Brown-Dean to Lead the Allbritton Center

Dr. Khalilah Brown-Dean has been named executive director of the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life and university professor Wesleyan University.

Brown-Dean — a community-engaged scholar and academic leader who creates spaces for collaboration and understanding — takes the helm at the center, where students learn about civic and community engagement to human rights and social entrepreneurship.

Dr. Khalilah Brown-Dean“I’m passionate about confronting grand societal challenges like threats to democracy,” said Brown-Dean. “This role affords me the opportunity to tackle some of the global conflicts that we all have to contend with, while leveraging the resources of higher education.”

Brown-Dean begins her role May 1 at Wesleyan. She currently serves as associate provost for Faculty Affairs at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut where she is also a professor of political science. She previously served as a professor and director of Undergraduate Studies at Yale University.

She is the author of Identity Politics in the United States, and the host of Connecticut Public Radio program and podcast Disrupted, a 2024 Gracie Award winner.

“A beacon of scholarly excellence, an inspiring educator, and a tireless champion of civic engagement, Dr. Brown-Dean’s expertise spans the vital realms of voting rights, mass incarceration, U.S. elections, and the intricate dynamics of race and politics,” said Dr. Nicole Stanton, Wesleyan’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.