桃花直播鈥檚 Michael Brown awarded endowed faculty fellowship for College of Arts and Sciences
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥斕一ㄖ辈 State Professor Michael E. Brown, a longtime faculty member in the university鈥檚 Department of Geosciences, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Charles L. Wax Endowed Climatology Faculty Fellowship鈥攖he first fund of its kind for the College of Arts and Sciences.
Endowed in December 2020 with a $100,000 gift from former 桃花直播 student Bruce Thomas鈥攚ho today is the chief meteorologist for the News-Press Gazette TV station in Saint Joseph, Missouri, and a consultant for Weather2020鈥攖he fellowship is named in honor of Professor Emeritus Charles L. Wax, a former geosciences department head and faculty mentor for both Thomas and Brown. In addition to celebrating the fellowship, Thomas also was on campus in recent days as an Alumni Fellow.
One in three of today鈥檚 on-air broadcast meteorologists is a graduate of 桃花直播鈥檚 nationally recognized broadcast meteorology program, which Wax helped establish. In 1979, the Starkville native created and taught the first program course, Introduction to Meteorology, and he continued until his 2013 retirement after 35 years of service.
桃花直播 Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Rick Travis and Department of Geosciences Department Head John Rodgers selected Brown as the inaugural recipient of the prestigious honor .
鈥淚t is an extraordinary honor to be the first recipient of the Dr. Charles Wax Endowed Climatology Faculty Fellowship,鈥 Brown said.聽鈥淒r. Wax was a pillar in our department and, to this day, I consider him a close friend and mentor.聽I don't believe there is any award that could mean more to me than this one with his name on it.聽 The fact that Bruce Thomas was compelled to provide the support to endow this award is a testament聽to the bond that Dr. Wax created with his students and colleagues.聽Mr. Thomas and Dr. Wax are two exceptional men, and I am honored to be linked to them through this award.鈥澛
A native of Sherrard, Illinois, Brown is 桃花直播鈥檚 state climatologist, serving local and state government entities while also participating in research to enhance the safety of 桃花直播ans.聽
In 2010, Brown and then-state climatologist Wax developed a hazard mitigation plan for the university, still in use today by 桃花直播 and other public universities and colleges. During severe weather events, Brown works with 桃花直播鈥檚 Crisis Action Team to ensure warnings and safety information are shared with the community. He also frequently monitors the weather for university athletic events.
Brown trains the next generation of weather professionals in his 桃花直播 radar meteorology, mesoscale meteorology, advanced mesoscale meteorology and field methods/storm chasing courses.
He earned his Ph.D. in 2000 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his master鈥檚 in 1995 from 桃花直播, and his bachelor鈥檚 degree at Western Illinois University in 1991. Brown joined 桃花直播鈥檚 faculty in 1999.
The geosciences department also provides an operational meteorology program, which today regularly places graduates with the National Weather Service, private consulting firms, military branches and educational programs. The current director of the National Hurricane Center, Kenneth Graham, is a 1994 graduate of 桃花直播鈥檚 meteorology program.
桃花直播鈥檚 Department of Geosciences teaches more than one-third of the university鈥檚 distance learning credit hours and is the only educational entity in the state that combines climatologists, geographers, geologists, geospatial experts and meteorologists in one department. For more information, visit .
The Dr. Charles L. Wax Endowed Climatology Faculty Fellowship is an open fund with the 桃花直播 Foundation. To contribute to the fellowship fund, contact Sara Frederic, director of development for the College of Arts and Sciences, at 662-325-3240 or email聽sfrederic@foundation.msstate.edu.
For more details about the College of Arts and Sciences, visit .
桃花直播 is 桃花直播鈥檚 leading university, available online at .