by USC Student Health Information
Broderick Leaks, PhD, MAT, MHA, the vice chair of student mental health in the Dept. of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences in the Keck School of Medicine of USC, has been newly appointed to the position of associate vice president for Student Health, a role reporting to the vice president and chief campus health officer, Dr. Sarah Van Orman.
In this new role, Dr. Leaks will work closely with USC Student Life leadership and campus partners to foster a holistic view of wellbeing at USC, furthering the university’s development as a health-promoting university.
“Broderick Leaks has the rare combination of talent as a distinguished leader, gifted clinical provider, and insightful strategic partner in creating the future of college mental health,” said Dr. Van Orman. “His university experience — managing mental health services for more than 40,000 students during an incredible time of rapid change in mental health needs — is invaluable as we work to further integrate wellbeing into all aspects of Campus Health.”
Broderick Leaks has served as the departmental leader of Counseling and Mental Health Services at USC Student Health since 2019, where he has guided the development of a diverse and inclusive team of clinical service providers, now encompassing more than 60 FTE licensed mental health providers, including specialists in cultural identity, LGBTQ+ client services, first-generation students, survivors of gender- and power-based harm, crisis counseling, psychiatric care, eating disorders, and sport psychology. With the support of university leadership, Dr. Leaks has overseen the development of USC as one of the most expansive student mental health programs in American higher education, which also now includes embedded therapists in all student equity and inclusion program office locations (cultural centers), and several academic program locations (architecture; business; communications and journalism; law; letters, arts and sciences).
With leaders in the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Public Safety, Dr. Leaks was a key resource in developing the MHART program (Mental Health Assistance and Response Team), a partnership between mental health providers and campus safety officers, to bring a highly compassionate and trauma-informed approach to campus situations where first responders are required for intervention.
Broderick Leaks received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Baylor University, a master’s degree in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and master’s and PhD in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary’s Graduate School of Psychology. In 2023, Dr. Leaks earned his master of health administration degree from the USC Price School of Policy. He has been at USC in a number of roles, beginning as a pre-doctoral intern; a teaching member of faculty; a freshman seminar instructor and course leader for undergraduate courses; a mentor and clinical supervisor to trainees entering the mental health profession; and a faculty member in residence in the USC Village (Nemirovsky, Bohnett, & McMorrow Residential Colleges), where he lives with his wife, Cynthia, a USC graduate of the Keck School of Medicine, and their two children.
