Student Success Champion: Scott Brown, Ph.D.

Scott Brown's connection to The Ohio State University started long before he ever set foot on campus as a student.

Growing up in northwest Ohio, Brown was first drawn to the university through football. Childhood photos show him sporting Ohio State gear years before he would arrive on campus as a first-generation college student and discover that the university would eventually shape the course of his career.

"I knew I wanted to come to Ohio State at an early age," Brown said.

Once he arrived it wasn't football that ultimately defined his Ohio State experience, it was the opportunities he found to connect with and support other students.

Brown's first on-campus job put him behind the front desk of Morrison Tower from 2-5 a.m. He later spent two years as a resident advisor, where he helped fellow students navigate everything from roommate conflicts and homesickness to alcohol misuse. As a resident advisor for the Spanish living-learning community, he also worked with faculty from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese to bring weekly conversation tables to residents.

Those experiences introduced Brown to a career he hadn't known he was looking for.

"It was really that early exposure through on-campus student employment and leadership positions that opened my eyes to a career in higher education and student affairs," Brown said.

Brown would eventually leave Columbus and spend nearly two decades building that career at universities across the country. He earned a master’s degree from Arizona State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, gaining experience in student advocacy, experiential learning, strategic planning and student engagement along the way.

Then came an opportunity that drew on the full arc of his career — and brought him home.

In September 2025, Brown returned to his alma mater as the inaugural managing director of Buckeye Commons, a department within the Office of Student Life designed to provide students with seamless access to resources and support services that are important to their success.

"Looking at the trajectory of my career — from student advocacy and experiential learning, to student engagement and strategic initiatives — this position at Ohio State in Buckeye Commons offered a unique opportunity to bring all of those skills and experiences together in this inaugural role," Brown said.

A holistic approach to student success

As Buckeye Commons took shape, Student Life leaders reached out to 30 student organization leaders and asked what students needed to be successful at Ohio State, both now and in the future. Their responses reflected needs across the college experience, including academic support, career preparation, mental health and well-being resources and opportunities to connect with peers, faculty and alumni.

Nearly two decades spent supporting students have shaped Brown's understanding of student success as something that extends far beyond the classroom.

"I tend to view student success through a holistic lens," Brown said. "I think about academics, of course, career, mental health and well-being, and also belonging and social connection."

He sees success as something that stretches across a student's entire Ohio State experience — beginning with admission, continuing throughout their time at the university and extending beyond graduation.

It's a perspective informed not only by Brown's career, but by his own experience as an Ohio State student, where opportunities outside the classroom ultimately helped shape his path.

Brown believes higher education institutions have a responsibility to help students reach their potential and prepare them for what comes next.

"Students are entrusting us that we are going to provide them with the best academic experience, and we're going to set them up for success once they graduate," Brown said.

At a university the size of Ohio State, there is no shortage of people, programs and services available to support students. Brown sees that breadth of resources as one of the university's greatest strengths, but recognizes that navigating them can sometimes feel overwhelming.

Buckeye Commons aims to make that process easier by bringing several forms of support together in one place, including career coaching, mental health counseling, disability support and opportunities for student engagement and connection.

"We're not built or equipped to address every student issue or challenge," Brown said. "But what we can do is make an accurate referral to one of our partners on campus who may be better equipped to support the student if it’s not something we can provide within Buckeye Commons.”

Putting student support into practice

As Brown enters his first full academic year leading Buckeye Commons with its expanded team in place, he is putting that holistic approach into practice by building new ways for students to find support.

This fall, Career Studios will offer drop-in career guidance at three locations across campus, with peer career coaches helping fellow students navigate their career preparation.

Brown and his team are also developing Campus Compass, a peer navigation program designed for students who may not know where to start.

"Students may not always know what they need," Brown said. "Or they may know what they need, but they don't know how to access it or where to get that support."

For Brown, some of the most meaningful moments have come from simply giving students a place to be together.

Last spring, the department began hosting Grad Café, a biweekly program that gives graduate students from across the university a space to work alongside one another and build community.

Over time, Brown began recognizing the "frequent flyers" who kept returning.

Some told Brown and his team how much they appreciated having a space where they could be productive while also feeling connected to a broader graduate student community.

"It was a signal to me that we are doing something right here," Brown said.

Taking the first step

Even with the resources available across Ohio State, Brown believes self-advocacy is an important skill for students to develop as they make the most of their college experience.

Every student arrives at Ohio State with a different background, motivation and vision for the future. Two students can share the same major while having entirely different goals for what they hope to accomplish with it.

"It's hard for us to help students in a tailored or customized way unless they tell us what they need," Brown said.

That self-advocacy can be as simple as approaching a faculty member after class to express an interest in undergraduate research or meeting with a career coach to ask how to find an internship. For Brown, what matters is taking the initiative to ask.

"We can build the infrastructure; we can create the mechanisms to support students," Brown said. "But at the end of the day, students have to take the initiative."

It's a lesson that brings Brown's own Ohio State experience full circle.

Years ago, the opportunities Brown pursued as an undergraduate — including an overnight campus job he couldn't have known would shape his career — helped him discover his place in higher education.

Now, after nearly two decades spent supporting students at institutions across the country, he's back at the university that first helped him find that path, working to ensure today's Buckeyes can find their own.

"Students are the reason for our existence," Brown said. "We want to see them succeed."