Aaron Brower
Ph.D.
Professor & Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning

Professor; Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1985. Interests: social cognitive models of behavior; direct practice theory and evaluation; group work; social work theory; developmental life transitions; educational innovations. Current research: differences among American subcultural groups in their educational attainment and life-course decision-making; the evaluation of educational innovations, particularly integrative learning and learning communities.

Contact Information

University of Wisconsin, Madison - Social Work
313 School of Social Work
1350 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 263-3838
Fax: 263-3836
Email: ambrower@wisc.edu

Education

University of Michigan, BA, Psychology, 1980
University of Michigan, MSW, 1982
University of Michigan, MA, Psychology, 1984
University of Michigan, Ph.D., Social Work & Psychology, 1985

Research Interests

Professor Brower teaches in the direct practice and mental health areas. His research focuses on post-secondary educational attainment, college life, and college success. He has helped develop programs of integrative learning for this university and others?programs that help students succeed in college by integrating in-class and out-of-class experiences. His practice interests are in the application of social cognition and social constructivism to social work practice. He is a Harold C. Bradley Faculty Fellow, and won the 2001 Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Research and Professional Specialties

Educational innovations
Student development and identity
Mental health practice and evaluation

Current Research Projects

Project Title: The National Study of Living-Learning Programs
Role on Project: co-Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation, ACUHO-I, NASPA, ACPA
This is the first national study of living-learning (L/L) programs; we aim to catalogue and evaluate L/L programs throughout the U.S. and assess their academic and social outcomes. The first wave of data collection included 24,000 students living in 268 L/L programs at 24 colleges and universities. Wave 2 will go into the field in 2006-07. For more information visit http://livelearnstudy.net.

Project Title: A Coalition for Campus and Community Change: Community strategies to address problem drinking on college campuses
Role on Project: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
We use community organizing and community development principles to address binge drinking on college campuses?principles of coalition-building, campus-community partnerships, and integrative learning. For more information, visit http://uhs.pace.wisc.edu.

Project Title: The Center for the Integration of Research in Teaching and Learning
Role on Project: Co-Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: The National Science Foundation
This 5-year, $10 million, project creates a learning community for graduate students and faculty interested in academic professional development and how to integrate their research and teaching sides of faculty life to improve both. For more information, visit http://delta.wisc.edu.

Selected Publications

Brower, A.M. & Nurius, P.S. (1993) Social Cognition and Individual Change. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Nye, J. & Brower, A.M. (eds.) (1996) What's Social about Social Cognition: Social cognition in small groups. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Brower, A.M. (1996) Group development as constructed social reality revisited: The constructivism of small groups. Families in Society, 77(6), 336-344.

Brower, A.M. & Nurius, P.S. (1997) Schemas and Niches: Social Cognitive Resources for Contemporary Social Work Practice. In D. Tucker, C.,Garvin, & R. Sarri (ed.), Integrating knowledge and practice: The case of Social Work and social science. NY: Greenwood Publishing.

Brower, A.M. (1997) Prototype matching and striving for future selves: Information management strategies in the transition to college. Journal of the Freshman Year Experience, 9(1), 7-42.

Brower, A.M. & Dettinger, K. (1998) What is a learning community? Towards a comprehensive model. About Campus, (Nov/Dec), 15-21.

Allen, C., with A. Brower and C. Golde. (1999) Supporting female undergraduate science and engineering majors with a residential program. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 5, 265-78.

Brower, A.M. (2002). Are College Students Alcoholics? Journal of American College Health. 50(5), 253-255.

Schroeder, C., Brower, A.M., Bruffee, K.A., Zeller, W. (2002). Do learning communities discourage binge drinking? About Campus, (May/June), 4-13.

Brower, A.M., Golde, C., Allen, C. (forthcoming). Residential Learning Communities Positively Affect College Binge Drinking. NASPA Journal.

Brower, A.M. (2003). Residential Learning Communities: A New Approach to Cleaning Up the Outcomes of Binge Drinking:. http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/teaching-academy/LearningLink/LL03-03.pdf.

Brower, A.M. & Ketterhagen, A. (2004). Is there an inherent mismatch between how black and white students expect to succeed in college and what their colleges expect from them? Journal of Social Issues, 60(1), 95-116.

Brower, A.M., Arndt, R., & Ketterhagen, A. (2004). Very Good Solutions Really Do Exist for Group Work Research Design Problems. In The Handbook of Social Work with Groups. Charles Garvin, Lorraine Gutierrez, & Maeda Galinsky (eds.). NY: Guilford Press.

Brower, A.M. & Inkelas, K.K. (2006). Conducting a Learning Community Assessment: Some useful suggestions. In Smith, B. L. & Williams, L. B. (Eds.), Learning communities and student affairs: A convergence zone for powerful learning and collaboration. The Evergreen State College, Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education in cooperation with the NASPA (Natls Assoc of Student Personnel Administrators).

Brower, A.M. & Carroll, L.M. (in press). Spatial and temporal aspects of alcohol-related crime in a college town. Journal of American College Health.