USC vice president to head Pitt’s government relations office

David Brown has been named the new vice chancellor of Pitt’s Office of Government Relations and Advocacy. He starts May 9.

David BrownBrown succeeds Paul Supowitz, who will become special assistant for strategic initiatives in the Office of the Chancellor. Supowitz joined Pitt in 1997 and has held leadership roles in government relations since 2002.

The government relations office is responsible for engaging lawmakers and advocating for Pitt’s policy priorities at all levels of government.

Brown comes to Pitt from the University of Southern California, where he most recently served as the vice president of federal relations and prior to that as the interim senior vice president of university relations, managing a staff of more than 200 in support of USC’s advocacy efforts.

“David’s background checks every box,” said Kevin Washo, chief of staff for Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. “He has expertly navigated the complex fields of higher education, medicine and all levels of government, and he is well-positioned to usher in a new era of government affairs and advocacy at the University of Pittsburgh.”

Brown brings more than two decades of experience in higher education government relations as well as an additional decade in health care policy. At Pitt, his role will include advocating for issues like access and affordability for Pennsylvania students and for policies that will enable and enhance Pitt research.

Brown received his master’s degree in health administration from Virginia Commonwealth University and his bachelor’s from the University of Virginia.

Read more about the appointment on Pittwire.