Dr. Kathleen “KB” J. Brown ’79

Dr. Kathleen Brown has earned the admiration of both the Laurentian community and those in the field of education thanks to her devotion to children’s reading abilities and educators’ abilities to teach children to read. A government major who graduated magna cum laude from St. Lawrence, she earned induction into both Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa, studied abroad in Kenya, and served on the Thelomathesian Society.

During the 1980s in Southern Idaho, Kathleen taught every grade except kindergarten and 12th, working with multi-lingual learners during the school year and migrant students during summers. Hellbent to help children of poverty become excellent readers, she earned her doctorate in Learning & Instruction from the University of Utah, and has remained dedicated to this mission throughout her career. In 1997, she received the University of Utah Graduate School of Education Teaching Award in recognition of her contribution to university teaching. Her work has been published in several scholarly journals, including Reading Research Quarterly, The Elementary School Journal, The Journal of Literacy Research, and The Reading Teacher.

In 1998, Kathleen, her department chair, and a freshman representative in the Utah Legislature crafted a bill to create a reading clinic for Utah students struggling with reading difficulties and their parents and teachers. The following year, the legislature created the University of Utah Reading Center (UURC) to provide assessment and intervention on-site, on-line, and in schools for thousands of Utah children in grades K-12. While the program was originally funded for only one year, Kathleen and her colleagues augmented ongoing state funding for over 25 subsequent years using philanthropic donations and federal grant awards of $10 million. The original staff of five now includes 20 full-time reading specialists and 35 part-time reading tutors. Over twenty years of data demonstrate that children who receive UURC intervention improve at least one grade level after an average of 45 lessons. 

Now Director Emeritus of the UURC and living in Salt Lake City with her spouse Michael Gorrell, Kathleen has managed to stay connected to St. Lawrence despite a distance of over 2,000 miles, two children, and her demanding career. She attends local SLU get-togethers has been a volunteer for several Reunions, attending her 35th and 40th on campus in 2013 and 2019.  

Kathleen is a longtime Sustaining Saint, having supported the University for 16 consecutive years. She’s been an ardent supporter of the St. Lawrence Fund, while also supporting additional University priorities including Sustainability Initiatives and Health & Wellness.