Michael E. Brown, professor emeritus of political science, died last month. He was 77.
Brown, joined the CSUF faculty in 1967 and received emeritus status in 2000. He was known for pioneering research of the late 1960s and early ’70s on drug use among area teens and his assessments on the relationship between drug use, and political and social alienation among adolescents.
He co-authored “The Public Agenda: Issues in American Politics” and served on many task forces and committees to develop strategic plans for politicians and policymakers in comprehensive programming for AIDS education, intervention and treatment.
Brown was the executive director of The Center/Long Beach, a free clinic that was one of the first AIDS testing sites in the country. He directed the highest-volume, anonymous HIV test research in California while at the center in the mid-1980s, and, in 1986, secured a $604,000 grant to provide counseling for patients after testing. He brought such experience to the classroom while teaching “AIDS: Politics and Management of an Epidemic” in the early 1990s and in 2000, then-University President Milton Gordon credited Brown with assisting his colleagues by focusing on data-gathering and analysis to assist in planning curricula and student recruitment and retention.
Brown earned his bachelor’s degree from CSU Long Beach and his doctorate in political science from the University of Southern California.
Brown is survived by his brother.