KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Engineering has appointed Travis Griffin as the new director of the engineering diversity programs office.
Griffin comes to UT Knoxville from Oklahoma State University where he served as the coordinator for the Multicultural Engineering Program. In this role, Griffin focused on recruiting, advising and retaining students for the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. He also developed, implemented and managed special programs targeted to underrepresented groups and a multicultural awareness program for the college. Prior to this position, Griffin was the outreach coordinator at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) within the College of Science and Technology, in which he mentored students and helped them pursue graduate degrees and career opportunities.
Griffin received his bachelor’s degree in software engineering from Mississippi State University in 2004 and his master’s degree in higher education from USM in 2005.
Griffin is an active member, leader and advisor within the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates and has received numerous recognitions and honors including the NSBE Alumni Extension (AE) National Leadership 2006 award and the Region 3 NSBE AE Dedication 2006 award.
For more than three decades, over 900 minority students have graduated from the UT Knoxville College of Engineering, due in large part to the diversity programs’ efforts in recruiting, retaining and graduating African-American, Hispanic and Native American engineering students. Since 1978, UT Knoxville has consistently ranked among the top 50 universities and colleges in the nation for graduation rates of African-American engineering students. The college’s initial outreach to underrepresented students began in 1973 with the establishment of the Minority Engineering Scholarship Program.
High school students from throughout Tennessee and surrounding states participate in summer pre-engineering programs offered by the diversity office that consist of classes that introduce students to higher-level mathematics and engineering fundamentals. These programs help students develop critical thinking skills by learning how to apply math and science principles to solve every day problems. They further pique students’ interests by engaging them with faculty and graduate students and shedding light on what engineers do.
For more information on the College of Engineering, visit http://www.engr.utk.edu.
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C O N T A C T :
Kim Cowart (865-974-0686, kcowart@utk.edu)