Tanisha Jenkins, associate director in UT’s Office of Minority Student Affairs, was honored in Nashville last week at the Southern Association for College Student Affairs’ 60th Annual Awards and Celebration Dinner. Jenkins was named the 2009 recipient of the Bobby E. Leach Award, which recognizes a student affairs professional or graduate student for significant contributions to the development of multicultural relations on a college or university campus.
The award honors Jenkins’ service in professional and paraprofessional positions in Student Affairs that promote and cultivate multicultural relations on several campuses. Jenkins oversees a variety of programs that specifically impact the retention and academic performance of African American students, and provides guidance to a variety of multicultural student organizations. Jenkins’ many accomplishments include implementing the Women of Color Sisterhood Retreat, developing a Multicultural Faculty/Staff Network and receiving the Division of Student Affairs Program of the Year Award for the SafeZone program.
A native of Clinton, S.C., Jenkins came to UT from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C., where she has served as the director of Multicultural Affairs and the Multicultural Center for five years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., and a master’s degree in counselor education with a concentration in higher education administration from Clemson University in Clemson, S.C.