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Alanka P. Brown is the Vice President of Academic and Student
Affairs at Wilbur Wright College. She has worked in the field of higher
education for over 13 years where she has served in both teaching and
administrative positions. Dr. Brown has expertise in transformational
leadership and the design and implementation of alternative student achievement
systems. She also has a strong background in the facilitation of collective
impact systems that establish and leverage collective work amongst the six key
sectors of the community to further strengthen connections between colleges and
communities.
Dr. Brown is a sought-after speaker on topics of college and career
readiness, postsecondary attainment, workforce connections, and alternative
pedagogical strategies. She has presented at numerous state, local, and
national conferences and serves as an expert panelist on national foundation
panels on topics that address higher education reform and student success; with
emphasis on developmental education redesign and guided pathways.
Prior to joining Wilbur
Wright College, Dr. Brown served as the Associate Vice President for Academic
Affairs and Dean of Career Programs at Frederick Community College in
Frederick, Maryland. In this role Dr. Brown was responsible for the college’s terminal career and professional transfer programs. During
her tenure, she assisted the institution in leading and enhancing the academic
experience of the college’s over 16,000 student population. She provided
leadership and management in strategic planning, enrollment management, program
and curriculum development, course scheduling, accreditation, academic support
services, resource development, and the planning, development, and management
of budgets for the college’s over 70 career/professional degree and certificate
programs within four academic disciplines/departments (i.e.,
Allied Health & Wellness, Computing & Business Technology, Nursing, and
Public Safety). In addition, she oversaw the operation and management
of the college’s Office of Internship/Experiential Learning program, the Office
of Prior Learning Assessment, and the college’s instructional-based grants
related to career and technical education (e.g., TAACCCT, America’s Promise,
Carl G. Perkins, and the National Science Foundation).
Before joining Frederick Community College, Dr. Brown was the
District Director of Academic Readiness at Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida.
In this role she was responsible for leading the college in implementing
large-scale innovative initiatives to improve student success and completion
(e.g., college-wide developmental education redesign, the District Student
Achievement Initiatives, and the Latino Student Success Effort). Dr. Brown’s
work was done in partnership with national educational foundations and
nonprofit organizations such as the Gates Foundation, the Lumina Foundation,
the Carnegie Foundation, Complete College America, Achieving the Dream, the
Aspen Institute, and Jobs for the Future. Prior to becoming the District
Director of Academic Readiness, Dr. Brown was the Assistant State-wide Project
Director for the Florida GEAR-UP program with the Florida Department of
Education and Tallahassee Community College (Tallahassee, Fl). She also served
as a Professor of History & Political Science at Tallahassee Community
College (Tallahassee, Fl), and an Associate Dean of Academic Affairs/Academic
Outreach at Corning Community College (Corning, NY).
In helping to prepare the next group of higher education
administrators, Dr. Brown also currently serves as an online adjunct instructor
and course designer for Southern New Hampshire University’s Higher Education
Administration Master’s degree program. As an advocate for educational success
amongst low-income/at-risk students, Dr. Brown began her journey to improve
student success serving as a high school English teacher in a rural, low-income
school district. Dr. Brown has served in academic leadership roles at other
institutions in Florida and New York.
Dr. Brown holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science
from Florida A&M University, a Master of Arts in International
Affairs/International Political Economy from Florida State University, a Master
of Public Administration degree from the Nova Southeastern University Huizenga
College of Business, and a Doctor of Education degree in Higher Education
Administration from the Nova Southeastern University Fischler School of
Education. She also holds a graduate certificate in Education Law & Policy
from the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Board Law Center, and a second
graduate certificate in Project Leadership from Cornell University's College of
Engineering.