Snider Set As Tech’s New Dean Of Arts & Sciences

Darin Snider said he sees a lot of potential in Tennessee Tech.

Snider chose the university, accepting the position as new Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Snider said he is very familiar with the responsibilities of a dean but he is working to get familiar with the people and procedures that are unique to Tech.

“I think initially some of the things that we are going to be focusing on will be in developing further our research background and our contributions that we make to the state in that way,” Snider said. “As well as in areas of graduate education and in online education.”

Snider said it is healthy to have new leadership at certain points and he hopes to bring new ideas and perspectives that will benefit the college. Snider spent the last six years as the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indiana University East and many years in different administrative roles at University of Nebraska Kearney.

“Also, I’ve had many years of experience working with the, which was called the Higher Learning Commission, which is the accreditation body for a lot of the institutions of higher learning in the United States,” Snider said. “I have chaired very many, a lot of panels, accreditation panels for them at other universities and so I’ll bring that background to Tech as well.”

Snider said he also has plans to get involved with and integrated into the local community outside of Tech.

“I’ve always been very involved in the community, in other communities on boards and active in, you know, civic kinds of affairs,” Snider said. “And I would hope to be involved in that way. Cookeville is a tremendous community. I’ve lived here just over three weeks and have been very excited about the things that I’ve seen here and the spirit that exists among the people.”

Snider said he hopes and believes that the people living in the surrounding region value the university and what it has to offer.

“You can feel it,” Snider said. “It’s just palpable that people are excited about this institution and the future that it brings for the state.”