Shelley Brown to Receive Honorary Degree at Cedar Crest College's 143rd Commencement

Cedar Crest will present State Theatre President and CEO, Shelley Brown, with an honorary degree in humane letters at the 143rdCommencement ceremony this Saturday, May 11. This will be the second time Cedar Crest has recognizEd Brown's impressive career, having awarded her the 2008 Women in Business Award, given to a successful businesswoman who exemplifies the leadership, hard work and determination central to the Cedar Crest College mission.

"I am proud to present an honorary degree to someone who has done so much for the arts in the Lehigh Valley," said President Carmen Twillie Ambar. "She is extremely deserving of such recognition and is a true role model for our students."

Brown has been overseeing all operations of the theatre since 1993. Responsibilities include supervising all operations and technical aspects of the State Theatre and its productions, annual and long-range fundraising, and programming over 100 shows per season for the 1,549 seat restored vaudeville house, plus the Acopian Ballroom and The Gallery at the State Theatre, located in downtown Easton.

Shelley created and is executive producer of the FREDDY© Awards, a Tony-award style ceremony held each May to recognize outstanding achievement in high school musicals in Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Pa. and Warren County, NJ. As executive producer, she has received two Emmy Awards, in 2005 and 2011, as well as two additional nominations. She also stars in CanyonBack Films' feature-length documentary, Most Valuable Players, which is about the 2008 FREDDY© Awards program. Most Valuable Players had its festival premiere in Aug 2010 as part of the prestigious DocuWeeks Festival in New York and Los Angeles, and world television premiere in September 2011 as part of the OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) Documentary Club.

Prior to her tenure at the State Theatre, Shelley Brown was the executive producer, vice president for development and principal on-air personality of WLVT-TV, the Lehigh Valley's public television station, for over 18 years. During that time her programs received 7 Golden Keystone Awards and her magazine series "First Monday" received an Emmy Award nomination.

In recognition of her contributions at the State Theatre, she was awarded with the 2000 NIKE Award from the Business & Professional Women's Club of the Lehigh Valley, the 2001 Martin Zippel Award from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Easton, the 2002 Athena Award from the Two Rivers Chamber of Commerce, an Honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts from Lafayette College in 2004, the 2007 LifePath Community Service Award, and the 2008 Cedar Crest College Women in Business Award. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Lehigh Valley Community Foundation and Easton Area Industrial Developers Inc and Easton Area Industrial Land Development Company Inc.

"It is a great honor to be recognized by Cedar Crest College, where bold women are encouraged and nurtured," Brown said. "The world needs more of them."

Located in Allentown, Pa., Cedar Crest College was selected as a "Top Regional College" and "Best Value" in U.S. News and World Report's Best Colleges rankings for 2012 and 2013. The liberal arts college is committed to the education of women leaders in an increasingly global society. Founded in 1867, Cedar Crest currently enrolls approximately 1,900 students-full-time, part-time and graduate-in more than 30 fields of study.

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