David J. Brown, M.D., named associate VP and associate dean for health equity and inclusion

David J. Brown, M.D., a physician and diversity advocate, has been named associate vice president and associate dean for health, equity, and inclusion at the University of Michigan Health System by the U-M Board of Regents.

Brown, associate professor of pediatric otolaryngology in the U-M Medical School and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, has worked closely with the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion for about two years. He had served as interim associate vice president and interim associate dean for health equity and inclusion since January 2015.

“David Brown has immersed himself in our efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Michigan Health System and has proven to be a collaborative leader,” says T. Anthony Denton, senior vice president and chief operating officer for the U-M hospitals and health centers and the U-M Medical Group. “We are thrilled that David will continue to move our Health System forward on these important efforts, partnering with other leaders to  create a culture that aims to eliminate health care disparities.”

Brown was the medical director of the Pediatric Otolaryngology Ambulatory Care Unit, founding member and medical director of the Pediatric Multidisciplinary Aerodigestive Clinic, and founding member and course director of the U-M Otolaryngology Essentials Simulation Boot Camp. He also directs the Otolaryngology Diversity Committee, which received a U-M Distinguished Diversity Leader Award for its monthly Diversity Lunch and Learn Series. 

Part of the U-M faculty since 2011, he is a member of the Society of University Otolaryngologists Ad Hoc Diversity Committee, and a U-M Global REACH faculty associate who collaborates with colleagues at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana, to bridge otolaryngology educational, technical and research efforts between KATH and the U-M. He also is a member of the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative, which promotes quality and safety for patients with tracheostomies.

Brown attended Brown University and Harvard Medical School, where he co-chaired the Third World Caucus and the Harvard University Black Graduate Student Conference. He completed his otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency in 2003 at U-M and a pediatric otolaryngology fellowship in 2004 at Children’s Hospital, Boston/Harvard. His first academic appointment was in 2004 at Johns Hopkins University where he was the associate program director of the otolaryngology residency, faculty member and student advisor for the Helen Taussig College, and winner of the George T. Nager Award for Excellence in Teaching.

“It’s an honor to serve in this role at the U-M Health System," Brown says. "I look forward to the challenge of pursuing efforts to transform health care to ensure equity in our time.”