Olympic Gold Medalist, Former Razorback Campbell Brown to be Awarded Honorary Degree

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Veronica Campbell-Brown

Veronica Campbell Brown, former NCAA track champion with the Razorbacks and Olympic gold medalist with Jamaica, will receive an honorary degree from the University of Arkansas during the all-university commencement ceremony Saturday, May 13, at 8:30 a.m. in Bud Walton Arena. 

Cambell Brown, an alumna of the U of A, previously graduated from the Sam M. Walton College of Business in 2006 with a degree in business administration.

She competed in five Olympiads throughout her career, winning three gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze. At the U of A, she won the 200-meter sprint at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships, setting a new collegiate record and earning All American accolades.

VERONICA CAMPBELL BROWN

Alumna Veronica Campbell Brown discovered her love for running when she was young. In rural Trelawney, Jamaica, a primary school teacher recognized her talent and advised her to embark on a career in track and field. During the next two decades, she dominated sprints at the international level, collecting 21 medals across five Olympic Games and seven World Championships.

Campbell Brown started her career with gold medals at the IAAF World Youth Championships in 1999 and then became the first woman to win both the 100- and 200-meter sprints the next year at the World Juniors. At only 18 years of age, she joined Jamaica’s 4x100-meter relay team for the 2000 Olympics, and they won the silver medal. A track scholarship to Barton County Community College in Kansas brought her to the United States, where she won four national junior titles. Upon finishing her associate degree at Barton, Campbell Brown transferred to the U of A, where she won the 200-meter sprint at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships, setting a new collegiate record and earning All American accolades.

She turned professional the next year while continuing her classwork as a marketing major in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. During her five Olympiads, she won three gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze. In the World Championships, she earned five gold, seven silver and one bronze. She was the first woman from the Caribbean to win a sprint title at the Olympics and the first woman to win the 100-meter title across the board in the World Youth Championships, World Junior Championships, the World Championships and the Olympic Games. She is the second of three athletes who have won the 200-meter dash in two consecutive Olympiads, finishing first in Athens and Beijing.

Amid her heavy running schedule, she graduated from the U of A with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2006. The next year, she married Omar Brown, also a U of A alumnus and sprinter from Jamaica. Campbell Brown retired from professional track and field in 2021. She has been inducted into the U of A Sports Hall of Honor and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Today, Campbell Brown is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, author, philanthropist, mother of two and former UNESCO ambassador. She chairs the Veronica Campbell Brown Foundation, which she founded with the core mission of assisting young girls who are unrepresented and lacking the necessary resources to obtain a high school education. She launched VCB FIT, an online activewear brand with the vision of providing women with functional products and inspiring them to maintain healthy and active lifestyles. 

In her virtual talks, she provides strategies for corporate and university teams, as well as individuals to help them cope with stress. As a UNESCO Champion for Sport Ambassador, she uses her title to actively promote gender mainstreaming for women. She has also published two inspirational books on achieving fulfillment.

More information about this year’s commencement including the schedule and locations of ceremonies can be found at commencement.uark.edu. 

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.