Every student at Western Carolina University knows who Chancellor Kelli R. Brown is, but very few know what a regular day looks like for her.
Alex Gary, Director of WCU Athletics, and Chancellor Kelli Brown meet to discuss the COVID-19 precautions for student athletes for the spring semester on Nov. 12. Photo by Lili Stapel.
Only being in the position since July 1, 2019, Chancellor Brown has faced a lot of struggles during COVID-19. However, despite her transition from in-person to online, Brown’s days as she says have stayed similar. Before the pandemic Chancellor Brown would constantly travel for days at a time to attend meetings, but now does it from the comfort of her own office. Her average day consisting of virtual and in-person meetings, visiting with students on campus, and planning for the future of the university through this pandemic.
The video below is a walk-through of her life on Thursday, Nov. 12. Chancellor Brown’s days vary, containing different meetings and other events she attends. But regardless of the day, Chancellor Brown’s main goal remains putting the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff first, incredibly proud of how the campus community has handled things.
“When I look at Western, and I look at how we’ve tackled the pandemic, it really is the Western way. Everyone has gotten down and rolled up their sleeves. You know, people are doing work that’s not their work. People have basically said ‘We’re gonna make it- we’re gonna be successful’,” said Chancellor Brown.
Due to the pandemic, there are a lot of faculty and staff members on campus that Chancellor Brown has never met in person. She admits that it is not easy for a college environment to experience a pandemic like this, not being able to host well-known WCU events such as football games or Valley Ballywhoo. However, she still pushes to have interactions and make connections with people in the campus community, even if virtual, believing that WCU and its community will only grow stronger from this.
