Dr. Timothy Forde has been named chief diversity officer and special assistant to the executive vice president at Eastern Kentucky University.
Forde, currently a faculty member of the School of Clinical Educator Preparation in EKU’s College of Education, has more than 20 years of experience developing and implementing professional development programs for teachers, students and community members. He also has been heavily involved with several initiatives at Eastern, including service on the campus-wide Inclusive Excellence Workgroup and the University’s Diversity Plan. He was also selected as a Faculty Innovator.
“Dr. Forde’s wealth of experience, passion for excellence and visionary leadership will help EKU continue to be an attractive place for all to work and study,” said Dr. Laurie Carter, executive vice president and University counsel.
Forde also has several years of administrative experience. Most recently, he served as director of African/African American Studies at EKU. Before arriving at EKU, he was the associate director of science education program at Oak Ridge Associated Universities in Tennessee, a consortium of major Ph.D.-granting academic institutions that cultivate collaborative partnerships to enhance the scientific research and educational enterprise of science and technology through research and fellowship opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students. In that role, he supervised employees, managed multi-million-dollar budgets and developed new programs for underrepresented populations in STEM disciplines.
Forde also spent several years working as a researcher at a high school dropout and drug prevention program at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. The “I Have a Future” program was successful in reducing both dropout and drug use rates for inner-city youth and received national acclaim.
He also served as the director of an alternative school for minority males in kindergarten through 12th grade. The program was funded by a demonstration grant from the National Science Foundation and was successful in supporting students’ efforts to graduate from high school and attend college with scholarships.
Forde earned a bachelor’s degree from Oakwood University, a master’s of public health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a doctorate from Vanderbilt University.