Scholarship to honor Acadiana High School educator’s memory – Barbara M. Brown Scholarship Created

Amanda McElfresh, Daily Advertiser, Mar. 3, 2014

For nearly four decades, Barbara Brown affected the lives of thousands of Acadiana High School students. 

She worked at the school for 34 years, mostly as an English teacher and at times, the head of the English Department. She worked with senior students on research papers that gave them a head start on the kind of work they would need to do in college. In addition, she led the yearbook staff for 18 years. For nearly six years, she was the school’s head librarian.

Brown died suddenly in December 2012, leaving a host of teachers, students and alumni shocked and saddened. Now, her widow, Bruce Brown, is honoring her legacy of education with a new scholarship.

Bruce Brown, a former Daily Advertiser reporter, said he got the idea last year.

“I thought, ‘What can I do that would honor Barbara’s memory’?” Bruce Brown said.

Unsure how to go about establishing a scholarship, Bruce Brown worked closely with the Community Foundation of Acadiana and the school. That led to the creation of the Barbara M. Brown Scholarship Fund. The money will go to one Acadiana High student who goes to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to major in education. It will cover one year’s worth of tuition.

“The notion is it’s a foot-in-the-door kind of scholarship,” Bruce Brown said.

A committee composed of Acadiana High administrators and staff members will select the scholarship recipient this spring. Bruce Brown said the idea is for the award to go to a student who demonstrates a strong involvement in his or her school and community, as well as academic achievement.

It’s also a way to keep Barbara Brown’s memory alive. A plaque will be placed in the school library, naming each year’s scholarship recipient. Bruce Brown also hopes that the scholarship will be a way to pass on his wife’s love of education. It is also helping Bruce Brown remember his mother, who died in January 2013 just weeks after his wife’s death. His mother was also a longtime educator, teaching at the University of New Orleans, Xavier University and Loyola University.

“In a way, it’s a Barbara thing, but it’s also something to honor my mother’s legacy and do something she would be proud of,” Bruce Brown said. “It’s kind of a way to remember both of them.”

Athletic Network Footnote: Bruce’s monthly "Spotlight on Former Athlete" can be viewed monthly on the Athletic Network. He has also contributed to other university publications and wrote Prides of Acadiana in 1980.