Patriann Smith, Ph.D.

Research Funding

From the classrooms of the Caribbean to the world's most influential stages, Professor Patriann Smith has devoted her life's work to transforming how we understand language, literacy, race, and human possibility.

Research

Research Funding

Dr. Patriann Smith has worked extensively across a range of teams, universities, and countries on funded initiatives. Her research has been funded by agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Working in collaboration with Principal Investigators, Dr. S. Joel Warrican (The UWI Cave Hill) and Dr. Callum Hetherington (TTU) and their respective teams, she has received over $5 million in research funding.

USAID Partnership

RISE Caribbean Initiative

Inspired by her commitment to de-essentializing Blackness, the USAID transnational research partnership in which Dr. Smith served as USF Principal Investigator — “The Research Initiative for Supporting Education in the Caribbean” or RISE Caribbean — is a partnership between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus, The University of South Florida (USF), the Eastern Caribbean Joint Board of Teacher Education (ECJBTE), and Ministries of Education (MOEs) in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

Official Logo of The RISE Caribbean Initiative

Among the highlights of the RISE Caribbean initiative have been the RISE Caribbean 2023 conference held at USF, which showcased the research mentorship provided by USF faculty to UWI Cave Hill Research Fellows and Research Assistants. To view the keynote by Dr. Allison Skerrett from the RISE Caribbean conference, please click on the image below. An overview of all conference videos is available here.

Dr. Patriann Smith Introducing Keynote Speaker, Dr. Allison Skerrett at the 2023 RISE Caribbean Conference, USF Patel Center for Global Solutions

Research Mentorship

Cross-Cultural Research Mentorship Network

Another highlight of the RISE Caribbean initiative has involved Dr. Smith working closely with the UWI Cave Hill team to oversee mentorship of Research Fellows and Research Assistants virtually throughout the academic year and face-to-face during the summer by way of the Cross-Cultural Research Mentorship Network (CCRMN). Working in collaboration with Dr. Smith as part of this CCRMN have been USF RISE faculty members, Drs. Constance Hines, Deirdre Cobb-Roberts, Robert Dedrick, Eunsook Kim, Jennifer Wolgemuth, James King, and Jolyn Blank.

Visual Representation of the RISE Caribbean Cross-Cultural Research Mentorship Network (CCRMN)

Under the leadership of Dr. Smith, the RISE Caribbean research team has developed and presented symposiums at the AERA 2023 and 2024 conferences. Based on these presentations, an edited book has been invited by Palgrave MacMillan. Dr. Smith also brings her extensive experience managing funded initiatives such as the USDOE Promise Neighborhood as a Literacy Champion and Literacy Champion Project Manager (TTU) to this latest undertaking, as well as her experience working on grants sponsored by the National Science Foundation in collaboration with Dr. Abdul Serwadda and his team (TTU).

Cover of the Official Program of the 2023 RISE Caribbean Conference

Collaborate

Let’s Partner to Innovate

Patriann enjoys partnering with like-minded scholars, educators, community innovators, thought leaders, businesses, organizations, and other stakeholders who seek to provide pathways for humans towards living a life of purpose. She seeks funding for her Black Immigrant Literacies Lab (BIMLIT-L) and is also happy to entertain collaborative thought partners pursuing innovative mechanisms — including patents — based on the amalgamation of insights gathered from Black immigrant literacies over the past decade. Feel free to reach out to Dr. Patriann Smith with ideas for funding and sponsorship.