KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

The University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) will host its 28th annual Black History Month Celebration with special guest speaker Dr. Theotis Robinson, Jr.

The event will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 10 a.m. at UTSI’s campus in the auditorium located at 411 B.H. Goethert Parkway in Tullahoma. The celebration will feature special musical performances and a reception to follow.

About Thetois Robinson, Jr.

This year’s guest speaker will be Dr. Theotis Robinson, Jr., a University of Tennessee Distinguished Alumni and a retired/former Vice President of Equity and Diversity for the UT System. A volunteer, trailblazer and an advocate for equality, Robinson has served the University of Tennessee since working to open its doors to African American undergraduates.

Robinson’s application and subsequent meetings with UT administrators, including then-President Andy Holt, led to the Board of Trustees changing the university’s admissions policy in November 1960.

He became the first African American undergraduate student admitted. He enrolled on Jan. 4, 1961 where two other students joined him.

Ten years later, Robinson became the first African American elected to the Knoxville City Council in more than half a century. Following his time in public office, he served as vice president of economic development for the 1982 World’s Fair. After teaching a course in political science, Robinson took a position in the UT purchasing department before becoming special projects coordinator in the Office of Government Relations. In 2000, Robinson was named vice president of equity and diversity for the UT System and served in that role until he retired in 2014. He occasionally gives lectures at UT and has written political opinion columns for the Knoxville News Sentinel and the USA Today Network.

Robinson is a charter member of UT’s African American Hall of Fame and was named by Metro Pulse newspaper as one of the 100 most influential Knoxvillians of the 20th century. He received the 2014 David P. Richardson, Jr. Nation Builder Award presented by the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. In 2015, the Knoxville Area Urban League bestowed him with their most prestigious Whitney M. Young, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award.

At the September 2019 Alumni Awards Gala, Robinson was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus, the highest honor awarded by the University of Tennessee Alumni Board. The UT Board of Trustees granted Robinson an honorary doctorate from the College of Social Work for his efforts and accomplishments in advancing social justice. The degree was conferred at the Dec. 13, 2019 commencement.

In September 2021, a dorm was renamed and dedicated the Robinson Hall at UTK. Dr. Robinson and his family established the Theotis Robinson, Jr. Flagship Pathway Scholarship endowment to support students who have graduated from one of 38 designated Flagship high schools throughout Tennessee and entering the University as first-year students.

He is married to the former Jonida DeVelle and is the father of five children, four surviving, eleven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.