Patrick Biddix
Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director of Student Success Analytics
Jimmy and Ileen Cheek Endowed Professor of Higher Education
Contact Information
Dr. J. Patrick Biddix is Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director of Student Success Analytics and the Jimmy and Ileen Cheek Endowed Professor of Higher Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He also serves as the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) lead, overseeing UT’s institution-wide initiative focused on strengths, well-being, and career readiness.
Dr. Biddix directs the Office of Student Success Analytics and serves as the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) lead. In these roles, he partners with campus leaders to develop institutional reporting, assessment, and analytics that inform decision-making, support strategic initiatives, and improve student outcomes. His work connects research and practice, helping translate evidence into actionable strategies that support student success across the university.
Dr. Biddix’s research explores how assessment, analytics, and social networks can be used to better understand and improve student success. Current projects examine how influence, engagement, and well-being spread through student communities and how network-informed analytics can be used to identify, design, and evaluate interventions.
Before assuming his current role, Dr. Biddix served in several leadership positions at UT, including Faculty Director for Research and Assessment in the Division of Student Success, Faculty Fellow for Access and Engagement, Interim Department Head, Associate Director of the Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC), and Graduate Program Coordinator. He joined the UT faculty in 2011 after positions at Valdosta State University and Washington University in St. Louis.
Dr. Biddix has authored nine books and over 50 peer-reviewed publications on higher education, student success, assessment, and research methods. He became the first recipient of the Jimmy and Ileen Cheek Endowed Professorship in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, was inducted into the college’s Educators Hall of Honor, and was named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in Montreal, Canada. At the University of Tennessee, he has also been recognized for excellence in teaching, research, and graduate mentorship.
Nationally, Dr. Biddix serves as a Faculty Research Fellow and Project Lead with Penn State’s Piazza Center, advancing evidence-based approaches to hazing prevention and organizational change. He also advises national higher education and fraternity/sorority organizations on assessment, research, and program evaluation, including the National Panhellenic Conference’s Women’s Research Committee. His scholarship and consulting focus on helping organizations use evidence to improve practice, prevention, and student success.
A proud UT alumnus, Biddix earned his bachelor’s degree in Classical Civilization in 2001, where he was actively involved in orientation, fraternity life, Team VOLS, and student government. He later earned his master’s at the University of Mississippi and his PhD at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
Education: PhD higher education, University of Missouri–St. Louis; master’s, University of Mississippi; bachelor’s in Classical Civilization, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
CliftonStrengths: Achiever, Relator, Learner, Ideation, Context.
Publications
Awards and recognition
- Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Montreal, Canada, 2015
- Jimmy and Ileen Cheek Endowed Professor of Higher Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Interfraternal Partner Award, National Panhellenic Conference
- Vision Award, Alpha Chi Omega