Mary M. Kennedy, professor emerita with the Department of Teacher Education, died July 1, 2023. Kennedy was with the College of Education from 1986 until her retirement in 2013.
Kennedy received her Ph.D. from MSU in 1973 in Educational Psychology. After earning her degree, Kennedy went on to work for the government in Washington, D.C. on a program called Follow-Through. With this program, Kennedy played a role in evaluating the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 and submitted the initial two reports to Congress.
Kennedy started with the College of Education in 1986. Her work focused on researching the influences of teacher education, research knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, credentials and school context.
Kennedy directed the National Center for Research on Teacher Learning (NCRTL) from 1986 to 1994. This center had a dual focus of learning to teach pedagogically with learning subject matter to promote teaching. Kennedy was a strong advocate for the creation of this center and even traveled to Washington, D.C. to persuade government officials to consider creating it. The College of Education was later selected to run the NCRTL.
Robert E. Floden, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus, stated that Kennedy was an “original thinker.”
He highlighted one of Kennedy’s professional strengths as being able to find different ways of looking at something, resulting in productive solutions. Floden also described Kennedy as being a great leader. She had the ability to bring together a group of strong faculty and help them fit together as a whole.
Floden credits the work of the NCRTL team, led by Kennedy, as being “a major factor in the U.S. News and World Report’s ranking of the Elementary Education program.”
In addition to her work with the National Center for Research on Teacher Learning, Kennedy also helped to create a web resource for faculty advisors who were advising doctoral students. Floden referred to this webpage as featuring Kennedy’s “sage advice on how to be a good advisor.”
Throughout her career, Kennedy consulted with numerous national organizations and published many articles on teaching, research and policy. Kennedy also published several books. One of Kennedy’s books, “Learning to Teach Writing – Does Teacher Education Make a Difference?” (Teachers College Press, 1998) examines students’ thinking towards teaching and how these thoughts change with their experiences in teacher education programs.
Kennedy won five awards for her work, including the prestigious Margaret B. Lindsey Award for Distinguished Research in Teacher Education. In 2011, Kennedy was named a fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).