The Harold R. Brown Scholarship at the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine is deeply rooted in the simple yet profound philanthropic philosophy of its founder: help people who have the ability, but lack the resources, to make a difference.
The college’s largest endowed scholarship fund, the scholarship is a transformative investment in the future of health and in students from underrepresented backgrounds and rural communities.
“Our students come from a range of backgrounds, many from the rural Washington communities who desperately need greater access to health care,” WSU College of Medicine Dean James Record said. “The Brown Foundation’s gift provides these students with the opportunity to get an education and be a catalyst for change in these same communities.”
Harold Brown, a self-made entrepreneur and Korean War veteran, built his own construction company from the ground up. Starting with just $2,500 and three employees, including his mother, with an office behind his grandmother’s house, Brown grew the company into a successful enterprise that spanned western America.
Despite his financial success, Brown remained humble and deeply loyal to those he worked with. His humanism and enduring commitment to help give others a “hand up” guided his lifelong philanthropy, which continues through the work of the Harold R. Brown Foundation after his passing.
The foundation itself is a testament to Brown’s commitment to people. He delegated its management to lifelong colleagues and friends Ronald Mandell and Leon Janks as well as his nephew, Timothy Murray.
“Harold was looking for people who needed some assistance to reach their full potential,” Janks recalled. “We have the honor of giving away money in legacy of what Harold would have wanted.”
The decision to support the young WSU medical school began with Murray, a long-time WSU professor who has lived in Washington for nearly 50 years. He recognized the opportunity to make a significant impact in a region facing acute shortages of health care professionals. The trustees were also drawn to the college’s focus on rural communities and Tribal Nations as well as its commitment to train physicians from Washington who could one day serve in the communities they call home.
“I appreciate the challenges that rural areas face in terms of needing medical professionals,” Murray said. “This scholarship can not only impact a young medical school but help support health professionals who can meet that challenge.”
For trustees, this work is both a responsibility and a privilege. Watching scholarship recipients such as WSU medical student and scholarship recipient Destiny Vaisberg mature as a person and future health professional is both inspiring and uplifting.
“She started as a young student. Now she’s out doing rotations. It’s interesting and gratifying to have that opportunity,” Murray said.
Brown’s legacy of charitable giving spans far beyond WSU. He and the foundation support cancer research—Brown being a cancer survivor himself—through institutions like Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, funded scholarships at University of Southern California Law School and USC Norris Cancer Comprehensive Center, and contributed to the Blind Center of Nevada, where he served on the board. The foundation also supports food banks, wildfire relief efforts, and programs that mentor women and youth with challenging backgrounds.
At the College of Medicine, the Harold R. Brown Scholarship does more than fund education: it empowers future physicians to embody the values of integrity, humility, and hard work as they carry forward a legacy of purpose-driven service.
“It’s been one of the great honors of my life,” Mandell reflected. “What a great pleasure to do what we get to do.”