The William L. Brown Center is named in honor of William L. Brown, a plant breeder and geneticist who served as Chief Executive Officer of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. and was a leader in the effort to recognize genetic erosion of crops and their wild relatives and to promote efforts to conserve their genetic diversity.
A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Brown's biography has been written by fellow Academy member Donald N. Duvick in Volume 70 of the Biographical Memoirs published by NAS in 1996.
William L. Brown's life and legacy was also covered in the journal DIVERSITY Vol. 8, No. 2, in 1992.