Lisa Brown, who has served as a state legislator in Washington for the past 20 years, most recently as Senate Majority Leader, did not seek reelection for another term this past November. Beginning in January, Brown, who was a strong advocate for educational initiatives while in the legislature and served as an associate professor in the graduate program of organizational leadership at Gonzaga University, will become chancellor of Washington State University Spokane. She was the first woman in history to serve as Senate Majority Leader in the state of Washington.
There are about 1,300 students enrolled at the Spokane campus and three quarters of them are women.
A native of Robinson, Illinois, Dr. Brown is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Colorado.