Bethel University has named Tom Brown as dean of its new business school, with his role starting Aug. 4.

The announcement this month comes as part of a larger restructuring at the Arden Hills university which includes four new colleges. All four schools are expected to launch in the fall. University officials made the announcement about the first of the colleges, the Anderson Family College of Health Sciences, in October.

In addition to Brown, the university’s new appointments include Matthew Vraa as dean of the Anderson College of Health Sciences, Barrett Fischer as interim dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education and Peter Vogt as dean of the School of Theology and Bethel Seminary.

The university’s school of business is currently in development and brings together the university’s business and communication studies programs, including undergraduate, adult undergraduate and graduate programs and certificates, according to a Bethel university publication.

Brown has more than 30 years of higher education experience, most recently serving as head of the School of Marketing and International Business at Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business.

“He has lived a life of deep faith while leading at one of the top business schools in the country, where he built meaningful connections with local industry,” said University Provost Robin Rylaarsdam. “As a marketing expert, he has a gift for understanding people and helping them see how stories — told with clarity and integrity — can inspire action and build trust. He brings that same discernment and vision to Bethel.”

In addition to publications in academic journals and co-authoring a textbook on marketing research, Brown has been named to the Stanford/Elsevier list of the top 2% of researchers across scientific disciplines. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Oklahoma State University before receiving his PhD in business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

While working at Oklahoma State has been “an amazing thing,” Brown said he is excited to combine his faith and expertise within his role at Bethel.

“The Twin Cities is blessed with wonderful business opportunities, and we think we’re going to be able to do some great things to support the local businesses and the region and the state and the country and around the world,” Brown said.

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Today is Monday, July 21, the 202nd day of 2025. There are 163 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On July 21, 1925, the so-called ‘Monkey Trial’ ended in Dayton, Tennessee, with John T. Scopes found guilty of violating state law for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. (The conviction was later overturned.)

Also on this date:

In 1861, during the Civil War, the first Battle of Bull Run was fought at Manassas, Virginia, resulting in a Confederate victory.

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In 1944, American forces landed on Guam during World War II, capturing it from the Japanese some three weeks later.

In 1954, the Geneva Conference concluded with accords dividing Vietnam into northern and southern entities.

In 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin blasted off from the moon aboard the ascent stage of the lunar module for docking with the command module.

In 1970, construction of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt was completed.

In 1972, the Irish Republican Army carried out 22 bombings in Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing nine people and injuring 130 in what became known as “Bloody Friday.”

In 2002, Ernie Els won the British Open in the first sudden-death finish in the 142-year history of the tournament.

In 2008, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic (RA’-doh-van KA’-ra-jich), one of the world’s top war crimes fugitives, was arrested in a Belgrade suburb by Serbian security forces. (He was sentenced by a U.N. court in 2019 to life imprisonment after being convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.)

In 2011, the 30-year-old space shuttle program ends as Atlantis landed at Cape Canaveral, Florida, after the 135th shuttle flight.

In 2012, Erden Eruc became the first person to complete a solo, human-powered circumnavigation of the globe.

In 2023, the “Barbenheimer” buzz reached its peak as the films “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” opened in theaters; the critical and public acclaim for both films led to the fourth-largest weekend box office of all time.

Today’s Birthdays:

Singer Yusuf Islam (also known as Cat Stevens) is 77.
Cartoonist Garry Trudeau is 77.
Author Michael Connelly is 69.
Comedian Jon Lovitz is 68.
Retired soccer player Brandi Chastain is 57.
Rock-soul singer Michael Fitzpatrick (Fitz and the Tantrums) is 55.
Actor/singer Charlotte Gainsbourg is 54.
Actor Justin Bartha is 47.
Actor Josh Hartnett is 47.
Reggae singer Damian Marley is 47.
Basketball Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings is 46.
Former MLB All-Star pitcher CC Sabathia (suh-BATH’-ee-uh) is 45.
Singer Blake Lewis (“American Idol”) is 44.
Latin singer Romeo Santos is 44.
Actor Betty Gilpin is 39.
Actor Juno Temple is 36.
Actor Rory Culkin is 36.

St. Paul’s Ryan Fitzgerald, in his first game off the injured list, had a homer and two runs batted in Sunday as the Saints beat the Louisville Bats 6-1 in their International League series finale in Kentucky.

For the Saints, it was only their second series victory on the road this season.

Jose Miranda had the big hit of the day, a three-run homer in the eighth inning to give St. Paul a 6-1 lead.

Cory Lewis got the victory with five innings of one-run relief of starter Jose Urena, who posted three scoreless innings.

The Saints are back home Tuesday night to begin a series against Worcester at CHS Field.

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The 2025 Minnesota Yacht Club Festival wrapped up Sunday with thousands gathering at Harriet Island Regional Park for some of the event’s most nostalgic headliners, including Sublime, 311 and Green Day.

“I’m here for Green Day. And everything else is diminishing in importance,” said festival attendee Kris Jeronimus.

Audience member John Kloster said he was particularly excited for Green Day, 311 and Garbage.

Throughout the day, the sun beat down on a crowd wearing tie-dye, bucket hats and ’90s band merch. Local musician Landon Conrath kicked off the third day of the festival 20 minutes after doors opened.

“I live in St. Paul, so my commute to this was like seven minutes,” he told the crowd. “It was wonderful.”

By the end of Conrath’s upbeat indie rock set, a few hundred people had gathered and were politely bopping their heads.

Nashville-based Winona Fighter raised the energy with a raging pop-punk set, during which frontwoman Coco Kinnon ran around onstage doing high kicks, screaming into the mic and encouraging the audience to open a mosh pit. Up next, fellow Nashville musicians Grace Bowers and the Hodge Podge jammed out with songs full of funk, soul and rock influences. The voice of 18-year-old Bowers was sometimes difficult to hear over the six-piece band, but her groovy guitar solos shined during the set.

Harriet Island was beginning to fill up by the time Blind Melon took the stage at 2:50 p.m. However, no matter how many times vocalist Travis Warren hoarsely yelled “Come on, Minnesota!” the audience stayed pretty calm until the band played its biggest hit.

“Here comes the one Blind Melon song I know,” Jeronimus said as the 1993 tune “No Rain” began to play.

Midway through the afternoon, indie rock band Beach Bunny began its set with “Cloud 9,” one of the songs that brought the Chicago-based group widespread TikTok fame in 2020. Throughout the hour-long performance, frontwoman Lili Trifilio had the audience clapping and singing along to the band’s catchy alternative tunes. She changed the lyrics in “Ms. California” for the set, yelling, “Everything is better in Minnesota!”

All-female Canadian rock band The Beaches also kept the audience entertained, with high-energy songs interspersed with banter among band members. The band closed with 2023 viral hit “Blame Brett” and the crowd sang along, chanting “Blame my ex!” repeatedly.

The festival will finish up tonight with headline performances from Garbage, Sublime, 311 and Green Day.

(This story will be updated.)

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