News Release

Rutgers receives $3 million in gifts for faculty position in cell biology and neuroscience

Motorola Solutions' donation of $1.5 million, matching anonymous gift will honor Greg Brown, Motorola Solutions Chairman and CEO, Rutgers alumnus

Grant and Award Announcement

Rutgers University

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – A $1.5 million gift to the Rutgers University Foundation will help create a new faculty chair honoring one of the university's most successful and respected alumni – Greg Brown, chairman and chief executive officer of Motorola Solutions.

Motorola Solutions' Board of Directors today announced the gift to create the Gregory Q. Brown Endowed Chair in Rutgers University's Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience in recognition of Brown's leadership and impact at Motorola.

The Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, in Rutgers University's School of Arts and Sciences, is known worldwide for its groundbreaking research to find treatments for stroke, Alzheimer's disease, brain and spinal cord injuries, and other debilitating conditions. The gift will be directed to this department in the hope that Rutgers researchers will be able to identify a cure for dementia and similar diseases, as a tribute to Brown's mother, Winifred Brown, who suffers from dementia.

"My family and I have seen firsthand the pain and devastation caused by dementia," Brown said. "I am very grateful and deeply appreciative to the Motorola Solutions Board of Directors for this recognition."

Motorola Solutions' gift will be matched with an additional $1.5 million from an anonymous donor – part of a $27 million challenge grant to create 18 endowed faculty chairs in a wide range of academic disciplines across Rutgers, including business education, engineering and the sciences.

For every $1.5 million raised for an endowed chair that meets the anonymous donor's criteria, the donor will match the gift with an additional $1.5 million. A total endowment of $3 million is needed to establish an academic chair. Motorola Solutions' gift creates the third endowed faculty chair as part of the challenge grant.

Fundraising for endowed chairs is a top priority of Our Rutgers, Our Future, the university's historic $1 billion fundraising campaign, said Rutgers University Foundation President Carol P. Herring.

"Endowed chairs enable the university to attract and retain faculty and give them the support they need to conduct research that creates new knowledge and benefits humanity," Herring said. "These faculty, who are leaders in their fields, also provide our undergraduate and graduate students with unique learning and research opportunities."

Launched publicly in October 2010, Our Rutgers, Our Future, addresses critical needs across all areas of the university – from faculty research and student scholarships to campus construction and civic engagement. Ninety percent of the funds raised in the campaign will be used to support academic initiatives, facilities, student services and community outreach.

Brown is a member of the executive committee of Rutgers' Board of Trustees and also a member of the Rutgers University Foundation Board of Overseers. He was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2010 and has been active at the university for many years.

Brown served as co-master of ceremonies at the 2010 kickoff dinner for the Our Rutgers, Our Future campaign. Brown also served recently as chair of the university's presidential search committee, which led to the selection of Dr. Robert L. Barchi as Rutgers University's 20th president. Barchi, the current president of Thomas Jefferson University and the former provost of the University of Pennsylvania, will begin serving as Rutgers University's president on Sept. 1.

On Sunday, May 13, Brown will be the keynote speaker at Rutgers University's 246th anniversary Commencement. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the 12:30 p.m. EDT universitywide graduation ceremony at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Rutgers' Livingston College – now part of the School of Arts and Sciences – in 1982.

Brown joined Motorola in 2003 and was elected to the company's board of directors in 2007. He became CEO of Motorola, Inc. in 2008 and, after the successful spin-off of the consumer-focused Motorola Mobility in January 2011, now leads Motorola Solutions, a leading global provider of mission-critical communications solutions to government and enterprise customers.

In addition to his responsibilities at Motorola Solutions, Brown is an active member of the business and civic communities. President Obama appointed him to serve on the President's Management Advisory Board as well as the Skills for America's Future board.

Brown is on the executive committee of the U.S.-China Business Council and serves as a member of the Business Council, the Business Roundtable, and the Technology CEO Council. A resident of Illinois, he serves in his local community as a member of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, as vice chair of the Executives' Club of Chicago, and on the board of directors of both Northwestern Memorial Hospital and World Business Chicago, and also has helped recruit corporations to the city.

Brown has been a proud supporter of Rutgers for many years. He contributed funds toward the new recruiting pavilion and welcome center at High Point Solutions Stadium and supports the Rutgers Psychological Clinic at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. Brown is an active supporter of cancer research, serving as a member of the American Cancer Society Discovery Ball Board of Ambassadors since 2008 and as a vice chair of the Illinois Chapter of CEOs Against Cancer.

Motorola Solutions is a leading provider of mission-critical communication solutions and services for enterprise and government customers. Through leading-edge innovation and communications technology, it is a global leader that enables its customers to be their best in the moments that matter. Motorola Solutions trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "MSI."

Established in 1766, Rutgers is America's eighth oldest institution of higher learning and one of the nation's premier public research universities. Serving more than 58,000 students on campuses in Camden, Newark and New Brunswick, Rutgers is one of only two New Jersey institutions represented in the prestigious Association of American Universities.

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