Dr. Brown has served as Director of the Mercer Center for Community Development since its establishment in the summer of 1998. In this position, he has spearheaded Mercer University’s efforts to revitalize its historic relationship with nearby neighborhoods. More specifically, he has broadly overseen all of the activities of the Center and has been its primary representative vis-a-vis the neighborhood residents, the City of Macon, the Macon Housing Authority, the Bibb County Board of Education, the other entities of Mercer University, and all of the other partner organizations who have cooperated with the Center. He has taken a direct, hands-on role in most of the project activities, particularly those related to education and housing. During the past year Dr. Brown has attended national conferences related to the theme of urban redevelopment, including the HUD Hope VI conference and workshop on "The New Urbanism’ in Baltimore, MD in February of this year and the annual meeting of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Savannah, GA in October of 1998.

Previously, Dr. Brown has served as Chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and as Chair of the Mercer University Faculty House of Delegates. His successful experience in promoting cooperation between various schools and departments of the University has been critical as Mercer works with its partners in developing and executing a long-term, multi-sectoral approach to address the neighborhood’s challenges. Dr. Brown has lived in downtown Macon for over twenty-five years. He was a founding member of the Intown Macon Neighborhood Association and later served twice as its president. Intown Macon was the first organization in the city to be concerned with the revitalization of decaying neighborhoods and created the Macon Heritage Foundation. It has been a model for other neighborhood organizations seeking to revitalize their areas. Presently, Dr. Brown serves as co-chair of the Programming Development Committee of Communities In Schools, Inc., a new non-profit coalition between the public school system and the Macon-Bibb County community, which will offer school-age care throughout the community in public school facilities.