Craig Collins '86, Alabama State Department of Education leader, with Dr. Brown
Contact: Crystal Drake, Office of Strategic Communications
Dr. Mark A. Brown, Tuskegee University president and CEO, challenged more than 600 JROTC cadets to lead with purpose, discipline, and respect as they prepare for lives of service and achievement. During his keynote address at the 2026 Alabama State Leadership Conference in Prattville, Alabama, Dr. Brown made it personal, using parts of his life to illustrate that the conference theme “Everyday Leaders” means that leadership starts in the choices they make every day.
Brown’s Bag – A Leadership Framework
Dr. Brown’s keynote centered on his Brown’s Bag, a leadership guide he created while serving in the Air Force. It is “the ten most important things I have learned or that I wish someone had told me when it comes to leadership,” he said. Dr. Brown left the stage, preferring to meet cadets eye to eye to walk and talk as he shared powerful and personal commentary on authentic and effective leadership, the meaning of character, and the importance of daily growth.
“Bloom where you are planted,” he said to the cadets filling the large conference room in their well-pressed uniforms. “Leadership starts when you understand the best job you will ever have is the one you have right now. You all have some of the highest test scores in the state – your job now is to continue being excellent students. If you do your best today, tomorrow will take care of itself because of opportunities you earn from your hard work.”
Dr. Brown stressed the importance of understanding that character is built by one’s own internal decision-making, not in performative actions.
“You will have lots of opportunities to do the wrong thing,” he said. “You must decide for yourself that ‘there are certain things I simply will not do.’ Leadership is not a popularity contest.”
He also encouraged the cadets to understand that failure is a natural part of life.
“Regardless of your rank or position, failing will happen. It is a part of leadership,” he said. “Character is what you do when you get knocked down. Will you get up? Will you lift those around you as you do? Make the best character-driven decisions you can make. Go find the answers wherever they might be – and keep learning, keep learning, keeping learning.”
The Tuskegee Legacy
Dr. Brown extended a warm invitation to every cadet to continue their education at Tuskegee – highlighting Tuskegee’s distinctive role in developing leaders for the nation as the only Historically B
lack College or University (HBCU) offering ROTC commissioning opportunities across all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.
“If you want to commission into the Air Force, the Space Force, the Marines or the Navy, if you want to ‘hooah’ with the U.S. Army, you can do it at Tuskegee,” said Dr. Brown.
An organizer of the event, Alabama State Department of Education leader Craig Collins knows exactly what the Tuskegee experience can inspire in students – he is a 1986 Tuskegee alum.
“In the Renaissance Era Dr. Brown has ushered in, talented students in Alabama are well-prepared to become a part of Tuskegee’s future,” said Collins, Education Administrator of Career and Technical Education Workforce Development.
Aim High – Fly. Fight. Win.
Sharing the U.S. Air Force mantra, a call back to his 32-year-career in the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Brown emphasized that he once sat where they did – his Air Force career started while he was an ROTC cadet at Tuskegee University – and that their bright futures will unfold in ways that they can’t predict now.
“Look to your left, and to your right. You could be sitting next to the future president of the United States,” he said, as cadets smiled, some incredulously, at the possibility.
“But remember, you are already leaders,” he said. “You could have been anywhere else today, but you made the choice to be here, to continue strengthening your leadership skills and developing camaraderie that will stay with you for a lifetime.”
© 2026 Tuskegee Univesity
Cadet Jacqueline Broadnax, outgoing JROTC Senior State Vice President, introduced Dr. Brown at the conference
