Ryan Overton

Dr. Ryan Overton, Ph.D., P.E. was named the Dean of Engineering on September 1, 2021. As the founding Dean for the School of Engineering, Overton will begin by establishing the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering program on the main campus in Harrogate, Tennessee.

Prior to his current position, Overton spent several years at Trine University in Angola, Indiana. He joined Trine as an Assistant Professor in the Reiners Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, specializing in transportation engineering. Overton passionately supported the students serving as academic advisor and advocate for numerous student organizations such as American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Chi Epsilon (civil engineering honor society), and Tau Beta Pi (engineering honor society). Overton progressed to Chair of the department and experienced record enrollment under his leadership. Overton’s most recent position at Trine was Dean of the Allen School of Engineering and Computing, in which he led the successful ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accreditation for seven engineering programs.

Overton, a native of Speedwell, Tennessee, earned his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Civil Engineering at the University of Tennessee—Knoxville. Although most of his experience has been in higher education, he is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Indiana. During his undergraduate and graduate studies, Overton interned and worked part time at Vaughn & Melton Consulting Engineers in Middlesboro, Kentucky.