More than two decades have passed since Glenn and Jeanette “Jenny” Grasselli Brown retired from BP America (once The Standard Oil Co.), but in that span they’ve built a civic and philanthropic career to rival anyone in town. She spent 13 years on the Ohio Board of Regents and was a founding board member of the Great Lakes Science Center; he was the first formal science and technology adviser to the governor and spent seven post-retirement years in administration at Case Western Reserve University. Both now in their mid-80s, the Browns aren’t slowing down — Glenn is board president of the Generation Foundation, and Jenny recently added Global Cleveland and the new Freshwater Innovation Alliance to her list of commitments. We sat down with the Browns to discuss success in civic and personal life, and the legacy they hope to leave in the community they love.
» JB: I personally don’t believe in being on a board where you can’t be active. When things come up and you know you have some background and capability to help, it’s hard not to say, “Yes, I’ll help.”
» GB: Jenny was the first woman on the board of U.S. Steel. At the annual meeting all of the men dressed in black tuxedos, so they wanted her to wear black. The picture they took, she’s front and center in a white dress.
» JB: I hate wearing black.
» JB: Frankly, I never thought there were any barriers [as a female scientist]. I just focused on doing my best and working hard.
» JB: As soon as I got into a position where I could be effective in changing management practices with regard to women, I helped to level salaries and added part-time work and even maternity leave so they could come back with some seniority.
» GB: When she goes to meetings, she doesn’t just sit there as a good-looking woman. What she does is ask the best questions in the group. She gets at issues of importance.
» JB: Spoken like my biggest fan.
» GB: I was the first science adviser to Governor Voinovich.
» GB: Voinovich gave me a technology action fund, about $15 million a year, to contribute to economic development in the state.
» GB: If there are 10 different kinds of innovations, only two might be successful. They won’t all happen. You have to say that one didn’t work, but let’s try this one.
» JB: The Ohio Board of Regents was very early in focusing on college access and college preparedness. We all fanned out across the state to give talks about this. We wanted people to be aware that higher education would become more costly.
» JB: When you have too many agendas on the table, for individual organizations, it won’t work.
» JB: Foundations can’t continue to support all these institutions. This community has been incredibly philanthropic individually. But people are dying. Others are moving away. Young people aren’t staying. That’s why Global Cleveland is so important.
» JB: Around the table at Global Cleveland, you have the Al Ratners, the Alex Machaskees, the Jenny Browns — people who have been there forever and are moving out, and these young people want to start taking over. They understand the mission and are 100 percent behind it.
» JB: Our grandson, his ambition is to run a nonprofit and to stay here in Cleveland. To me, that is awesome when young people say, “I want to come back and rebuild this community.”
» JB: As soon as you are able, you should give financially to the best of your ability. That’s a new message for many young people. They see the value of working in the community, but they don’t yet understand that they have to put that money behind it.
» JB: Even $10 is a very significant amount. And you can do it on PayPal or tweet it or something.
» GB: Success in civic life is proving that you are leading in areas that raise the quality of life in the whole community.
» JB: Right now I see more interest and effort at collaboration than ever. An excellent example is the mayor’s transformation plan. I truly see people coming together around that common agenda. I’m very optimistic. I really am. We’re finally getting it.
» GB: Back when I went to high school, I suggested to the adviser that I wanted to go to Penn State and study chemical engineering. He said, ‘You want to study chemical engineering? Just stay here and learn about it in the community.’ That’s what was going on in the schools. In those days, schools just wanted you to graduate high school.
» JB: My parents were Hungarian immigrants. Immigrants in those days, especially ones who came from cultures where education was valued, they brought those things with them. They’re very patriotic. You are American, and it’s because you’re here that you have all of these fantastic opportunities. So take advantage of it.
» JB: I heard [Nobel Prize-winning scientist Rosalyn Yalow] give a talk when I was in college. She said only three things: work hard, help others and find the right husband. It couldn’t be more true. It really describes how I hope I’ve lived my life. And I know I’ve been successful in the third one.
» JB: This is our 25th anniversary year. So I made a little pledge we would do something fun every month.
» GB: You marry the right one. We think the same things are important and are willing to work together to do them.
» JB: The reason we let our name be on things is because I hope we’re setting an example. Neither of us have anything other than what we earned ourselves. We didn’t have a cent. We are giving back to the community what the community has given us. In every way, we have been richly rewarded.