Keith L. Oden PhD

Dr. Keith L. Oden is the Diversity Director for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) Center on Materials and Devices for Information Technology Research (CMDITR), a Science and Technology Center (STC). Working at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he serves a similar role in assisting with diversity and outreach initiatives for their School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Dr. Oden spear heads the GEM-STC Partnership. Through this partnership STCs and GEM partner to strengthen nationwide recruitment outreach. In addition, STC sponsor underrepresented students for GEM Fellowships.

In his role as Diversity Director, Dr. Oden is responsible for strategically designing and implementing programs to prepare and recruit students from underrepresented groups for graduate and undergraduate programs in STEM disciplines. While at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Dr. Oden has held various administrative positions. He has served as the GEM Fellowship Coordinator and as the Director of Graduate Cooperative Education and Fellowship Programs.

He has been an active mentor for many underrepresented STEM students, received numerous awards, including Administrator of the Year; and several community awards. He serves as the advisor for the Georgia Tech student chapter of NOBCChE (the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers). He is also actively involved with several other campus diversity student organizations and several STEM related organizations that actively reach out to potential STEM students in the K-12 arena.

Dr. Oden has over 20 tears of experience in STEM outreach, recruitment and retention program initiatives. He received a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology, from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany, a Masters of Science in Counseling Education at State University College at Brockport and his Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from Georgia State University.

He has completed oral presentations and facilitated workshops related to “STEM and underrepresented students retention and graduate school enrollment” at the following conferences:

2006 and 2007 -- Annual GEM Fellowship Meeting and Future Faculty Forum (FFP)

2006- 2008 -- STEM Recruitment Initiative “Hands-on Future Tech”

2000 – 2009 -- Georgia Tech STEM Recruitment Initiative FOCUS Program

2005 – 2008 -- Florida-Georgia Louis Stokes Alliance Program (FGLSAMP)

2005 - 2007 – National NOBCChE Conference