Faculty Directory

Marie Byrd, Ed.D.

Byrd entered higher education upon years of service in the Miami Dade County Public School system as teacher, Title One Curriculum Specialist and Administrator. Her scholarship centers on research-based best practices and programs that foster academic, social and emotional development in socioeconomically, racially/ethnically and culturally diverse schools in underserved communities. She is a recipient of the USF Women in Leadership and Philanthropy (WLP) Faculty Excellence Award for the Sarasota Manatee campus for her study on the social and emotional learning of Black girls.

Byrd also directs attention to the practices of culturally competent and responsive teachers and leaders in an era of data-driven accountability and standards-based education. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Elementary Education from Florida State University and Florida International University, respectively and her Ed.D. in Educational Administration and Supervision with a minor in Curriculum and Instruction from Florida International University.
 
Byrd has a notable record of leadership in service to national, regional and local organizations that focus on positively impacting the profession. She is currently an elected board member of the national Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), a past president and current board member of the Southern Regional Association of Teacher Educators (SRATE) as well as past president of the Florida Association of Teacher Educators (FATE). In addition, her leadership at USF involves encompasses the past role of Director of the College of Education at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. Currently, she serves as the USFSM liaison for the Manatee Elementary Community Partnership School and as a liaison for additional community programs centering on underserved student populations.