Mark Brinkley is the director of International Education in the Office of International Affairs at Tennessee State University (TSU). He is native of Nashville with more than 20 years of experience in corporate America working for Fortune 500 companies such as the US Army, Mobil Oil and The Coca-Cola Company. He has a B.S. in engineering economics from the United State Military Academy at West Point and an MBA in operations from Emory University. Mark Brinkley has 15 years of experiences in International Affairs and Education in various positions at TSU. Mark Brinkley is currently engaged in a Doctoral program in Educational Leadership at TSU.

Mark Brinkley co-developed and engages TSU students with Cultural Immersion Initiatives (CI2) for professional development. TSU students are challenged to include the scholarly experiences–leadership, service learning, research, globalization, and pre-professional organizations into their degree programs. Students develop competence in the principles of learning to include core communication and quantitative skills, analysis, critical thinking, integration and application of knowledge. Accountability, morals, and ethics are stressed through curricular and co-curricular activities to include study abroad.