Roger Brown

president, Berklee College of Music

When Berklee College of Music President Roger H. Brown assumed his post at the college in 2004, he brought a rich palette of professional and life experiences to the job. Skills accrued playing recording sessions as a drummer in New York, administering United Nations humanitarian operations in Southeast Asia and Africa, and founding a company with his wife that became a corporation valued at over $1 billion and employing 19,000 people have contributed to his effective leadership at the world's largest college of contemporary music. Over the past four years Brown has presented honorary doctor of music degrees to a range of high achievers representing many disciplines. The list includes McCoy Tyner, Aretha Franklin, Ornette Coleman, Clint Eastwood, Melissa Etheridge, Steve Winwood, Earl Scruggs, Philip Bailey, and Gloria and Emilio Estefan, to name a few. Brown himself has been recognized for his accomplishments at Berklee with the Cruz de Honor from the provincial government of Valencia, Spain and the March of Dimes Franklin Delano Roosevelt Humanitarian Award.