ABOUT The BROWN FOUNDATION
The foundation was established following the passing of Craig’s father in 1989. It initially funded four scholarships and has grown significantly over the past three decades. The organization was later renamed the Craig and Galen Brown Foundation, and since then it has made numerous large gift contributions to Texas A&M University and Houston Methodist Hospital. Through its passionate support of Brown Scholars, the Brown Foundation cultivates leaders of the highest integrity who will positively impact their communities and humanity at large.
In addition to awarding undergraduate and EnMed graduate scholarships, the Brown Foundation supports the MSC Brown-Smith UK Honors Leadership trip, Craig C. Brown Outstanding Senior Engineering Award, the Brown Engineering Honors Program, the Craig Brown and Sue Smith EnMed Capstone Innovator Award Program at Houston Methodist, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston Methodist Academic Institute, the EnMed Program, Bo’s Place, Greater Houston YMCA, and other organizations and non-profits at A&M and in Houston.
Since 1992, the Brown Foundation has awarded scholarships to over 800 Brown Scholars; There are currently 194 Brown Scholars enrolled at A&M. Since 2019, the Brown Foundation has awarded over 50 EnMed scholarships to a subset of Brown Scholars; 1 EnMed Brown Scholar has graduated from the EnMed Program; 20 E2EnMed Brown Scholars are enrolled in the EnMed Program and 50 E2EnMed EAP Brown Scholars attending A&M will matriculate to EnMed.
The average Brown Scholar GPA is 3.87. The average Brown Scholar E2EnMed EAP GPA is 3.98 and the average MCAT score for E2EnMed EAP Brown Scholars is 520.
WE DEVELOP LEADERS
CRAIG BROWN
WE WANT STUDENTS WHO ARE WELL-
ROUNDED,
WHO ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT
TEXAS A&M IS ALL ABOUT.
Sue smith
THE BROWN FOUNDATION STRIVES TO DEVELOP LEADERS WHO WILL POSITIVELY IMPACT AND SERVE THEIR COMMUNITIES AND HUMANITY AT LARGE.
Craig Brown graduated from Texas A&M University in 1975 with a degree in Civil Engineering and earned his MBA in Accounting and Finance from Texas A&M in 1977. In 1992, Craig founded the Craig & Galen Brown Foundation, initially awarding four undergraduate scholarships. From those humble beginnings, the Brown Foundation has grown to more than 800 Brown Scholar alumni and, in any given four-year period, supports approximately 200 undergraduate Brown Scholars across four classes. Approximately 95% pursue engineering degrees, with the remainder pursuing degrees in business or science. A select group of Brown Scholars offered conditioned admission through the E2EnMed Early Assurance Program, beginning either as high school students or sophomores, matriculate to the School of Engineering Medicine (EnMed). The program now counts four Brown Scholar EnMed graduates, approximately 30 Brown Scholars enrolled across four EnMed classes, and more than 50 Brown Scholars who have been admitted through E2EnMed and are expected to matriculate to EnMed.
Craig serves as Chair of the Brown Foundation and is a member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Board of Visitors, the Hagler Institute Board of Directors, the Texas A&M Engineering Advisory Council, and the EnMed External Advisory Council. He is a past recipient of the Outstanding Senior Engineering Award, now named the Craig C. Brown Outstanding Senior Engineering Award. His many honors include recognition as a Texas A&M Distinguished Alumnus (2017), College of Engineering Outstanding Alumnus (2006), and Mays Business School Outstanding Alumnus (2012).
Sue Smith, Craig’s wife, graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in 1978 and earned her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1982. Sue serves as Executive Vice President of the Brown Foundation, directs the E2EnMed Early Assurance Program, and is deeply involved in the Brown Foundation Freshman Leadership Organization (BFFLO). She serves on the Houston Methodist Academic Institute Board of Directors, the EnMed External Advisory Council, and the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Houston-Galveston Board of Directors. She is a former board member of Bo’s Place, where she served as President, as well as KIPP Houston Public Schools, Brighter Bites, the UTHealth School of Public Health Development Board, and the Greater Houston YMCA.
Craig and Sue received the Sterling Evans Medal in 2019, the highest honor bestowed by the Texas A&M Foundation Board of Trustees, recognizing their distinguished record of service, leadership, and philanthropy. In 2025, they received the Robin Bush Award from Bo’s Place, a nonprofit bereavement center, in recognition of their longstanding commitment to service and profound impact on the Houston community.
Craig, Sue, and the Brown Foundation team interview and select highly accomplished, well-rounded high school students who have achieved National Merit recognition, demonstrated leadership and commitment to community service, and will attend Texas A&M University. A select group of these students who are pursuing engineering disciplines and aspire to careers in medicine are separately interviewed for prestigious School of Engineering Medicine (EnMed) scholarships. Up to 15 Brown Foundation E2EnMed candidates offered admission may matriculate to and enroll in EnMed each year.
The Brown Foundation selects approximately 100 students for interviews for Brown Foundation scholarships. Brown Foundation undergraduate scholarships are complemented by other scholarships and financial awards students may receive, including the Texas A&M President’s Endowed Scholarship, National Merit Scholarship, and Corps of Cadets Scholarship.
The Brown Foundation hosts an annual dinner at Texas A&M honoring graduating Brown Scholars. In addition to all Brown Scholars and the parents of graduating seniors, the dinner brings together the Texas A&M Chancellor, President, members of the Board of Regents, deans and senior academic leaders from the College of Engineering, EnMed, Mays Business School, College of Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, and College of Medicine, along with distinguished faculty, administrators, and honored guests.
