Trevor Brown Named Interim Executive Vice President and Provost

Brown joined Ohio State’s faculty in 2001 and became dean of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at its inception in 2015. Prior to that, he served as director of the then-Glenn School.

In June 2025, he was named senior vice provost for academic affairs in the Office of Academic Affairs. In this role, during which time he maintained his dean responsibilities at the Glenn College, Brown served as deputy to the provost and as a partner and resource for deans, vice provosts and other academic leaders — and helped lead strategy for ensuring student academic success and strong student outcomes.

While Brown’s appointment as interim executive vice president and provost will begin immediately, pending Board of Trustees approval, he will continue to hold the title of dean of the Glenn College through April 30. Beginning May 1, Stephanie Moulton, professor and associate dean for faculty and research at Glenn College, will be acting dean.

“Like his mentor and friend, the late Sen. John Glenn,” Bellamkonda said, “he has committed himself to the betterment of society through the act and, importantly, teaching of public service.”

Brown said he is ready for the next challenge.

“As President Bellamkonda has said, Ohio State is an academic powerhouse, and our focus on teaching, research, creative expression and community engagement is critical to improving the lives of Ohioans and families around the world,” Brown said. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to advance that important mission and continue the university’s momentum related to academic excellence.”

Brown has performed extensive service for Ohio State. Over the last five years he has served as co-chair of the academic transition task force during the COVID-19 pandemic, executive dean of the professional colleges, senior advisor to the provost and interim dean of Fisher College of Business, alongside his role as Glenn College dean. As a scholar, Brown worked with local, state, federal and foreign governments, as well as public organizations, to improve organizational and managerial performance.

He has conducted applied research projects for the City of Columbus, IBM Center for the Business of Government, Pew Center on the States, U.S. Department of the Navy, and others. His research on government contracting has been utilized by the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. From 1994 to 2013, he helped lead the Parliamentary Development Project, a U.S. Agency for International Development-funded organization that provided technical assistance to Ukraine’s national parliament.

He is also a renowned researcher in public management and organizational theory, contracting and contract management, and strategic management and performance measurement. The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing recognized him as the Scholar of the Year in 2013. The American Society of Public Administration’s Section on Public Administration Research awarded his co-authored book, “Complex Contracting: Government Contracting in the Wake of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deepwater Program” (Cambridge University Press), as the Book of the Year. He is also a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.  

Brown received a PhD in public policy and political science from Indiana University and a BA in public policy from Stanford University. From 2021 to 2024, he also served in the leadership of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration, which promotes the ideal of public service through higher education.

Moulton, who holds a PhD from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, is a visiting scholar at the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank and a faculty affiliate of Ohio State’s Institute for Population Research in the College of Arts and Sciences as well as the University of Wisconsin’s Institute for Research on Poverty.

She also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Wealth and Mobility Study at the University of Michigan’s Stone Center for Inequality Dynamics. Moulton is a member of the Academic Research Council for the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.  

“Trevor has led our college for more than a decade with a steady head and open heart. Our students, faculty, staff and alumni have benefited tremendously from his leadership,” Moulton said. “While his absence will be felt as he takes the call to serve as the interim provost, I am confident that he will bring the same steady head and open heart to his new role, with tremendous benefit to the entire university community.”

“The mission of the Glenn College is about a commitment to public service, inspiring and developing leaders who take the call to serve on behalf of something bigger than themselves, even when it is hard,” Moulton said. “I am continuously inspired by our faculty, staff, students and alumni and their embodiment of the public service in mindset and action. I am honored to lead alongside them in this next phase of our journey.”