San Diego State University
James Silberrad Brown was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, and moved with his parents, sister and brother to Florida in 1944. The family soon moved to San Bernardino, California, where he would spend his childhood. Mr. Brown served honorably in the U.S. Navy as an electrician’s mate from 1951 to 1954. After his service, he returned to Southern California, working as chief of quality control for ITT Kellogg at Vandenberg Air Force Base during the early years of America’s space program. He later relocated to San Diego to attend San Diego State University, graduating with honors with a degree in business management in 1967.
Mr. Brown worked as a program manager at General Dynamics Electronics before beginning a lifelong real estate career. During his nearly 50 years in real estate, he founded several general and limited partnerships through his company, Silberrad Inc., which primarily owns and operates multifamily properties in San Diego and the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
An accomplished entrepreneur, in 1978, Mr. Brown founded the Bank of San Diego and BSD Bancorp, a bank holding company that owned all or part of five banks. He also founded Datatronix Financial Services, a data processing subsidiary. Datatronix became a publicly traded company before being acquired by Fiserv Co. Mr. Brown also co-owned and operated the local office of the Chicago Title Co. from 1982 to 1986. From 1982 to 1993, Mr. Brown and his partners founded and operated San Diego Television Inc., the parent company of KTTY Channel 69 that now operates as Fox 5.
Mr. Brown was active in the San Diego community. He served on the board of directors of the Vista Hill Foundation from 1988 to 2017 and was its chair for 10 years. He also served on Sharp Memorial Hospital’s board of trustees for 11 years, including a term as chair. He was a major supporter of San Diego State and as a devoted fan of San Diego State athletics, he liked nothing more than cheering on his beloved Aztecs.
He served on many other community boards and committees, including the Old Globe Theatre, the San Diego Symphony, the Private Industry Council, the Economic Advisory Board for San Diego County, the San Diego Padres Advisory Council and the San Diego Rotary. Mr. Brown was also a longtime member of the San Diego Yacht Club and participant in the local sailing community.
In recognition of his service to the San Diego community and his many successful entrepreneurial endeavors, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and San Diego State University are proud to confer upon James Silberrad Brown the posthumous honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.