Leonard D. Brown
Dr. Leonard D. Brown began his Hilltopper legacy in the 50s. Originating from Bremen, Kentucky and a graduate of Bremen Consolidated High School in Muhlenberg County, he earned his bachelor’s degree from WKU in 1954. He continued his education, earning a Master of Science degree from the University of Kentucky in 1955 and a Ph.D. from Michigan State in 1961. During his post graduate work, he was a graduate assistant at both UK and Michigan State. After his doctorate he was an assistant professor at Michigan State from 1961 to 1966 where he established an impressive portfolio of research on Dairy and Beef Cattle nutrition. In 1966, he returned to WKU roots when he became a professor, and then the Agriculture Department Head in 1969. In 1978, he filled in as Assistant Dean at the Ogden College of Science and Technology, but returned to his post with the Agricultural Department in 1979. He preferred working at the Department Head level with the students and faculty. Dr. Brown served as Department Head for 13 years of his 16 year tenure at WKU.
Not only was Dr. Brown an active member in the Agriculture Department, but he was also a strong voice in both the WKU and Bowling Green communities. He was a member of the local Kiwanis Club, the American Dairy Science Association (for which he presented multiple times at national conventions), American Society of Animal Science (for which he presented multiple times at national conventions), American Association of University Agriculture Administrators, Kentucky State Board of Agriculture, Kentucky Advisory Committee of Veterinary Medicine, and Kentucky Agriculture Council, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Joint Council Study Group of Program Science, the Joint Research Committee of the Board of International Research and Development, the Farmhouse Society, and several others. He was also married, since 1950, to Helen Byers Brown. Brown was a WKU Assistant Professor in Nursing from 1977-1992, and graduated from WKU in1975 with an associate’s degree in Nursing, and in 1976 with a BS in Biology, and then graduating from Vanderbilt in 1977 with an MS degree in Medical Surgical Nursing. She helped to put Dr. Brown through school and returned to teaching fulltime herself after their daughters were in high school. Dr. Brown was also a father to their two daughters: Marcia Beck (1976) and Melayna Brown-Tinsley (1979 and 1981), also WKU graduates.
During his tenure as Department Head, Dr. Brown established an increased reach curriculum encompassing a wider range of student with popular non-major introductory courses like “Agriculture and the Changing World” and the very popular “Rural Sociology” to expose more students to Agriculture. He also established a superior milk producing heard, initiated and established the swine program, an equine science program, the WKU Livestock Judging Team, and led WKU to be a premier producer of Veterinary School Candidates. Dr. Brown was also instrumental in getting the Agricultural Exposition Center designed, funded and built on the WKU farm, completed in 1979 and posthumously dedicated to his name on October 29, 1988.
After a successful life on the Hill and 16 years with the WKU Department of Agriculture, Dr. Brown passed away unexpectedly in August of 1982. Upon his death, his wife, Helen, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, established this fund to honor the great legacy of her husband. Students at Western Kentucky University learned a great deal under his tutelage, and through this fund, he continues to change lives.