Tamara Wright Knott honored with emerita status
Tamara Wright Knott, associate professor of engineering education in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of associate professor emerita and academic programs manager emerita by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The emerita title may be conferred on retired faculty members who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.
A member of the Virginia Tech faculty for more than 40 years, Knott influenced thousands of first-year engineering students through her first-year general engineering courses over her years of teaching in the Engineering Education Department. She guided the most recent redesign of the first-year engineering curriculum, developed instructional materials used in the first-year engineering courses, and meticulously embodied research in her practice, keeping the materials relevant and engaging.
Informed by her extensive experience, she coordinated the first-year instructional team, composed of tenure-track faculty, instructors, graduate teaching assistants, and undergraduate teaching assistants, which incorporated 40 to 50 people each semester.
In her most recent role, Knott supported engineering education Ph.D. students and new faculty members to help them transition into their roles, while managing the academic operations of the department. She played a key role in building the research enterprise during the transition of the Division of Engineering Fundamentals into the Department of Engineering Education.
Knott faithfully served on every department committee and many university committees over the course of her career, significantly contributing to the work of the department, college, and university. She held leadership positions in professional organizations, including in the first-year programs division of the American Society for Engineering Education, which under her leadership instituted the annual First-Year Engineering Experience Conference.
In recognition of her outstanding performance, she was awarded the inaugural Charles “Butch” and Joan Nunnally Outstanding Engineering Education Faculty Member Award and several College of Engineering Dean's Awards.
Knott received her bachelor’s and master’s degree from Virginia Tech.
