In 2012 College of Business faculty members Carol Brown and Jack Drexler retired from Oregon State after more than 60 years combined teaching experience at Oregon State.
Each has helped shape the course of the College of Business over the past 30 years, leaving their marks on the university and numerous students they've assisted over their time at OSU.
Read more about Carol Brown and her plans to relax after retirement, but also rededicate herself to volunteer work.
Read more about how Jack Drexler quickly went from swearing he'd never step foot in a univeristy again to becoming a member of the Oregon State faculty.
In all areas of her life Carol Brown has taken the extra step to try and help others.
Brown, retiring this year after joining the Oregon State College of Business in 1978, never wanted to teach anywhere other than Corvallis.
“I felt I made an honorable choice to assist regular students, ordinary people in getting the job skills they would need to earn a decent living for their families,” Brown said.
Brown’s career path wasn’t always so clear. Graduating with a degree in studio art from the University of Wisconsin before earning a masters in accounting and statistics from the University of Oregon, Brown didn’t see teaching in her future.
“I was just going to stay for a couple of years until I figured out what I wanted to do next,” Brown said. “A couple of years became 34.”
As an instructor and professor of accounting and current Associate Dean of Academic Programs, Brown has strived to assist her students and colleagues in any way possible.
The desire started with an example from her first mentor at Oregon State, former professor Mary Ellen Phillips.
“She gave me her entire notebook of notes for teaching the class,” Brown said. “The notes were so detailed the first page said, ‘My name is Mary Ellen Phillips,’ actually written.”
Phillips served as a mentor for Brown in an era where there were many fewer women in academia, something Brown pushed against in earning her degrees and starting as an instructor.
“I do feel pleased that I helped push the door open a little wider for women,” Brown said. “When I started the only women in the college were all in accounting.”
Brown has watched a number of changes in her time at Oregon State as enrollment in the College of Business expanded and priorities for faculty changed.
“Over the years there has been a gradual shift from the sole focus on teaching to a combined focus on teaching and research,” Brown said.
“What I’m pleased about is that the strong commitment to students has remained,” she said. “Many schools, as they switch to a more research-focused orientation, their commitment to students declines, and that’s not true here.”
While not making the daily trip to Corvallis will be a change — Brown lives with her husband in Eugene — she said there’s no anxiety leaving the college in the hands of the current faculty.
“I feel very comfortable retiring,” Brown said. “We have the strongest young faculty. They are bright, caring, hardworking. They do research, teaching, everything. They’re the epitome of what a college professor should be.”
She’s also ready to take some time off and get back to a few of her other passion.
Brown loves gardening but said her yard has been a little neglected.
She and her husband are also deeply committed to volunteer work. Nearly a decade ago the couple adopted two low-income families in the Eugene area, an endeavor she hopes to focus on more.
“My husband takes the kids to school,” Brown said. “He’s kind of like a substitute father for six different kids. They haven’t been happy with me being in this job because it cuts down on my time with them.”
While she said she already misses working with students, Brown is ready for a little downtime as well.
“I’m looking forward to having some real time off, really off,” Brown sai
