Andreas Brown

Honorary Degrees
 
 

Andreas BrownAndreas Brown

Nationally Known Book Seller​

San Diego State University

Andreas Brown has owned and operated the legendary Gotham Book Mart and Gallery in New York City for more than 37 years. The Gotham is frequently considered the most important independent bookstore in America.

Mr. Brown is an alumnus of San Diego State University, graduating with honors in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. While at the university he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and Pi Kappa Delta, the national honorary speech fraternity. After graduate studies at Stanford University, and serving in the United States Army, Mr. Brown returned to San Diego State to teach speech for three years.

Mr. Brown has actively promoted the appreciation and cultural significance of American literature and art throughout his adult life. He is recognized across the country by book dealers, authors, and libraries as being the foremost bookseller and literary estate consultant in the field of American literature. Mr. Brown has a close relationship with some of the world's leading writers, from Nobel Prize winners Saul Bellow and Samuel Beckett to contemporary writers such as John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, Philip Roth, Allen Ginsberg, J.D. Salinger, and Edward Gorey; as well as playwrights Arthur Miller, Lillian Hellman, Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, and Lanford Wilson. He conducts evaluations of collections for authors and libraries across the country.

Mr. Brown is actively involved in many professional organizations. He has served on the National Board of Governors of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of American, and is also a member of the American Booksellers Association, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, and the Grolier Club of New York. He is a contributing editor to various journals, and an active lifetime member and contributor to the San Diego Historical Society.

In recognition of his lifelong commitment to excellence in the arts, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and San Diego State University are proud to confer upon Andreas Brown the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts.