Dr. Tomlinson Fort, Jr. served as Head of the Chemical Engineering Departments at both Carnegie-Mellon and Vanderbilt University.[1] Throughout a 40 year career in education, Dr. Fort served as Provost at Missouri-Rolla and Provost and Vice President of Cal Poly.[2]
Fort grew up in Athens, Georgia where his father was Regents Professor and Head of the Mathematics Department at the University of Georgia.[2] Fort attended Athens High and the University of Georgia where he graduated in 1952. His great grandfather Tomlinson Fort was elected to the 20th United States Congress.[3]
While at UGA, Fort was initiated into the Delta Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He is a member of the Order of Constantine and during his career in education, he helped found Sigma Chi Chapters at Missouri-Rolla and Cal Poly.[2]
He served on the faculties at Case Western Reserve University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Missouri-Rolla and California Polytechnic State University before going to Vanderbilt in 1989. He was Head of the Chemical Engineering Departments at Carnegie Mellon and Vanderbilt[1] and was Provost at the University of Missouri-Rolla and Provost and Vice President at Cal Poly.[2]