Who We Are
The UT Austin Center for Students in Recovery aims to support student educational opportunities alongside recovery supports to ensure that students do not have to sacrifice one for the other. The Center’s activities are founded on the principle of peer-to-peer recovery support: the verifiably successful practice of connecting individuals in recovery to support one another outside of a clinical setting. Peer-supported collegiate recovery relies on key components to encourage a well-rounded recovery experience: an engaged community of students in recovery, recovery-supportive programming, and educational enrichment opportunities including student scholarships and a resource library.
What We’re Fundraising For:
Recovery-Supportive Programming
Donor support expands programming opportunities for students, and in doing so, expands student success, opening the doors for student potential and possibility. Recovery-supportive programming includes student-organized and student-led peer support group meetings, coordinated art projects, group workshops, recovery yoga classes, as well as sober social activities, service opportunities and educational programming. These opportunities encourage our students to dream big, to pursue their academic and professional goals, and to accomplish what they may have once believed was not possible. This year we are co-hosting the first ever Texas Collegiate Recovery Retreat during spring break alongside two other Texas Collegiate Recovery Programs. Part of our programming support will go to scholarship the registration and travel costs for every student.
Camp Echo Valley, the site of the Texas Collegiate Recovery Retreat
Relocation Support:
This summer the Center begins a long journey out of our home in Belmont Hall to a temporary space in the Student Services Building while renovations occur. With each move comes unexpected expenses and the chance to invest in new student focused amenities. We are excited to see what we learn as our community moves to a new space, and are spending the spring with multiple student focus groups as we discern how best to make the transitions that will occur over the next several years.
Your Impact
"Being a transfer student, I felt very intimidated and overwhelmed when first coming to UT. CSR has made a monumental impact in both my personal and academic experiences during my time here." Anonymous male, COLA '24
"I love the CSR. It is a beautiful recovery-affirming space where I can (for the most part) safely socialize, study, nap, eat meals, meditate, and, most importantly, laugh and cry. Save for the buildings where my classes are located, the CSR is the only place on campus that I consistently go to every weekday." Anonymous male, SHSW '23
"CSR is a home that you don't even realize you're in. The natural compassion and attention the staff shows is what brings me back to the space throughout my week. CSR fosters such a supportive community that makes me want to normalize the topic of recovery in higher education. The work being done in the CSR is so impactful and I'm so glad I found it!" Anonymous woman, School of Education '25
"It has been warm and fulfilling, had I known about a community like this sooner I would have probably never started using. Having a community to lean on has allowed me to focus on recovery and school equally. Had I known of this community I would have felt more encouraged to pursue recovery sooner." Anonymous woman, '26
"The scholarships I have received through the Center for Students in Recovery have allowed me to focus more on what is most important to me right now, my education. They have afforded me the opportunity to work fewer hours and focus more on school and being part of the recovery community, which contributes immeasurably to my wellbeing. Without this assistance, I believe I wouldn’t have learned as much or had the same opportunities during my time at the University of Texas.” – Tiffany C., student scholarship recipient
"CSR has made a difference in my recovery by showing me there are other people at UT who value their sobriety as much as I do my own! Walking through the west campus surrounded by remnants of drinking culture, it’s a relief to know I can walk somewhere to hang out with people who get my situation. – Caroline C.
