Faculty & Staff

Ronald T. Brown
Dean

A leading pediatric psychologist who specializes in children and adolescents with chronic illnesses, attention deficit disorders and learning disabilities has been named dean of Temple University's College of Health Professions.

Ronald T. Brown, formerly associate dean of research in the College of Health Professions at the Medical University of South Carolina, joined Temple as of July 1, 2004.

"Professor Brown's extensive experience as a scholar, a teacher, and an educational administrator makes him an ideal dean to lead our College of Health Professions into the 21st century," Temple President David Adamany said in making the announcement. "He already has made significant contributions to our understanding of child development and to preparing future generations of health care professionals. We look forward to his leadership of Temple's College of Health Professions."

Temple Provost Ira Schwartz added, "This is a stellar appointment for the College of Health Professions. Ron has a superior track record in research and teaching. His extensive experience will be key in leading the College. I am pleased to welcome him to Temple."

Brown succeeds Acting Dean Peter Doukas, who will remain dean of Temple's School of Pharmacy.

"I am honored by the opportunity to join Temple University," Brown said. "Temple's College of Health Professions - indeed, Temple's entire health sciences enterprise - is regarded nationally as a leader in preparing therapists, nurses, physicians and dentists to care for patients and to make the critical research discoveries that will help us cure diseases that continue to confront us."

During his career, Brown has received more than $10 million in research funding from the federal government and foundations to study issues such as the oral health of African-American adolescents who have diabetes, learning impairments among survivors of childhood cancer, and the effects of maternal alcohol use on the achievements of children when they reach school age. His current research efforts include studies on family intervention for high-risk infants with sickle cell disease, depression in children with chronic illnesses, and family functioning for children with cancer.

The College of Health Professions that Brown will lead is a comprehensive center of health care education, with fully accredited undergraduate and graduate programs in communication sciences, health information management, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, public health and therapeutic recreation. It currently enrolls 664 full-time students and 569 part-time students. Over the last three fiscal years, the College of Health Professions has received research awards totaling $6.96 million.

In addition to being associate dean of research, Brown currently is professor and chairman of health professions, professor of pediatrics, and professor of dental medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. In his current position, he manages a $5 million budget, mentors faculty and student research efforts, and recruits faculty for research professorships. His teaching has included classes on abnormal child psychology, biological and social bases of development, personality assessment and diagnosis of learning disorders.

He previously held academic positions at Emory University, the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Houston and the University of Illinois.

He has served on 12 editorial boards for journals related to child psychology, learning disability, and health care and is the author or co-author of six books and hundreds of book chapters and journal articles.

Brown holds a Ph.D. from Georgia State University and a B.A. from Emory University. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Society, the American Psychological Association, the Society of Pediatric Psychology and is a Diplomate in clinical health psychology of the American Board of Professional Psychology.