Mount Ida College has named Suffolk University Provost Barry Brown as its eighth president, effective July 1, 2012.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Mount Ida College, an institution dedicated to providing students with a strong liberal arts and career-focused education to achieve their career goals," said Brown, who joined the Suffolk Law faculty in 1976 and served as acting president in 2010-2011.

"This is an exciting moment in American higher education. ... I look forward to becoming a part of this century old institution and together with faculty, students, alumni and friends of Mount Ida College begin our work together to achieve the career goals of each of our students,” said Brown.

“Congratulations to Mount Ida College for choosing as its next president Barry Brown, a proven leader who cares deeply about education. Barry has served Suffolk University as law professor, provost and acting president, and in each of these roles he was always highly cognizant of educating students, advancing the institution and ensuring the vigor of our academic programs. We at Suffolk University thank him for his service and wish him well in his new endeavor,” said Suffolk University President James McCarthy.

In his role as Acting President, Brown successfully undertook a major refinancing and restructuring of Suffolk University’s budget and established a department for acquiring and managing federal grants and community action programs such as Upward Bound and the McNair Scholarship.

Brown is widely published on topics ranging from biomedical law to real estate and condominium law. He was one of the first to write about property issues in genetic materials for national journals, such as the Stanford Journal of Law and Public Policy. He is the founder of Suffolk University’s Concentration in Health and Biomedical Law and the Suffolk Journal of Health and Biomedical Law.

Brown holds an A.B. from Harvard College, and Ed.M. from Harvard School of Education and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Andrew C. Meyer, Jr., Chairman of the Suffolk University Board of Trustees, said: “We are grateful to Barry Brown for his tireless efforts on behalf of Suffolk University over more than three decades of teaching and academic leadership. Mount Ida College has chosen a dedicated and forward looking leader who works hard to make sure that students receive a high-quality education. We are proud to see Barry take on this new leadership role at Mount Ida.”