From his “gentleman’s farm” to his electric car, Todd Brown strives to live a mindful existence.

Eight miles outside of Ann Arbor, Brown resides in a quaint house, seated on 10 acres of farmland. With a heart-shaped pond and fruit trees scattered across the property, Brown spends endless summer hours mowing and maintaining the land, and always taking time to enjoy his hummingbirds.

Over the years, he’s watched his hard work manifest in sunflower and vegetable gardens.

“The only animals on the farm are free roaming deer and bunnies and other wild animals,” says Brown, contract and grant specialist at the Life Sciences Institute. “It’s so incredible to live in the country and yet be so close to downtown Ann Arbor.”

In addition to his peaceful homestead on the edge of Ann Arbor’s constant hustle, Brown drives an environmentally friendly, 100 percent electric car that he charges straight from a wall outlet.

“It definitely needs to fit your lifestyle,” Brown says. “You can’t travel for more than 100 miles at a time. Especially in the winter — that kind of weather really drains your battery.”

Brown’s Nissan Leaf has a monitor that indicates how many miles of driving are left. However, the charging process can take up to a full day. Because of its rapidly exhausted battery, road trips require Brown to rent a car for more long distance travels.

“You’re either renting a car, or you’ve got another regular car on reserve,” Brown says. “I’ve noticed though that the electric car has a lot of zip — you can speed up pretty quickly.”

Brown’s use of the electric car is just another way that he lessens his carbon footprint on campus.

“Only five times have I barely made it to my driveway,” Brown jokes.

Throughout his time at U-M, Brown has moved steadily through the ranks. Since his early days as a temporary worker, Brown has worked as an administrative assistant and financial specialist before moving into contract and grant specialization.

“It was a matter of being driven, ambitious and perhaps lucky — I had a great supervisor who saw my potential and inspired me,” Brown says of his current career in research administration.

Today, Brown dedicates his time to pre- and post-award duties — assisting faculty and students in the development and submission of accurate proposal budgets and compliant proposal materials by interpreting sponsor guidelines, university policies and federal regulations. Post-award duties include monitoring grant activities to ensure compliance with sponsor guidelines as well as university policy.  

“I’m a people person,” Brown says, referring to his work with both students and faculty members to keep them on the right track. “I build strong relationships to foster a positive, happy and friendly environment and provide compliant solutions for faculty and student requests.”

Whether it’s advising applicants and helping them meet deadlines or scoping potential grant sponsors, Brown brings his positive energy to the table and organizes the vast array of administrative duties.

“Grant administration can be a really complex world,” Brown says. “I really appreciate what my faculty are doing and I’m trying to relieve them of the administrative burden that comes from grant management.”

Brown’s contributions to the Ann Arbor community don’t stop on the job. At the non-profit, Conduct Becoming: The Foundation, Brown serves on the board as secretary and also plays a key role in financial management and planning for the organization, as it works to benefit veterans locally and nationally.

He also recently started preparing for the Certified Research Administrator (CRA) exam. As part of a pilot CRA study group, Brown sees much interest throughout campus and knows that the need and want for such a group is greatly received by research administrator peers.

“I’m grateful to be an asset to not only to the LSI, but the university as a whole,” Brown says. “Research is such an integral part of our institute and university and I’m proud to be a significant player.”

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