S. Keith Hargrove, PhD, CMfgE, PE, MBA, CPEM, currently serves as Provost & Sr. Vice President of Academic Affairs at ϲͼ. He formerly served as dean of the College of Engineering at Tennessee State University.
As Provost and Chief Academic Officer, he will be responsible for implementing the Strategic Plan 2021-2026, supporting faculty, promoting continuous growth in research activity, and insuring a rich student experience.
In his previous role as dean of the College of Engineering for over a decade, he increased enrollment, research funding, and implemented new academic programs to prepare students for industry, government, study abroad, and entrepreneurship. In 2017, his college was recognized as the Best HBCU STEM Program by HBCU Digest. He previously served as Chairperson of the Department of Industrial, Manufacturing & Information Engineering in the Clarence Mitchell, Jr. School of Engineering at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD., completed a one-year Administrative Fellowship at Harvard University, and was Assistant to the Dean and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering, Architecture & Physical Sciences at ϲͼ.
Dr. Hargrove worked for Boeing as a Welliver Fellow, and General Electric upon completing the Manufacturing Management Program as a manufacturing engineer in the Electronic Systems Division in NY, and Transportation Systems in PA. He has worked for Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Y12/Oak Ridge Laboratory as a research engineer. He also worked as a research professor/post-doctoral at the University of Michigan for the NSF Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems.
Dr. Hargrove has received research funding from the National Science Foundation, and conducted research projects with Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky Aircraft, Boeing, NASA, US Navy, and the US Army in systems engineering, design, virtual and augmented reality, advanced manufacturing, and minority engineering education, and has more than 100+ publications and presentations, and attracted more than $14M in external funding. He was the founding Director of the TIGER (TSU Interdisciplinary Graduate Engineering Research) Institute at Tennessee State University, a group of laboratories funded by external grants and contracts. The TIGER Institute collaborated with other disciplines such as health sciences, psychology, and in education. He has received several awards for teaching, research, mentoring, and is an Associate Member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Institute of Industrial Engineers, and the American Society of Engineering Education, He is recognized as a Certified Manufacturing Engineer (CMfgE), registered professional engineer (PE), and recently Certified as a Professional in Engineering Management (CPEM).
He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee State University as a General Motors Fellow, MS from the Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla, MO. as a National GEM Consortium Fellow. He is recognized as the first GEM Fellow to obtain the PhD. Dr. Hargrove received his PhD from the University of Iowa as a CIC Fellow. He completed the Higher Education Leadership Foundation (HELF) program, and the Becoming a Provost Academy, sponsored by the American Society of State Colleges and Universities (AACSCU). He was selected to complete the HBCU Executive Leadership Institute for 2022.
A strong believer in K12 STEM education, he was a founding board member of STEM Preparatory Academy, a local charter school in Nashville, Board Member of Smithson Craighead Academy, Advisory Board in Engineering for Stratford STEM Magnet High School, and served on the advisory board of Union Elementary STEM School. At TSU, he received the Community Service Award for Administrators for his engagement with the local community and K12 schools. Dr. Hargrove is also a strong advocate for mentoring tenure-track and minority faculty throughout their academic careers, and Co-Editor and contributor of "Navigating Academia: A Guide for Women and Minority STEM Faculty", published by Academic Press (Elsevier), and author of “In Search of Academic Leadership: A Primer for Faculty Development”.
Note: PE registration not in Alabama.