Derek Griffin is a third-year PhD candidate specializing in education policy history with a special interest in its development in Tennessee in the mid-twentieth century. He received his bachelor’s degree in history and his master’s degree in teacher education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Griffin worked in the classroom as a high school teacher for ten years, serving in multiple roles including lead teacher, history department chair, and student government sponsor.

Due to his classroom experience and interest in current curriculum development, he is researching the history of modern public schooling in Tennessee, focusing specifically on the integration era following Brown and how efforts to resist it shaped the structure of the public school system. He also studies the development of required curricula laws in the state of Tennessee, focusing on both policy history and the cultural shifts that led to this development. Griffin hopes to draw on his experience and education to further develop the state’s history curriculum.

Research Interests: Education, Policy, Curriculum History, Effects of Brown, Massive Resistance, The American South, Tennessee History, African American History, 20th Century United States History