Dr. Chris Brownson, a licensed psychologist, is the Associate Vice President for Health and Well-being in Texas Student Experience and Clinical Professor in Counseling Psychology. His portfolio includes University Health Services, the Counseling and Mental Health Center, the Longhorn Wellness Center, Disability and Access, the Disability Cultural Center, Longhorn TIES for Neurodivergent Student Support, the Center for Students in Recovery, and SHIFT. Brownson was appointed as a Chancellor's Health Fellow at the University of Texas System in 2014, and continues to lead numerous initiatives totaling more than $32M for mental health, student safety, well-being, and alcohol and drug-related prevention, education, and intervention programs for the 250,00+ students at the 13 academic and health institutions in the UT System.
Dr. Brownson earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and Quantitative Methods and an M.A. in Program Evaluation, both from The University of Texas at Austin. In 2019, Brownson was appointed by the National Academies of Sciences to the Committee on Supporting the Whole Student: Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Well-Being in Higher Education. He is the past president of the Texas University and College Counseling Center Director's Association and a past chair of the Higher Education Mental Health Alliance, the Section on College and University Counseling Centers of APA's division of Counseling Psychology, and the Mental Health Section of the American College Health Association (ACHA). He is a past member of the Board of Directors of ACHA. He has been a program evaluator for several SAMHSA/GLS suicide prevention grants, consults with colleges and universities on their counseling and health services, and was the National Mental Health Consultant to Teach for America from 2006-2016.
Brownson has been the director of the National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education since 2004. The research team that guides Research Consortium projects is comprised of graduate students, research staff, and faculty from UT, and together they have conducted several studies on college student distress and suicidality, and the intersection of well-being and academic success. His research team is currently studying the national mental health workforce shortage and its implications for the accessibility of behavioral health services. As a part of this effort, Brownson is currently leading an innovative pilot at UT Austin to create a new bachelors level certification pathway within the mental health workforce to help address the provider shortage. The research team supports this project by generating research needed to ensure the pilots long-term scalability, sustainability, and impact on expanding access to mental health care.
Mackert, M., Claborn, K., Boyer, B., Wagner, J., Redd, K. & Quaack, K. (2026). Creating a health communication campaign for college campuses to address the intersection of alcohol and consent.
Journal of American College Health.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2026.2649522.
Morpeth, E., Brownson, C., Weppner, C. & Pitasky, N. (2025). Voices of students in crisis: Qualitative interviews with college students hospitalized for psychiatric distress.
Psychiatric Quarterly.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-025-10199-7.
Morpeth, E., Boyer, B., Pitasky, N. & Brownson, C. (2024). Perfectionism typologies among undergraduate and graduate students: Prevalence and associations with psychosocial adjustment and academic performance. Journal of American College Health, 72(8), 2343–47.
Morpeth, E. & Brownson, C. (2024). Demographic, clinical, and academic variables of college students hospitalized for psychiatric crises. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 71(5), 520–29.
Cohen, A., McCormick, K., Stevens, L., Morpeth, E., Caporale-Berkowitz, N., Boyer, B., Brownson, C. & Strakowski, S. (2023). Addressing university student mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 41, 259–79. doi:10.1080/15228835.2023.2258513.
Wilson, T., Caporale-Berkowitz, N., Parent, M. & Brownson, C. (2021). Grit is associated with decreased mental health help-seeking among student veterans. Journal of American College Health, 70. doi:10.1080/07448481.2021.1953034.
Drum, D., Brownson, C., Hess, E., Burton Denmark, A. & Talley, A. (2017). College students sense of coherence and connectedness as predictors of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Archives of Suicide Research, 21, 169–184.
DeLuca, S., Franklin, C., Yueqi, Y., Johnson, S. & Brownson, C. (2016). The relationship between suicide ideation, behavioral health, and college academic performance. Community Mental Health Journal, 52(5), 534–540.
Brownson, C., Drum, D., Becker, M., Saathoff, A. & Hentschel, E. (2016). Distress and Suicidality in Higher Education: Implications for Population-Oriented Prevention Paradigms. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 30, 98–113.
Tran, K., Wong, J., Cokley, K., Brownson, C., Drum, D., Awad, G. & Wang, M. (2015). Suicidal Asian American college students perceptions of protective factors: A qualitative study. Death Studies, 39, 500–507.
De Luca, S., Yueqi, Y., Lytle, M. & Brownson, C. (2014). The associations of race/ethnicity and suicidal ideation among college students: A latent class analysis examining precipitating events and disclosure patterns. Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviors, 44, 444–56.
Brownson, C., Becker, M., Shaddick, R., Jaggars, S. & Nitkin-Kaner, Y. (2014). Suicidal behavior and help seeking among diverse college students. Journal of College Counseling, 17, 116–30.
Brownson, C., Drum, D., Smith, S. & Denmark, A. (2011). Differences in suicidal experiences of male and female undergraduate and graduate students. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 25, 277–94.
Wong, Y., Brownson, C. & Schwing, A. (2011). Risk and protective factors associated with Asian American students suicidal ideation: A multi-campus, national study. Journal of College Student Development, 52, 396–408.
Brownson, C. (2010). Conducting research in college and university counseling centers. Mental Health Care in the College Community (pp. 325342): John Wiley & Sons.
Drum, D., Brownson, C., Denmark, A. & Smith, S. (2009). New data on the nature of suicidal crises in college students: Shifting the paradigm. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40, 213–22.
Tucker, C., Sloan, S., Vance, M. & Brownson, C. (2008). Integrated care in college health: A case study. Journal of College Counseling, 11, 173–83.
Gilbert, L. & Brownson, C. (1998). Current perspectives on womens multiple roles. Journal of Career Assessment, 6, 433–448.
Honoring Dr. Chris Brownson, UT Austin Senate of College Councils S. R. 1920 (2020)
Commending Dr. Brownson's work on mental health issues in the State of Texas, The Senate of the State of Texas Proclamation #430 (2016)
The University of Texas at Austin received the inaugural Active Minds Healthy Campus Award, Active Minds (2015)
Chancellor's Health Fellow, University of Texas System (2014)
Award for Excellence in Counseling Center Scholarship, Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors (2012)
The Eyes of Texas Award, University of Texas Students (2007)
Early Career Psychologist of the Year, American Psychological Association Division 17, Section on College Counseling Centers (2004)
Round Rock ISD Evaluation Fellowship, Round Rock ISD/UT Austin (1998 - 1999)
Livingston Fellowship, UT Austin (1997 - 1998)
University Continuing Fellowship, UT Austin (1996 - 1998)
Bascombe Royall and Frances Fallon Fuller Scholarship, UT Austin (1995 - 1996)
