Dr. Chris Brownson, director of the Counseling and Mental Health Center at The University of Texas at Austin, has been named associate vice president for student affairs, effective Sept. 1.
Brownson succeeds Jeanne D. Carpenter, who announced recently she will retire after 37 years at University Health Services. She has been director of University Health Services since 1997 and associate vice president for student affairs since 2007.
“Earlier in my career I have worked in both University Health Services as well as what is now the Sanger Learning and Career Center, and I have deep respect for the missions of these organizations as well as the staff who work there,” Brownson said. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve students and the university in this new capacity, while continuing to direct the Counseling and Mental Health Center, an organization with such caring and professional staff members who do so much for UT students.”
Brownson, a nationally recognized leader in college mental health, has been director of the Counseling and Mental Health Center since 2006, and is director of the National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education. He holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology and quantitative methods from the Department of Educational Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin. He also received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Juan C. González, vice president for student affairs, said Brownson’s experience in the health field, his national reputation as a leader in integrated health care and his strong administrative skills made him the clear choice to oversee the University Health Services and the Sanger Learning and Career Center.
The Counseling and Mental Health Center, which Brownson will continue to direct, “is nationally recognized for its mental health services due in large part to the national reputation and excellence of its director,” González said. ” In addition to providing excellent leadership to our health services and learning and career center, Chris will be a terrific addition to the Student Affairs leadership team.”
