Extraordinary achievement and outstanding service to community and MGH Institute cited

Peter Brown never expected to be looking out on the sea of graduates at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and being honored during today’s MGH Institute Commencement. After all, Brown is a former TV news director, Partners HealthCare executive, and longtime public relations leader, not an academic. 

Yet here he was, receiving an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters (LHD), honoris causa, for his extensive record of distinguished service to both higher education and health care. And that’s what had him on stage during the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences/School of Healthcare Leadership commencement ceremonies, accepting the degree then lowering his head so that MGH Institute Board Chair Jeanette Ives Erickson could place the honorary hood over his head. 

“Thank you for this honor,” Brown told the graduates. “I am truly humbled beyond words.”

Brown has been giving back for more than two decades, but he never thought much of it. 

“What little, little, little piece I could ever offer is just part of what I think is important to do,” he said before the ceremony. “It's about giving back. It's about paying it forward, and I feel like this is a great opportunity to do that again.”

Receiving the honorary degree in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center was a coming home of sorts; the last time Brown was in this building was during COVID, when the Governor Baker asked Brown to handle public relations for Boston Hope, the 1,000-bed medical center for patients who were recovering from coronavirus infection and unsheltered individuals who are also infected.

“So the building number one brings back some memories for me, but two, in terms of where I am now and where I was, I feel as if there's probably a few steps I've taken since I've traveled the Partners path,” recounted Brown, “But everything I learned through news or healthcare has benefited who I became as a person with the idea of there's more to life than just living your life. It's about helping others.”

peter speaks to the room
With MGH Institute President Paula Milone-Nuzzo looking on, Peter Brown addresses a luncheon held in his honor after he was awarded an honorary doctorate during today's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences/School of Healthcare Leadership Commencement ceremony.

There are two criteria for one to receive an honorary doctorate: excellence and extraordinary achievement, and meritorious and outstanding service to the MGH Institute of Health Professions, and/or to society at large. 

“When we were thinking about people who met the criteria, people who were significant contributors, people who were long time friends of the IHP,” recounted President Paula Milone-Nuzzo, “Peter’s name rose to the top.”

Brown was at the top of his game in the television news industry, where he was an award-winning news director for CBS Boston, leading the station to numerous awards including the highest award given to any television station, The Edward R. Morrow Award for the best local news station in America. 

After nearly 22 years at CBS Boston, including 10 years as news director, Brown went to Brigham and Women’s Hospital as its Vice President of Public Affairs and Communication, where he worked with hospital president Gary Gottlieb. 

“Peter has an immense amount of talent, and he has extremely high emotional intelligence,” recalled Gottlieb. “He also had great values. If you're running mission driven organizations, and these organizations only exist for their mission, it's critical to stay focused on your mission and have people who share your values.”

Gottlieb appointed Brown his Chief of Staff when he became CEO of Partners HealthCare (now Mass General Brigham).

“Peter became really one of my closest colleagues and one of the best hires by far of my career,” said Gottlieb. “And I've had the privilege of hiring a lot of exceptional people, particularly working in an ecosystem like Mass General Brigham for long period of time. Peter became a really trusted confidant, a wise and superb mentor, in helping me to understand a variety of aspects of communication of the external world and a variety of key relationships that we needed to have. He provided great input.” 

Kate Walsh, now Secretary for Health & Human Services for the Commonwealth, worked with Brown while she was the Chief Operating Officer for Partners. She remembers a colleague who could quickly identify the essence of an issue — especially during a crisis — and develop a message for it. 

“I'd have this swirl of conversation with him, and he’d come back in five minutes and give me a piece of paper that would capture what we should say,” Walsh recalled. “He just figured it out. Peter had the combination of great communication skills, great writing skills and he worked hard — he didn't phone it in. He was just great.” 

Even after Brown left Partners in 2015 to begin his own strategic communications firm, he has stayed in touch. 

“He never forgets my birthday,” marveled Walsh. “He has incredibly high integrity, incredible loyalty, and he engenders loyalty and trust. He has this kind of magical way of collecting people. And I'm really proud to be part of the collection.”

Walsh is hardly alone when it comes to the people and causes that are part of Brown’s orbit, one that includes volunteerism and leadership for more than two decades. He’s been involved with the Boston Athletic Association for a quarter century, first as a producer of the television coverage for the Boston Marathon and now on the Board of Governors, where he’s provided two bibs for MGH Institute students to run the Boston Marathon and fundraise. Brown has also been a Board Member of the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Program, a group inspiring youth to lead a life dedicated to leadership, service, and innovation. Brown has served as a leader for the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Chair of the Board at the Family Justice Center of Boston and has been a member of the External Affairs Committee for the Forsythe Institute in Boston. 

Add all this to the input and influence that Brown has brought to the MGH Institute table for more than 20 years — he is the inaugural Chair of the President's Council and an informal adviser to the President — and it’s clear why he is deserving of the honorary doctorate. 

“His long-standing service as a leader in Partners HealthCare, his service to the community and his leadership in support of the IHP has distinguished him as a significant and sustained contributor,” wrote Milone-Nuzzo Ives Erickson in their nomination letter. “He has consistently expressed his belief in and commitment to the mission of the MGH Institute and its role as an innovative force in health care and higher education in both words and actions.” 

During his address to the graduates, Brown urged them to do what he has done: Pay it forward. 

“You can offer so much—you are filled with the wisdom of what you have learned and the knowledge of your life experiences,” Brown said. “Share that. When it's your turn, don't turn your back. Don't say if you're too busy. Think about a mentor who is there for you, especially when you needed one. We need to pay it forward more in our world today. We need to reach out with a hand of support, of friendship, of love. When someone is lost or just needs an adjustment in direction, when you pay it forward, you make a difference in someone's life. The reward, I promise is everlasting.”

“In terms of leadership and contributions to the community, Peter has done so many things in the broadcasting world and supported so many different organizations, charitable organizations and professional organizations,” noted Milone-Nuzzo. “It's pretty amazing how he's touched so many different parts of the Boston community and helped them evolve.”

“This is the biggest award I’ve ever received,” concluded Brown. “I’m humbled beyond words. It’s really an honor.”

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