Rate My Professor Geoffrey Brown

Geoffrey Brown is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at the University of Georgia's College of Family and Consumer Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008, an M.A. in Developmental Psychology from the same university in 2003, and B.S. and B.A. degrees in Psychology and French from Furman University in 2001. After his doctorate, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Developmental Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Center for Developmental Science from 2008 to 2010, followed by positions as Visiting Assistant Professor and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Clark University from 2010 to 2013. He joined the University of Georgia in 2013 as Assistant Professor, promoted to Associate Professor in 2020.

Brown's research specializes in social and emotional development during infancy and early childhood, examined through attachment theory and family systems perspectives. His work particularly emphasizes fathering, including the development of early father-child relationships, paternal sensitivity, father involvement, and attachment security. Current projects investigate the trajectory of fathering, family dynamics, and infant development in diverse populations, with a focus on African American families in rural, resource-limited communities. He leads an NIH-funded R01 grant from NICHD (approximately $3 million, 2018-present) studying contextual influences on the transition to parenthood and fathers' roles in infant development among unmarried African American men in rural Georgia. Notable awards include the Early Career Faculty Research Award from UGA's College of Family and Consumer Sciences (2018), Diversity and Inclusion Research Award from the National Council on Family Relations (2016), and Distinguished Scholar designation from the Owens Institute for Behavioral Research (2018). Key publications encompass 'Configurations of Mother-Child and Father-Child Attachment Relationships as Predictors of Child Language Competence: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis' (Child Development, 2024), 'Life stress and unmarried, Black fathers’ attitudes toward attachment' (Psychology of Men and Masculinities, 2024), 'Infant Attachment Configurations with Mothers and Fathers' (Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2022), and 'Pathways linking childhood trauma to rural, unmarried, African American father involvement' (Developmental Psychology, 2020). Brown has served on various departmental committees, chairing the Graduate Curriculum and Faculty Search Committees, and contributed to college-level advisory roles. His research informs strengths-based programs for vulnerable families and has garnered media attention in outlets like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.