Forrest D. Brown (1898-1980) was secretary of the Bucknell Christian Association, as well as advisor to foreign students; he was a former chairman of the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors. Mr. Brown earned his undergraduate degree from Marysville College and an Masters of Arts from Vanderbilt University and did graduate work at Columbia University. Prior to coming to Bucknell University, Mr. Brown was assistant secretary of the Y.M.C.A. at Iowa State College from 1924-1926, student secretary of the the Y.M.C.A. National Council from 1929-1930.

While at Bucknell University, he is remembered for his guidance in establishing the Father's Association and the Mother's Association which was later merged into the Parent's Association. He was director of intercultural and community programs at Bucknell University, directed the Bucknell Summer Institute for Foreign Students, and initiated weekend programs at the University such as the Bucknell-Burma Weekend, Religion in Life, and the African Conference.

In 1960, he received the Burma-Bucknell Bowl in recognition for his outstanding contributions to international understanding. The Cowan Conference Center was renamed in his honor in 1966 upon his retirement.

He was a founding member of the Union County Historical Society, a member of the Civil War Roundtable, was active in Slifer House activities, was a member of the executive committee of Senior Bucknellians, and was chairman of the board of the Wesley Foundation at Pennsylvania State University. He researched and edited four volumes of family history for both his wife's family and his own.

George Washington Carver (1864–1943) was an influential African American scientist, agriculturalist, educator, and inventor. He is best known for his work with crop rotation and the development of hundreds of products made from peanuts, sweet potatoes, and other crops, which helped improve the economy of the southern United States.

Brown met Carver when he worked for the Y.M.C.A., which arranged Carver’s speaking tours at colleges, universities and other venues. Soon after Brown arrived at Bucknell in 1930, he wrote asking Carver to visit campus. Carver obliged in November 1930, with a talk on “The Inside of a Peanut,” bringing along his peanut exhibit and meeting with chemistry students in their lab. The two men became close, frequently traveling together, and maintained a steady correspondence from 1927 until Carver's death in 1943.