George and Iris Brown Humanitarian Award in Law

Award descriptionAwards totalling $4,375 have been made available annually through a gift from George A. Brown (1929-2014) and Iris Brown (B.Sc. 1958, B.Ed., M.Ed.) for students entering the J.D. program who have demonstrated an interest in human rights or Indigenous rights, have a history of community service and/or volunteerism and have demonstrated financial need. George (B.A. 1959, M.P.P.A, M.A., M.S.W.) was born in Jamaica, and came to Canada to pursue a bachelor's degree from UBC. Later he pursued three master's degrees from other Canadian universities, in economics, public administration, and social work. His passion for lifelong learning enabled him to further his commitment to equal opportunity and human rights while devoting his life to helping others. He worked at the Ontario Human Rights Commission for over fifteen years, where he won the first sex-discrimination cases in Ontario and established the right for girls to play on boys' sports teams. Iris graduated from UBC in 1958 with a degree in chemistry, where she was one of the only women in her class. In her thirty-eight-year career in education, she taught mathematics, chemistry and physics in Jamaica, British Columbia and Ontario. This award was established to recognize and support students who are concerned about human welfare. The awards are made on the recommendation of the Peter A. Allard School of Law.