麻豆官网

Pictured above, McNair Scholars from the University of Maryland, College Park attend a matinee at the Kennedy Center in 2012 with Terri D. Wright. Photo credit: Terri D. Wright.听

Community and connection paved her听path

A few times a year, Terri Wright receives cards or emails with updates from students who鈥檝e landed a job, scored a fellowship or been admitted into graduate school. These updates from students she has served are reminders of the importance of faculty and administrators in supporting student success and persistence.

A first-generation college student, Wright remembers every teacher, program and faculty mentor who helped pave the path to her position at 麻豆官网 College of Engineering and Applied Science. On July 20, she starts her role as the assistant dean for access, inclusion and student programs.听

From high school summer intensives at University of South Carolina through TRiO Upward Bound, to her high school chemistry teacher, to her faculty advisor and research mentors at Hampton University and University of South Carolina, she can recount the importance and impact of each of these experiences and mentors. Much like her personal journey, her professional journey has been dedicated to investing in partnerships and mentorship opportunities to create supportive, inclusive environments that fuel student success.听听

A problem solver at heart

Wright鈥檚 family understood the value of education.听

鈥淭hey told me 鈥榶ou have no choice, you鈥檙e going to college,鈥欌�� she said.听

Not certain what to study, engineering was her first choice. It offered a way to combine science and hands-on learning to solve problems.

Wright has always been a hands-on learner and problem solver. As a child, she used her mom鈥檚 Mary Kay makeup sales samples to mix and combine vials of solutions and create new products. When the family鈥檚 VCR or radio broke, she fixed it.

In high school, she 鈥渓oved the Bunsen burners and mixing solutions, and I wanted to be just like Coach Kelly, my chemistry teacher. He made learning chemistry fun and interesting.鈥�

When it came to starting college, she was accepted at a number of engineering programs and chose to attend Hampton University in Virginia. On registration day, however, she had second thoughts as she sat at the registration table.听

鈥淚 looked at all of the math classes and thought, 鈥楴o way. I don鈥檛 want to do those,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淪o I changed my major to chemistry before classes even started. I realized later that the math classes were all the same as engineering, and I decided I鈥檇 just stay and do them.鈥�
Embracing them was possible, in part, because of the incredible faculty and student community in her chemistry department.听

鈥淲e would talk about everything from everyday life to future career goals. My advisor, Dr. Floyd Jackson would always inquire about my wellbeing and academic challenges and successes. He was very compassionate and cared about me,鈥� Wright said. 鈥淲e were a close-knit department. Later, I decided I wanted to give back and make sure students have everything that they need to succeed.鈥�

Dedicated to student success

After completing a bachelor鈥檚 degree in chemistry and a doctorate in organometallic chemistry, Wright joined Accenture and worked as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies like Dow Chemical and Exxon Mobil.听

While she loved the problem-solving and collaboration, something was missing. She missed interacting with and mentoring students as she had done throughout graduate school. After the 9/11 attacks, consulting came to a screeching halt, so she moved into full-time teaching and later into education administration, where she thrived working on co-curricular programming, initiating partnerships, building relationships, and creating professional development activities to help students grow personally and succeed academically.听

Wright has been pursuing her passion for working with undergraduate students and implementing programs to ensure academic success ever since. Over the past two decades she has held leadership positions in academic affairs, research and STEM access and academic achievement at a number of universities including Morgan State University, University of Maryland, College Park and Howard University.听

Drawing upon her depth of experience and passion for ensuring student success and achievement, Wright is charged with leading CU Engineering teams responsible for recruiting, career and professional development, scholarships and college affordability, collegewide diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, and the BOLD Center.听

鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled that Dr. Wright is joining CU Engineering,鈥� interim Dean Keith Molenaar said. 鈥淲e started a national search in 2019 to hire for this unique role, and her breadth of experience is unparalleled. We鈥檙e at a point in history where student support and success coupled with an institutional dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion are necessary to maintain our trajectory and to pursue our strategic objectives, and Dr. Wright has the expertise to lead us in these areas.鈥�

鈥淲ith the higher education landscape shifting rapidly, there鈥檚 never been a more important time to focus on and invest in student success,鈥� Wright said. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to new partnerships and future collaborations with the CU 麻豆官网 Engineering community.鈥�

听

Maria Kuntz is the assistant director, admissions marketing and inclusive community in the College of Engineering & Applied Science.