SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Stater Bros. Markets has announced that California State University San Bernardino’s College of Business and Public Administration will be named for Jack Brown, the supermarket company’s executive chairman.

Jack Brown

The naming of the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration was approved by the California State University board at their July 19 meeting in Long Beach.

Last month Brown made a personal pledge to California State University, San Bernardino, that the school said was the largest single cash gift to in its history.  This personal gift will help support academic enrichment and student scholarships in the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration, attract and retain faculty, facilitate student enrichment, provide for new programs and supplement research in perpetuity.

“I am very honored and proud to have my name associated with the College of Business and Public Administration at CSUSB,” Brown said in a statement. “I was raised in San Bernardino, attended Washington and Lytle Creek Elementary Schools, Richardson Junior High, San Bernardino High School and San Bernardino Valley College. Also, Stater Bros. Markets is headquartered in San Bernardino and is the largest private employer in the Inland Empire of Southern California with nearly 18,000 members of the Stater Bros. Supermarket Family. I consider this personal gift as an investment in the Inland Empire’s future success, which will provide many educational opportunities for current and future students at the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration and give them an opportunity to live their dreams. Education Matters.

“My involvement with CSUSB actually started before the university was even established when I joined other members of the San Bernardino Kiwanis Club to plant trees on barren land in order to make it an attractive location for a Cal State campus.”

CSUSB President Tomás Morales, who spoke to the trustees prior to the vote, called Brown a visionary “whose generosity will positively impact CSUSB and our students for generations to come.”

“CSUSB is extremely fortunate to have Jack Brown as a friend and supporter, someone who for nearly seven decades has championed efforts to elevate and strengthen the communities of the Inland Empire,” Morales stated.  “The most immediate benefit to our university is the continuing association with Jack Brown.  His name is more than recognizable; it conveys success, dedication and integrity, and is highly respected locally, regionally and nationally.”

Brown has been head of Stater Bros. for 36 years.  When he arrived at the company, sales were $475 million, the company operated 69 supermarkets and there were 3,300 employees.  Today, the company said its sales exceed $4.2 billion, and it operates 168 supermarkets.

In 1992, California State University, San Bernardino honored Brown with the naming of Jack H. Brown Hall, the home of the College of Business and Public Administration, the Department of Computer Sciences and the Department of Mathematics, and in 2005, he was honored by CSUSB with an “Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.”

Brown is the founding chairman of Children’s Fund of San Bernardino County, a public/private agency devoted to protecting abused and at-risk children which serves 1.4 million children. In honor of his mother, he created the Rose Brown scholarship for single parents at CSUSB and he also supports college numerous scholarships for employees of Stater Bros.

A navy veteran, Brown has shown commitment to those who serve the United States and to veterans. He has pledged to protect the jobs and benefits of Stater Bros. employees who are called to active duty and pays the difference between their Stater Bros. pay and their military pay until they return from active duty.

In October 2008, Brown was awarded the “Semper Fidelis” Award, presented by the commandant of the Marine Corps on behalf of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.  It was in recognition of his patriotism and distinguished service in support of the United States Marine Corps. In February 2011, he received the Patriot Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

Brown has received numerous honors and awards including the “Horatio Alger Award” for outstanding contributions to America and the “American Dream”, the California Grocers Association “Hall of Achievement” Award, and the Food Marketing Institute’s highest honor, the “Sidney R. Rabb” Award, for a lifetime of service to the community, customers and the supermarket industry.