J. “Patrick” Biddix is the Jimmy and Ileen Cheek Endowed Professor of Higher Education and College Student Personnel at the University of Tennessee. He studies college student success and engagement, assessment in higher education, and student affairs administration. He is a leading authority in fraternity and sorority research. In 2015, he was a Fulbright Scholar in Montreal, Canada, where he researched student success and technology use at Concordia University. Patrick is student affairs scholar-leader who brings enthusiasm, an innovative perspective, productivity, a commitment to diversity and equity, and innovation to his research, teaching, and student mentorship.

Patrick is a first-generation college graduate from a ninth-generation rural Appalachian family in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. He is father to three active children and husband to an advocate for female entrepreneurs. Aside from family travel, tennis, musical theatre, scouts, basketball, and date nights, he enjoys 1980s movies, 1990s music, and contemporary board games.

In spring 2023, Patrick was appointed Director of Research and Assessment for the Division of Student Success, after serving as a faculty fellow from 2021-2022. In this role, he leads efforts to assess and research student well-being, academic engagement, and student involvement. He was also was named a Faculty Fellow for the Division of Diversity and Engagement in spring 2023, where he assists with campus climate assessment, educational sessions, and success initiatives. In 2022, he also was selected as a research fellow for the Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform at Penn State University, where he leads research related to the Hazing and Hazardous Drinking Study and Community of Practice.

From 2017-2022, Patrick served as associate director of the Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC), where he secured and directed multiple internal- and external-funded projects. He also has served as program coordinator for the higher education administration program (2019-2023), interim department head (2019-2021), associate department head (2016-2019), and program coordinator of the college student personnel program (2013-2015) within the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department.

Patrick holds a PhD in Education with a Concentration in Higher Education (2006) and a Graduate Certificate in Institutional Research (2005) from the University of Missouri in St. Louis. He received an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Mississippi (2003) and a B.A. in Classical Civilization from the University of Tennessee (2001), where he proudly serves on the Classics Advisory Council. His faculty awards include CEHHS Dissertation Mentor of the Year (2022), ELPS Nettles Outstanding Research Award (2022), Helen B. Watson Outstanding Faculty Research Award (2019), and John Tunstall Outstanding Faculty Award (2015).