Biography

Dr. Brownell is the former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. Prior to her appointment as Dean in 1999, Dr. Brownell served for 3 years as Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences, 5 years as Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences, and over 20 years on the faculty of Communication Studies at URI. In 1977-78 she coordinated the College of Human Science and Services at URI, and in 1978-79, she served as an ACE Fellow in academic administration at the University of Utah.

In 1988, Dr. Brownell received the URI Foundation Teaching Excellence Award; in 1996, she received the Association of Academic and Professional Women “Woman of the Year” award; in 1999, she received the Lambda Pi Eta Richard E. Bailey Service Award for Excellence in the Art of Human Communication; in 2003, she received the Multicultural Center Administrative Excellence Award; and in 2006 she received the Rhode Island International Film Festival Producer’s Circle Award. Her publications include articles in Communication Monographs, Communication Quarterly, Personnel Journal, Communication Research Reports, The Encyclopedia of Aging, and The Gerontologist. Dr. Brownell has received over $3,850,000 in grant funding for creative and research projects, and she has helped attract over $30,000,000 in individual, corporate and foundation awards, pledges and in-kind gifts to URI.