Alverno College Will Inaugurate Ninth President

Christy L. Brown, JD, will be inaugurated as the ninth president of Alverno College on Friday, May 3. The event will take place in the Pitman Theatre, and will begin at 10 a.m.

The installation will include an interfaith prayer service in keeping with Alverno’s alma mater – Where All Belong. Delegates from Duke University, where Brown earned her Master of Arts and her Juris Doctor, will be on hand, as will representatives from colleges and universities from around the state. Brown’s high school choir, the Rufus King International High School Chorus, will perform during the service, and Alverno College President Emerita Mary Meehan will lead one of several calls to service. The installation will be followed by a lunch and reception in La Verna Commons.

Brown became the president of Alverno in July 2023. Her role includes collaborating with the college’s Board of Trustees, leadership team, faculty and staff working to fulfill the college’s mission while embracing innovation and expanding Alverno’s local, national and international reputation.

Before coming to Alverno, Brown was CEO at Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast. Previous roles include Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administrative Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Milwaukee Area Technical College, Vice President and Corporate Counsel at Lutheran Social Services, and Associate Attorney at Michael Best & Friedrich, LLC.

Like many Alverno students, Brown was a first-generation college student. She graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1987. With a passion for learning and scholarly achievement, she then pursued a joint-degree graduate program earning both her Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law and a Master of Arts in Humanities with a focus on African American and Women’s Studies from Duke University Graduate School.

The event will be live streamed at this link: https://vimeo.com/event/4218785.

About Alverno College

Based in Milwaukee, Wis., Alverno College is a four-year independent, Catholic, liberal arts college for women. Founded in 1887 by the School Sisters of St. Francis, Alverno promotes the academic, personal and professional development of its students in a collaborative and inclusive environment. Certificate programs, digital badges, degree completion programs and graduate programs are open to all genders. A leader in higher education innovation, Alverno has earned international accolades for its highly effective ability-based, assessment-as-learning approach to education, which emphasizes hands-on experience and develops in-demand skills. The college, Wisconsin’s first Hispanic-Serving Institution, ranks among the top schools in the Midwest for its commitment to undergraduate teaching and innovation by U.S. News & World Report.