Lauren Brown, the Chief of Staff to President Linda Mills, will step down from her position later this month, university spokesperson John Beckman confirmed in a statement to WSN. Brown first took on the position last July, and will have spent only seven months in the administrative role. Beckman did not give a reason for why Brown is resigning.

“Resigning from NYU has been a difficult personal decision,” Brown said in a written statement to WSN. “I feel proud and fortunate to have been able to work on President Mills’ team, at this historic time for the university, among so many excellent colleagues across the NYU community.” 

Beckman told WSN that Mathew Varughese, who is currently associate vice president, deputy general counsel and associate secretary at the university, will be interim chief of staff until university leadership recruits a successor for Brown.

“From the administration’s standpoint, I can confidently say, on behalf of President Mills and the university’s senior officials, that Lauren is an outstanding, widely-trusted and respected colleague who will be deeply missed, and everyone wishes her nothing but the best,” Beckman said.

As chief of staff, Brown has assisted Mills and other administrators “on a wide range of strategic issues.” Brown, who became chief of staff the same month Mills began her tenure as NYU president, started working at the university in 2006. 

Brown has since held roles such as faculty affairs administrator at the Rory Meyers College of Nursing and chief of staff to the dean of the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. After her role at Steinhardt, Brown worked as the associate secretary of the corporation at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also previously served as assistant vice president at Hofstra University.

Last month, Lisa Coleman, the university’s senior vice president for global inclusion and strategic innovation, announced that she would be stepping down from her role to start a position as university president of a different institution. Coleman, who will officially leave the university on June 30, is currently a visiting professor with the Stern School of Business and is also working on “special projects and leadership initiatives.” Kathleen Jacobs, NYU’s chief investment officer, also announced that she would be stepping down in September 2023 to pursue “another opportunity.”

Contact Adrianna Nehme at [email protected].