NEFSC Names Intern Program After Brad Brown

Former Director Inspires Current Training Philosophy

The NEFSC has named its student intern program after Dr. Bradford Brown, a recently retired NOAA Fisheries scientist who was a leader in recruiting young people into fishery science.

"Brad Brown left a legacy at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, said Dr. John Boreman, the NEFSC science and research director. "He taught us what affirmative action and equal opportunity really mean. In his honor, the students who spend time with us will henceforth be known as Bradford E. Brown student interns."

Brown spent 17 years as a fishery biologist at the NEFSC's Woods Hole, Massachusetts laboratory. While working in Woods Hole in the 1970s, he recruited, trained and mentored young people, bringing minority employees to a laboratory that had little racial diversity. He initiated a co-op program that included students from historically Black colleges and universities. He established links between the science center and these schools and worked to ensure that new employees were able to pursue advanced degrees. In recognition of these efforts, the American Fisheries Society presented Brown with the AFS's mentoring award.

"He taught us by his actions as well as his well-chosen words," said Boreman. "He walked the walk, and set an example the rest of us are still trying to emulate."

The NEFSC's Bradford E. Brown Student Internship Program offers a variety of opportunities for college students. The 2005 summer program includes 15 to 20 paid internships, distributed across programs and laboratories.

Brown did his undergraduate work at Harvard and Cornell universities, his masters at Auburn, and his doctorate at Oklahoma State University. He published more than 70 peer reviewed papers and served as president of the Marine Fisheries Section of the American Fisheries Society and vice president of their International Section.

He spent more than 40 years with NOAA Fisheries Service and its predecessor agencies. In addition to his years in Woods Hole, he spent 19 years at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami, where he served the Southeast Center director. He has held adjunct faculty positions at the University of Rhode Island, University of Miami, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He has been extensively involved in large marine ecosystems projects in Africa.

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