Rate My Professor Jason Downer

Jason Downer is a Professor in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia and serves as Director of the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning. Holding a Ph.D. in Clinical-Community Psychology from the University of South Carolina-Columbia (2003), an M.A. from the University of South Carolina (2001), and a B.A. from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (1996), Downer's career is driven by a commitment to supporting vulnerable children and youth facing educational inequities. Recognizing the limitations of traditional clinical psychology's focus on individual interventions for psychopathology, he shifted toward promoting well-being through setting-level changes in schools, which significantly influence children’s development. Downer fosters diverse and inclusive environments, promoting open dialogues about culture, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, and disability to prepare culturally humble mental health leaders. His research specializes in interventions bridging school psychology, developmental science, and education, emphasizing prevention and promotion during the preK to elementary school period when academic and social-emotional skills are tightly coupled. He examines teachers as key agents of change for sustained impacts on at-risk youth trajectories and universal mental health promotion fostering social-emotional skills for all students.