Derrick Griffith, a UNC Charlotte alumnus who was completed his bachelor’s degree in history and was an outstanding student leader in the early 1990s, has been identified as one of seven people killed in an Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia on Tuesday, May 12, as the train headed to New York.
Griffith, 43, most recently was dean of student affairs and enrollment management at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, N.Y. He joined the college in 2011 and had just earned a doctorate of philosophy in urban education from the City University of New York Graduate Center.
“Derrick Griffith was an outstanding student leader in the early 1990s, when I served as provost,” said UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. “Derrick was very active on campus and was committed to helping people. He had a lasting positive impact on people, and it was clear that he had a very bright future ahead of him. His passing is a great loss for the UNC Charlotte family.”
Griffith was student body president in 1991-92 and 1992-93, and he also served as student body vice president in 1990-91. He graduated in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in history.
A former social studies teacher, Griffith founded the City University of New York Preparatory Transitional High School. He also was executive director of Groundwork Inc., an organization formed to support young people living in high poverty urban communities.
Image Courtesy of Medgar Evers College
