Dr. J. Patrick Biddix is the Jimmy and Ileen Cheek Endowed Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He also serves as Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director of Student Success Analytics, where he leads the Office of Student Success Analytics and the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). A scholar-practitioner, his teaching, research, and leadership focus on using assessment, analytics, and data to improve student success and institutional effectiveness.

His scholarship focuses on student engagement and success, higher education assessment, research methods, and social network analysis. Drawing on this work, he develops scalable analytics systems that help colleges and universities translate evidence into strategies that improve student learning and success. His current research explores how network-informed analytics can identify intervention targets, estimate reach, and evaluate change within student communities.

As Associate Vice Provost, Biddix leads the Office of Student Success Analytics, partnering with academic and administrative leaders to develop institutional reporting, assessment, predictive analytics, and evaluation strategies that support student success. As the university’s QEP lead, he oversees UT’s institution-wide initiative focused on strengths, well-being, and career readiness, working collaboratively across campus to assess student learning and institutional effectiveness.

Biddix began his career in student affairs at Washington University in St. Louis before transitioning to the faculty at Valdosta State University in 2006. He joined the University of Tennessee’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in 2011. Throughout his career at UT, he has served in numerous leadership roles, including Program Coordinator, Associate Director of the Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC), Interim Department Head, Faculty Director for Research and Assessment in the Division of Student Success, and Faculty Fellow for Access and Engagement.

Nationally, 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 work has supported national initiatives focused on student success, organizational change, and prevention education.

A proud University of Tennessee alumnus, Biddix earned his bachelor’s degree in Classical Civilization in 2001 before completing a master’s degree at the University of Mississippi and a PhD in Higher Education at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. A first-generation college graduate from a ninth-generation Appalachian family in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, he remains deeply committed to expanding educational opportunity and improving student success through evidence-informed leadership. He continues to support his alma mater as a member of the Classics Advisory Council.

Outside the university, Patrick enjoys spending time with his wife, Erika, and their three children, Jackson, Clare, and Benjamin. He volunteers with Scouts BSA, enjoys board games, musical theatre, and distance running, and can often be found training on the trails and greenways around Knoxville.