Joe Brownell serves as the Director of the Military and Veteran Success Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Center serves over 1240 Military-Dependent, Veteran, Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve students annually and is committed to ensure all students achieve their academic and career goals.

Prior to coming to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Col (R) Brownell served almost 29 years in the United States Air Force. He last served in the U.S. Air Force as the Deputy Chair for the Strategic Leadership Department at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School, National Defense University, where he taught Strategic Leadership, Educational Industry Study, and additional Leadership electives. The Eisenhower School is a senior service school providing graduate level education to senior members of the U.S. armed forces, government civilians, foreign nationals and private industry.

Joe is a 1989 distinguished graduate of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice. He is a Master Navigator and has flown multiple combat and combat-support missions in the Balkans and the Middle East. Joe is a graduate of Army Command and General Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He has served on staffs at the Air Force Personnel Center, U.S. Northern Command, and U.S. Transportation Command. He earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Troy State University and a Master of National Resource Strategy degree from The Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University.

Joe’s spouse Kim is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Kearney, his daughter Bradyn is a 2017 graduate of UNL, and his son Clay is currently a sophomore at the U.S. Air Force Academy.