteville State University (FSU) in North Carolina, where he most recently served as interim provost since 2020. He previously served as dean of the Broadwell College of Business and Economics from 2018-2020. His tenure at FSU also included serving as assistant chair of the Department of Management, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship, and as an associate professor of management.

“I am truly honored and excited to be the inaugural dean for the new College of Graduate and Continuing Studies,” Brown said. “We will build on Coastal’s strong foundation of academic excellence to better meet the educational desires of a diverse, post-traditional student population. This will be accomplished through a combination of conventional and novel, flexible program offerings that strive to address the research and workforce needs of the region and beyond.”

While at FSU, Brown played a pivotal role in accreditation, assessment, enrollment, and community outreach initiatives. He completed a Transitioning Soldiers Workforce Analysis for the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation and published a study on the needs of Cumberland County senior citizens that was commissioned by the Cumberland Community Foundation.

His scholarly work has been published in Health Information and Technology, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and the Journal of International Business Studies. Brown’s professional background includes 14 years of experience at Fortune 500 companies in roles such as product manager, regional manager, and brand manager.

Brown earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University, an MBA from Strayer University, and a Ph.D. in strategy and international business from Old Dominion University.