Since its founding in 1992, the Brown Foundation has awarded undergraduate scholarships and, since 2019, has provided EnMed graduate scholarships. Beyond financial support, the Foundation provides Brown Scholars with distinctive educational, leadership, research, and professional experiences, including the Brown-Smith UK Honors Leadership Trip; the Houston Methodist Summer Undergraduate Research Internship; medical research and physician-shadowing opportunities at the Houston Methodist Academic Institute and Houston Methodist Hospital; and the Craig C. Brown and Suzanne H. Smith EnMed Capstone Innovator Awards Program at Houston Methodist for EnMed students.
Brown Foundation Gifts
The Brown Foundation awards undergraduate scholarships to high achieving, well-rounded students who achieve National Merit Semi-Finalist or Finalist status, have demonstrated leadership and community service, and attend Texas A&M University (A&M). Students are known as Brown Scholars and are recognized on the A&M campus as exceptional students and leaders. 95% of Brown Scholars major in engineering and the remainder major in other STEM disciplines.
The Houston Methodist Summer Undergraduate Research Internship (HM SURI) offers a nationally competitive 10-week summer internship program at the Houston Methodist Research Institute that provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to enrich their professional development and receive exposure to translational research. Each intern is assigned to a specific area or project within an ongoing project. Brown Foundation HM SURI interns are guaranteed 25% of the internship slots annually. The summer culminates in a scientific poster presentation where interns showcase their summer research project to Houston Methodist’s leading scientists, students and staff.
By journey’s end, close bonds and lasting friendships were formed between Brown Scholars.
Craig Brown and Sue Smith have committed $5 million to the Brown Smith Capstone Innovator Awards Program at Houston Methodist. EnMed Capstone Award recipients receive 2-year project funding for projects that address medical needs defined by medical investigators. Students work under the mentorship of faculty at Texas A&M and the Houston Methodist Research Institute. Each team member or individual selected for the Outstanding Capstone Project receives $5,000 and the Outstanding Faculty Mentor also receives $5,000 at the annual EnMed Capstone Innovator Awards Dinner.
The Brown Foundation awards graduate scholarships to the School of Engineering Medicine (EnMed) and has the right to have 15 Brown Scholars matriculate to EnMed annually. The Brown Foundation recruits and prepares high school students for Spring interviews with the EnMed Interview Committee for admission to EnMed using the E2EnMed EAP pathway.
A condition precedent to receiving the scholarship is the student’s enrollment at Texas A&M and their pursuit on an engineering major. EnMed graduates receive M.D. and M.E. degrees in four years. EnMed is a joint collaboration between A&M’s College of Engineering, College of Medicine and Houston Methodist Hospital.
The Craig and Galen Brown Foundation Engineering Honors Program (“Brown Engineering Honors Program”) has given $20 million dollars to the College of Engineering at Texas A&M to recruit, interview, select and scholarship students pursuing engineering majors.
The Brown Foundation has given $4 million to the Mays Business School, and the Texas A&M College of Science for Brown Foundation scholarships.
The Brown Foundation has given $1,000,000 to the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University for the Virginia C. Brown Atrium located in the Zachry Engineering Building in honor of Craig Brown’s mother.
Sue Smith and Craig Brown have provided a transformational $7 million dollar gift to create the Smith Brown Center for Engineering Medicine at houston Methodist, the Smith Brown Presidential Distinguished Chair in Engineering Medicine at Houston Methodist, and funding of the EnMed Scholarship Program Fund at Houston Methodist
Additional gifts to A&M from Craig Brown and Sue Smith include the Letterman’s Association, the Corps of Cadets Music Building, and the Memorial Student Center (MSC).
Special Events
The Brown Foundation holds an Annual Dinner in the fall to celebrate graduating seniors. All Brown Scholars and the parents of graduating seniors attend along with the Chancellor, President of Texas A&M University, members of the Board of Regents, Deans of each college, the President & CEO of the Texas A&M Foundation, administrative staff and friends of the Craig and Galen Brown Foundation. Each senior discusses his/her time at A&M and their future plans. Approximately 400 people attend the dinner.
With the bluebonnets and wildflowers in bloom, Craig and Sue host a graduating senior lunch at the family ranch in Round Top, Texas on a Saturday each spring for a day of fun and fellowship. Senior Brown Scholars engage in friendly competitions including canoe and gunny sack races and egg toss. In addition to graduating seniors, attendees may include past Brown Scholars and their families.
Over 3 different days in February and March, Texas A&M welcomed prospective students and their parents to the A&M campus for Brown Scholar Day.
Highlights included remarks from the Senior Associate Dean in the College of Engineering, Dr. Harry Hogan, Brown Scholar student-led panels, sessions showcasing campus resources and unique Brown Scholar opportunities including the Brown-Smith UK Honors Leadership trip and the Houston Methodist Summer Undergraduate Research Internship and campus tours.
Admitted E2EnMed EAP students and their parents were treated to an exclusive tour of the Houston Methodist Research Institute, several labs, a research faculty panel and lunch with EnMed Brown Scholars at the School of Engineering Medicine in Houston.
The College of Engineering and the Mays Business School hold an annual dinner to recognize outstanding alumni and present awards. Recipients of the Craig Brown Outstanding Senior Engineering Awards are recognized at the College of Engineering dinner. Brown Scholars majoring in engineering or business are recognized as a group at both dinners.