RSDM Pays Tribute to Brenda Brower, Office of Student Affairs
Brenda J. Brower
The RSDM community mourns the sudden death of Brenda J. Brower, admissions coordinator in the Office of Student Affairs. Brower passed away May 18 in her Newark home. She was 59.
Brower joined RSDM as a temporary staff member in 2004. She quickly transitioned into a permanent role and served in the Student Affairs and Admissions Office for the past 18 years, working closely with students and international doctors, especially those in the Internationally Educated DMD program.
“We should all learn from her professionalism, her work ethic, and most importantly her human touch and warmth that she brought to each encounter with all of us, and with each applicant and also with matriculating students,” said Vice Dean Kim Fenesy. “She felt very serious that they were her responsibility, and when she handed them to us upon matriculation, she hoped we would take as good of care as she had given to them during the application process. You don't find many with a commitment like that.”
Brower always helped everyone with patience and a big smile, emphasized Associate Dean for Admissions Rosa Chaviano-Moran, who worked with her for close to two decades.
“It was very interesting to see the kind of impact she had not only with faculty and staff, who were her friends, but also with the students.” Chaviano-Moran shared how a student wrote to Brower after her death to express appreciation for her friendship. “A great void will be felt in this office,” but also beyond, said Chaviano-Moran.
“She was just like the color she loved, which was the color green,” she said. “She was very vibrant and full of life, just like a green tree.”
To honor Brower’s life and contributions to RSDM, Monica Williams-Riley, senior management assistant and a longtime friend and colleague of Brower, organized an on-campus memorial service May 25.
“I felt that since all of us really knew her and worked with her closely, we needed something to heal,” said Williams-Riley. “She was everybody's big sister, auntie, even mom sometimes.”
At the event, faculty, staff, and students along with others who knew Brower around campus and Newark gathered at the RSDM Oral Health Pavilion, many wearing her favorite color, green.
Seeing everyone in different shades of green, as Brower had in her wardrobe, was very touching, said Williams-Riley. She recounted how Brower would jokingly say, “what are you doing in my color?” anytime she saw someone wearing her color. “Little things like that we remember we can smile about.”
At the end of the event, the participants released green balloons into the sky “as a symbol of her spirit going back to God,” explained Williams-Riley. She live-streamed the event for Brower’s family and loved ones.
Brower is survived by her mother Emma Orr, brother Bobby Brown, and twin sons Jonnel and Rengel Brower.
