Travis M. Thul, Vice President for Student Success & Engagement

As Minnesota State Mankato’s Vice President for Student Success and Engagement, Dr. Thul serves as a member of the president’s cabinet and is responsible for providing leadership and direction for a student-oriented culture that ensures access, sustains educational excellence, fosters student development and supports high levels of student achievement and success.

Thul joined Minnesota State Mankato in July 2024 after serving for the past 16 years in positions of academic and public sector leadership. Previous roles and experiences include working at the University of Minnesota’s Technological Leadership Institute and serving as a White House Fellow appointed as vice president for transformational exports at the Export-Import Bank of the United States,

Among other positions he has held, Thul served as the dean of technology, trades, business & transportation for Minnesota State College Southeast in Winona, Minnesota, from May 2016-May 2019, and he served as engineering technology program coordinator and as an engineering faculty member at the Community College of Baltimore County in Catonsville, Maryland from January 2013 to May 2016.

Thul earned his doctor of engineering degree in engineering management from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin­­­–Madison and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering technology from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. He holds a graduate certificate from the Joint Forces Staff College at National Defense University in Washington, D.C., and is a licensed professional engineer. He also serves as a governor-appointed member on the Minnesota Board of Engineering and the Minnesota Board of Electricity.