Monmouth U. inaugurates Paul Brown as new president, prepares for big changes


WEST LONG BRANCH — Paul Brown has been president of Monmouth University for nearly a full school year. But the job didn't become official until a heavy gold chain bearing a bronze medallion was draped around his neck on the steps of Wilson Hall today.

Brown accepted Monmouth's Chain of Office during an hour-long inauguration at the private university in West Long Branch. During his inaugural address, the new president told the hundreds of students, faculty, staff and alumni gathered in front of the building that changes are coming to the 80-year-old institution.

"Change is inevitable given all that is happening in higher education in general. But change is particularly inevitable for a mid-size, primarily residential, private university like Monmouth University," Brown said.

The 6,500-student university, located two miles from the Jersey Shore, is developing a new long-term strategic plan to map its future. Brown has previously spoken about making Monmouth more diverse and more global.

He rejected the idea that a college should be measured by how many of its students get jobs after graduation.

"Rather, it is about preparing them to think in critical and creative ways for the rest of their lives," he said in his 16-minute address.

Brown was named president more than a year ago, beating out several finalists, including the president of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and a vice president from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

He took over in August, replacing Paul Gaffney, a former Navy vice admiral who retired after a decade as president.

Brown is a first-time president, though he has a long history in higher education. The accounting professor, an expert in financial analysis and governance, spent two decades in various positions at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He moved to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., in 2007 to serve as dean of its business and economics college.

Monmouth provides Brown and his wife, Joan Fishman, with a house on campus. Their daughter, Emma, is a student at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania, where Brown earned his bachelor's degree. He also holds a doctorate and master’s of professional accountancy degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Brown declines to reveal his age and university officials did not disclose his salary. But Gaffney, the former president, earned an annual base pay of nearly $700,000, according to the university's latest available tax returns.

The university charges undergraduates more than $30,000 a year in tuition and fees.

The new president was inaugurated under a bright sun on the steps of Wilson Hall, the ornate 1929 mansion built on the site of the house that once served as the summer White House for President Woodrow Wilson.

Rochelle Hendricks, the state Secretary of Higher Education, welcomed Brown to New Jersey at the start of the ceremony and chided him to do more to raise the profile of the private university.

"I especially urge you to do more bragging about this place," Hendricks said.

After the ceremony, the university held a reception in Wilson Hall. Students sang arias by Mozart and Puccini in honor of Brown, a devoted opera fan.

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