Jamestown native to receive Fredonia’s Lanford Presidential Prize

Bradley J. Brown, a senior majoring in Biochemistry who will matriculate to SUNY Upstate Medical University this fall, has been selected to receive the 2021 Lanford Presidential Prize from the Oscar and Esther Lanford Endowment of the Fredonia College Foundation.

The award, which recognizes a member of the graduating class who has exhibited balanced achievement and exemplifies Fredonia ideals, was generously created and endowed by the late President Emeritus Oscar E. Lanford and Mrs. Lanford. Brown was one of 11 nominees.

Since enrolling at Fredonia in 2017, Brown, the son of Douglas and Alda Brown, has achieved a 3.99 GPA. He has a minor in Psychology.

A graduate of Jamestown High School, Brown has taken an active role in campus programs and activities related to his studies. He is a two-time participant in Honduras: Health Care in Central America, a J-Term study abroad program that enables students to serve in medical brigades in the Central America country. Brown became a student leader in his second year in the program. Brown launched a new student club, Fredonia for Friends of Honduran Children, which supports children living in an orphanage where Fredonia students stay on their visits.

Additionally, Brown is a founding member and treasurer of the campus chapter of Partners in Health Engage, an organization that advocates health care equity in 11 countries. He organized and executed fundraisers that generated over $1,500. Brown has also served as a volunteer at the Jericho Road Community Health Center in Buffalo.

Last fall, Brown became an advocate for safer COVID-19 protocols on campus. He co-authored the Call for a Safer Fredonia Reopening Plan, an open letter sent last summer to SUNY administration that was signed by over 1,000 faculty, staff and students.

His community service includes becoming a volunteer for Toys for Tots in Jamestown and providing percussion lessons for children.

Brown’s academic accolades are numerous. He is a two-year recipient of the Dingledy Scholar Award, given to the student with the highest GPA in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and also received the Kelly/Kaminski Chemistry Achievement Award, Health Professional School Preparation Scholarship and the Alice M. Sam Biology Scholarship.

He completed healthcare internships with UPMC Chautauqua WCA, The Resource Center and the New York State Rural Area Health Education Center’s Scholars program, which provides hands-on and online training on topics designed to enhance patient-centered care. Brown also shadowed doctors at UPMC Chautauqua WCA.

Also nominated for the Lanford Prize were Emma Atherall, a major in Communication: Communication Studies and Communication: Public Relations, with a minor in Public Health; Emily A. Brown,  a major in Childhood Inclusive Education; Benjamin Farley, with a major in Adolescence Education: Social Studies and History; Molly Gibbs, with majors in Public Accountancy and Economics;  Elizabeth Hahn, a major in Biology, with a minor in Applied Music; Jonathan Kobrinsky, a major in Music Education; Haleigh Moreno, a major in Exercise Science, with minors in Chemistry and Biology; Braelin Scott, a major in Business Administration: Management, with a minor in Leadership Studies; Thomas Sheffield, with majors in Political Science and Music; and Emilee Stenson, a major in Molecular Genetics, with minors in English and Chemistry.

The Lanford Prize will be presented to Brown at Commencement.