No One Cheers for Goliath: My Leadership Story

No One Cheers for Goliath chronicles the obstacles overcome and the leadership lessons learned by Timothy J. Brown from his journey as a first generation African American college student to academic dean. As the son of a steel worker, his path took him from the small steel mill town of Coatesville, PA through his improbable ascension into leadership positions in higher education. His story, however, started inauspiciously as he landed on academic probation after his first semester at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He would rebound to earn two degrees in Communication Studies from West Chester University, and complete his Ph.D. in Rhetoric at Ohio University. From Ohio, he would take his first faculty position at Buffalo State College, before returning to West Chester University as a faculty member in the same department in which he was a student. After seven years, he would succeed his mentor and the person who first encouraged him to go to graduate school, Dr. Denny Klinzing, as department chair (Denny served 26 years as chair of the department). Dr. Brown would serve 10 years as department chair of the Department of Communication Studies at West Chester University-a program that had over 500 majors and over 35 faculty members before being named the Dean of the James L. Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte. The Knight School of Communication is the only school in the nation that carries the Knight Foundation name. As Dr. Brown excelled as a teacher/scholar, he became a leader on his campus and in the discipline of communication. Among his many honors includes being named a Distinguished Teaching Fellow and a Distinguished Research Fellow by the Eastern Communication Association, and being honored as a Drum Major for Justice by West Chester University's Frederick Douglass Society.

No One Cheers for Goliath revisits Dr. Brown's leadership journey in higher education through personal reflections, life experiences, and memories of the people and events that shaped his leadership philosophy of being a servant-leader. Dr. Brown's servant-leadership approach is forged upon building authentic relationships and providing individuals with opportunities and support in order for them to succeed. Through powerful personal examples and stories, Dr. Brown captures what he learned as a leader in higher education. He believes in people because others had believed in him. He supports people as others supported him. He connects with people as others have connected with him. His ability to see people through their challenges, is reflective of the challenges that he had to overcome. The people, events, and circumstances that Dr. Brown discusses in No One Cheers for Goliath are meant to motivate, to encourage, and inspire leaders and aspiring leaders. As a result, effective leadership is a transformative process where the leader comes along side others to unlock their potential in order for them to reach goals that might have otherwise seemed unobtainable.