Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr., Director of the Center for Urban Education Policy and University Professor at the Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York, is past President of Bronx Community College of CUNY, and was formerly Director of the Institute of Afro-American Affairs at New York University. He holds a doctorate from New York University, and has served on faculty at West Virginia State College and as a full professor at New York University's School of Education. A native of Washington, D.C., Dr. Brown is a graduate of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and received his Bachelor's degree from Springfield College in Massachusetts.

As Director of the Center for Urban Education Policy at the Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York, Dr. Brown's work focuses on the role of school-based management and parental involvement in school reform. A specialist in educational measurement, Dr. Brown has served as a consultant for the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and as a member of the New York State Education Department's College Proficiency Examination Committee, and continues service on the Technical Advisory Committee for the New Jersey State Educational Assessment Program.

Dr. Brown serves as Chairman of the New York City Regional Education Center for Economic Development, has served as a member of the national boards of Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the American Council on Education, and the boards of the YMCA of Greater New York and the Fund for the City of New York. He currently serves on the boards of the New York Botanical Garden, the New York City Partnership, the Museum of the City of New York, the Phipps Community Development Corporation, the City Parks Foundation, Libraries for the Future, and the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.

He is Chairman of the boards of directors of the Greater Harlem Nursing Home, the Urban Issues Group (a "think-tank" of African-American scholars), and the Sports Foundation. He is Vice Chairman of the Arthur Ashe Athletic Association and of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, chairs the National Scholarship Selection Committee of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and is Past President of One Hundred Black Men, Inc. (an influential group of civic-minded African-American New Yorkers).

A member of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, Dr. Brown has served on the New York State Governor's Advisory Committee for Black Affairs, the New York State Human Rights Advisory Council, and the New York State Attorney General's Ethical Standards Committee. He was appointed by Governor Mario Cuomo to the New York State Job Training and Partnership Council, the New York State Health, Fitness and Sports Council, and the New York State Special Advisory Commission on Minority Enrollment in Medical Schools.

Dr. Brown has received numerous awards and honors for scholarly and community activities, among them the NAACP Freedom Award, the Congressional Award for Service to the African-American Community, and the Distinguished Alumnus Awards from his alma-maters - New York University and Springfield College. He has been inducted into the National Association for Sports and Physical Education Hall of Fame, and has received honorary doctorates from Springfield College, the University of the State of New York, and the Regents of the State of New York. Dr. Brown was recently bestowed the honor of "New York City Treasure", during the city's Centennial celebration observance by the Museum of the City of New York.

As Director of the Center for Urban Education Policy, Dr. Brown has produced the guide, Preparing Parents for School-Based Management, What Makes the Difference?: A Study of the Achievement Characteristics of New York City Public Schools, and Education Vouchers: Can Public Education Meet the Challenge? Dr. Brown's prior publications include the widely-read reference work The Negro Almanac, Classical Studies in Physical Activity: New Perspectives of Man in Action, The Black Experience, and more than 60 articles which have appeared in such scholarly journals as the Annals of Political and Social Science, Black Issues in Higher Education, the Journal of Negro Education, and Negro Digest. He prepared the very popular "Black Culture Quiz", of which nearly a half million copies have been distributed.

Active in the arts and media, Dr. Brown has hosted numerous television programs, including "Black Letters" (WCBS-TV), "Bicentennial: a Black Perspective" (WNBC-TV), "Freedom's Word" (WNBC-TV), and the Emmy Award-winning "Black Arts" (WCBS-TV). He has hosted a weekly radio program, "Soul of Reason" (WNBC-TV), and a weekly television news segment, "Black Viewpoint" (WNYC/Channel 31). He has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Negro Ensemble Company and as a member of the WNET/Channel 13 Board of Advisors and the boards of directors of the Bronx Council on the Arts, the Columbia University Center for American Culture Studies, and the Municipal Art Society. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Bronxnet Public Access Cable Corporation. In recent years, Dr. Brown has been Executive Producer and host of the television series, "African-American Legends", airing on CUNY TV.

Dr. Brown, a former Army Air Force Captain, commanded the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group (the "Tuskegee Airmen") in World War II, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with eight Oak Leaf Clusters. He is credited with being the first 15th Air Force fighter pilot to shoot down a German jet fighter, and has been honored by the Intrepid Air-Space Museum in New York City for his outstanding leadership as Squadron Commander.

An avid runner who has completed the New York City Marathon nine times, Dr. Brown is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who Among Black Americans, and Who's Who in American Education.