Trinetia Respress
Interim Graduate School Dean/Professor/Principal Investigator
Dr. Respress has been serving as the Interim Dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at Tennessee State University since August 2023. Prior to this appointment, she held the position of Interim Assistant Dean of Assessment and Accreditation in the College of Education. Dr. Respress also has a distinguished history as Department Chair and Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership.
Before joining Tennessee State University, Dr. Respress was employed at Florida A&M University as Department Chair and Associate Professor. She earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from East Tennessee State University and her M.A. in Educational Psychology and Mental Health from Tennessee Technological University. Dr. Respress possesses extensive teaching experience in both Educational Leadership and Counselor Education.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Respress worked in collaboration with the Florida Department of Education as an Education Specialist at Florida State University. In this role, she provided evaluation and technical assistance to educational programs across the state, collaborating with district administrators, principals, and teachers to enhance classroom instruction.
Dr. Respress brings over twenty-five years of experience working with at-risk youth in both educational and mental health settings. She has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on a range of topics, including leadership during the pandemic, early exposure and long-term gains in STEM, whole brain learning, strength-based learning, juvenile justice education, teacher attrition, and violence prevention. Notably, she is featured in the McGraw-Hill publication Diverse Approaches to Family and Community Violence Prevention: A National Perspective.
As a principal investigator, Dr. Respress led the HEARTS Family Life Center project, a million-dollar initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, aimed at providing an after-school violence prevention program for at-risk youth through the fine arts. Additionally, she serves as co-principal investigator for the SITES-M/RTTT project, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and focuses on enhancing the mathematics expertise of elementary and middle school teachers to address the achievement gap and strengthen foundational skills for later academic success.
For the past eight years, Dr. Respress has also served as the principal investigator of the Minority University Education Project (MUREP), a NASA-supported initiative designed to ensure access to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for underrepresented, underserved, and minority students and faculty.
Dr. Respress's extensive experience and unwavering commitment to educational advancement position her as a leader in promoting academic excellence and student success within the School of Graduate and Professional Studies.