Richard Lee Watkins III was born on February 19, 1985, at Mother Francis Hospital in Tyler, Texas to mother, Pamela Payne Watkins, and father, Richard Lee Watkins, Jr. His mother was born in Seattle, Washington and his father was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. Both of Watkins’ parents made their living as public servants. Watkins’ father worked as a faculty instructor and sports coach at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and his mother, Pamela, worked as a social worker for the Guilford CountyDepartment of Social Services. Watkins earned a full academic scholarship to Fayetteville State University as a Chancellor's Scholar. Watkins was recruited to play football at Fayetteville State University but over the course of his academic career, turned his attention toward student leadership. Watkins majored in Psychology and was inducted into the Psychological Honors Society, Psi Chi, where he became the university's chapter vice president. Watkins graduated with honors from Fayetteville State University in 2007, receiving a B.S. degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. Prior to graduating, Dr. Watkins was inducted into the university's chapter of Beta Kappa Chi, the Scientific Honors Society. In 2009, Watkins enrolled in the Biological and Biomedical Science Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later joined the Center for AIDS Research as a graduate student. While at UNC, he served in the Graduate and Professional Student Federation. Dr. Watkins married Charity Watkins at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina on October 5, 2014. Dr. Watkins and Charity Watkins met during his time in graduate school at UNC-Chapel Hill. Watkins’ mother, Pamela Payne Watkins, was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and passed away in 2016. Two weeks following her death, Dr. Watkins’ wife gave birth to their daughter, Margeaux.
Research
Watkins’ graduate studies at UNC led him into the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Watkins worked under the guidance Dr. Victor Garcia, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. Watkins conducted research within the UNC Center for AIDS Research, Dr. Watkins’ work centered on understanding the factors that influence progression to AIDS in HIV-infected individuals. Dr. Watkins’ research earned him the National Institutes of Health's Virology Training Grant. In addition, Watkins was inducted into Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society in 2014. In 2015, Watkins would become president of UNC's chapter of Sigma Xi. As a post-doctoral fellow, Watkins was elected to serve as the associate director of the Doctoral Research Constituency within the Sigma Xi's national governance structure, and then director of the South Eastern Region on Sigma Xi's board of directors. Following the completion of his post-doctoral fellowship, Dr. Watkins was tapped to help run the Chancellor's Science Scholars Program, a novel program to UNC, which at the time was just over two years old. The goal of CSS is to prepare STEM students to move into Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D programs after graduation, and to become part of the next generation of leaders in science and technology.
Policy
While in graduate school, Dr. Watkins played a key role in the development of the university-recognized student organization, The Science Policy Advocacy Group, a group that to this day, provides science students an opportunity to engage in science policy and advocacy. Dr. Watkins founded 501, The Science Policy Action Network, Inc. in 2015, an organization in the State of North Carolina, which focuses on strengthening the relationship between science and society through enhancing science education, advocacy and outreach, for the benefit of the people of North Carolina. In 2015, Watkins was hired as a program coordinator to help run and develop the Chancellor's Science Scholars Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Early on as program coordinator, Dr. Watkins helped create the University's first-ever Diversity in STEM Conference. In 2016, Dr. Watkins was elected Vice-chairman of the Health Committee on the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People in Durham, North Carolina. That year, Dr. Watkins was also elected to serve on Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honors Society's board of directors.
