Full-circle career move brings Brown back to alma mater with focus on connecting 

This paid piece is sponsored by South Dakota State University. 

Step back to the late 1980s, stop in the office of the SDSU Collegian newspaper, and it’s likely you’d find journalism major Vernon Brown at work on the next edition. 

“I loved writing. I’d been my high school newspaper editor, and I’d gone to SDSU journalism camp in high school, so within my first semester as a freshman, I was at The Collegian,” said Brown, who grew up 30 miles from campus. 

“It was a great indoctrination for me because there were first-year freshmen up to fifth-year seniors. So I found my people.” 

Then, he began telling the university’s story. From covering Board of Regents work – a role that introduced him to his first real source – to interviewing the president of the university, Brown rose to become editor-in-chief before graduating in 1990. 

“Once, I got called to President Robert Wagner’s office after our cartoonist had drawn him while accentuating his big, blocky glasses,” Brown remembered. “I didn’t know what to expect, but he actually loved that we’d made fun of his glasses. He was a great president and loved being around students.” 

Despite remaining connected to his alma mater through a career that includes a dozen years of reporting at KELO-TV and two decades leading marketing and communications at SDN Communications, Brown hadn’t been back in the president’s office until it was time for a career-changing conversation with current President Barry Dunn. 

“Barry Dunn is such a great servant leader. He has a powerful personal story about how higher education changed his family’s economic trajectory forever, and that resonates with me as well,” Brown said.  

“I was a farm kid of the ’80s. I chose SDSU in part for its affordability and because my dad instilled in me that college was my path into the future. So when this president of my alma mater says you’re the right person to help at the right time, how do you say no?” 

Brown said yes. He’s now the first associate vice president of external affairs in SDSU history, part of Dunn’s leadership team and a key connecting point for students, alumni, government, businesses and nonprofits between Brookings and his long-time home Sioux Falls. 

“We have so much opportunity to strengthen relationships between Sioux Falls and SDSU as we make the community more aware of all the resources a land-grant university can offer,” Brown said. “Often when people think of land grants, they think of agriculture, but it’s so much more than that. Land-grant universities were created to give higher education access to all, and President Dunn and SDSU are all about that.” 

In fact, last week Dunn received the prestigious McGraw Prize for his work to improve college access for Native Americans. The award specifically recognizes Dunn’s Wokini Initiative, which has increased programming and support for students from South Dakota’s nine tribal nations.

Dunn and the university’s commitment also embraces emerging and traditionally underserved populations. Sioux Falls is the epicenter of that demographic growth, and Brown’s responsibilities will include reaching them.

Brown also will lead SDSU Connect, Dunn’s initiative combining work with key stakeholders, collaborations and strategic initiatives in the Sioux Falls area. As he did decades ago, Brown is now back to telling the school’s story, just as his own daughter, Emma, begins her freshman year there. 

“SDSU is the school that built this growing city,” Brown said. “We have the architects, the construction degrees, we graduate more health care students than anywhere in the state. So we build things, we take care of people, and it’s about making people aware of those opportunities.” 

SDSU Connect was launched following a year of discovery with Sioux Falls leaders, educators and community members. It was led by a 40-member task force, with campus leaders visiting to learn the needs of Sioux Falls while city leaders traveled to Brookings to better understand the university’s role and resources. 

“We are excited to have Vernon serve in this critical role that will build important relationships and partnerships in South Dakota’s largest community,” Dunn said. “SDSU serves the entire state of South Dakota, but based on the rapid growth of Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas, it is important we have an individual with Vernon’s experience focus specifically on that community.” 

As a business owner, Brown also understands the needs of organizations of all sizes. He and his wife, Tami, own the downtown Sioux Falls location of The Spice & Tea Exchange.  

“There are so many ways businesses can connect with SDSU students, faculty and graduates,” he said. “Many already have, from Raven Industries to our health systems, POET and EROS Data Center, but there are many more relationships to be fostered that can have a direct impact on workforce needs.” 

A member of the Sioux Falls City Council for eight years and volunteer member of multiple nonprofit boards and education initiatives, Brown also thinks of how SDSU can impact everything from social needs to the arts.

“Child care, for example. We know that’s among the top issues Sioux Falls is confronting today, and SDSU has an early childhood education program,” he said. “There could be ways to partner or learn best practices.”  

The early work of SDSU Connect also has paved the way for increased emphasis on the arts, offering everything from gallery talks to film festivals and live music in Sioux Falls. 

“There’s a big opportunity to connect through the arts in Sioux Falls,” Brown said. “And that reaches a different demographic than traditionally might be unaware of the expertise at SDSU.” 

The concept and mission of a land-grant university “is not only limited to the educational benefits, but also research, SDSU Extension services, faculty expertise, the arts, intercollegiate athletics and many others,” Dunn added. “Sioux Falls and surrounding communities will all benefit from those opportunities.” 

Physically, it’s not a broad gap to close. The community and the campus are only about 45 minutes apart. And there’s plenty of enthusiasm already as Brown witnessed on a recent road trip to a football game.  

“The interstate going north was crowded, and it was the same going south on the way home,” he said. “SDSU alumni know the path from Sioux Falls. Now, we’re going to make sure many, many others do too. I get more excited about it every day. I felt like it was the right move at the right time, but that’s been affirmed so many times as people have found out about my new role and agree it’s the perfect job for me.” 

Would you or your organization like to connect with Vernon Brown in his new role? Email him at [email protected], or call 605-310-8200.