Ted Brown was selected by the Martin Methodist College Board of Trustees as the 30th president in 1998 and assumed office on March 1. His arrival at Martin followed 13 years as vice president for college advancement at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., and nearly 25 years of experience in church-related higher education.
During his first year at Martin Methodist, Brown initiated a visioning process that led to the development of an ambitious 10-year plan of development for the college. Martin 2010 is based on the primary goal of doubling the enrollment to at least 1,000 students. The plan projects extensive programmatic growth, as well as a comprehensive campus master plan for the development of new and renovated campus facilities. Important progress has already been made on the plan’s objectives and a major fundraising campaign is nearing the public phase.
Since his arrival, Brown has become quite involved in the Pulaski-Giles County community. He is a past chairman of the board of the Giles County Chamber of Commerce and a member and past president of the Pulaski Rotary Club. He is a member of the Executive Board of the Middle Tennessee Boy Scout Council, and he has been an active member at First United Methodist Church, serving on various committees and as a lay leader.
Ted Brown is a native of southern New Jersey and grew up as an active member of the United Methodist Church. In 1973 he graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College with a degree in philosophy and began working on that campus in admissions, eventually serving as assistant director. Following a year on the staff of Jay Rockefeller’s successful West Virginia gubernatorial campaign in 1976, he enrolled at the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. He earned his master of divinity degree in 1979. In 1987 he earned his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, focusing on the field of higher education administration. Dr. Brown did post-doctoral study at Harvard University in 1996.
During his career, Dr. Brown has served as a research assistant at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, as assistant dean and director of development at Vanderbilt Divinity School, as director of development at Centre College in Danville, Ky., and as vice president for college advancement at Presbyterian College.
Dr. Brown is married to the former Cheryl Kiser who was secretary of his freshman class at West Virginia Wesleyan College when he served as class president. She is in her 31st year as a learning disabilities teacher, currently serving at Pulaski’s Southside Elementary School. She also has extensive experience in writing church school curriculum for the United Methodist Publishing House. They have two sons, Ted, a 2004 graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, and Tyler, a sophomore at BSC.
