Drake University is pleased to announce that Professor Megan Brown has been appointed as the new Dean of John Dee Bright College. Brown succeeds Craig Owens as the second dean of the two-year college program that awards associates degrees in two main tracks: Business, Organization, and Professional Studies or the Integrated Arts, Sciences and Humanities. She will now take the lead in overseeing the college’s innovative curriculum and student success initiatives. Owens will continue to serve Drake as the Executive Director of the Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement.
Brown previously served as the associate dean of the college since 2022 and is one of its founding faculty members. She is a professor of English and has served on the faculty at Drake for 20 years. Additionally, Brown has held numerous leadership positions at Drake, including director of writing, faculty athletics representative, English Department Chair, Faculty Senate Executive Committee member, and Crew Scholars faculty mentor. In 2025, she won the Madelyn M. Levitt Teacher of the Year award.
“We are delighted to fill such a key leadership position with one of Drake’s own and finest faculty members,” said Drake University Provost Sue Mattison. “Dr. Brown is already well-known and highly respected across campus. I have full confidence she will continue to lead with the passion, vision, humble work ethic, and deep commitment to academic excellence that we have repeatedly seen demonstrated in her 20 years of teaching at Drake.”
Scholarship and Teaching
A native New Yorker, Brown received her bachelor’s degree in English from Amherst College (May 1995), magna cum laude, and master’s degree (May 2000) and doctorate (May 2005) in English from Penn State University. She has written two books: American Autobiography After 9/11 and The Cultural Work of Corporations—and co-edited a third: Un/Bound. Her scholarly work has also appeared in Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies, Biography, Women’s Studies Quarterly, College Literature, South Atlantic Quarterly, Cultural Studies, and Journal of Medical Humanities.
At Drake, Brown teaches courses in nonfiction narrative (e.g., memoir/autobiography and the personal essay), 20th century and contemporary U.S. literature, and cultural studies. Her teaching and scholarship have earned her significant recognition, including the Dean and Sue Wright Arts & Sciences Teacher of the Year: 2016–2017. Additionally, she earned the Outstanding Teaching Award for Graduate Students in the College of Liberal Arts from Penn State University in 2002.
Brown’s appointment comes as Bright College enrollment has reached an all-time high with a 30.6% increase in new student enrollment compared to 2024.
“Bright College is on an upward trajectory in large part due to the skillful leadership and inspiring vision of Dean Owens, as well as the accomplishments of our students and alumni. Together with our exceptional faculty, I look forward to continuing Craig’s legacy and creating an even stronger future for Bright, one that helps students acquire the skills and knowledge they need to live meaningful, fulfilling lives.”
About the John Dee Bright College
The John Dee Bright College provides students seeking higher education with affordable access to Drake University courses. Students can pursue an associate of arts degree and are guaranteed admission as bachelor’s-degree students upon completing their two-year program. The first cohort of students began classes in fall 2021 and 100% of that inaugural class received their associate degrees in May 2023.