Dr. Virginia L. Byrne is a tenured Associate Professor of Higher Education and the Director of the Higher Education & Student Affairs MA program at Morgan State University.
She is an expert on how the Internet and digital technologies shape college students’ learning, connection, and academic success with over 27+ peer-reviewed publications. She situates herself as a researcher of technology equity at the intersection of the Learning Sciences, Higher Education, and online education. Her research explores asynchronous course design, trauma-informed online practices, educators’ technology literacy, ethical social media use, and the implications of AI and edtech on student privacy.
She has secured over $1.8 million in research funding. Currently, Dr. Byrne is the Principal Investigator or Co-PI on two federally funded grants:
->The Learning and Engaging at a Distance (LEAD) Initiative: Exploring Trauma-Informed Online Teaching Practices in Higher Education (U.S. Dept. of Education)
-> The Institute of Trustworthy AI in Law and Society (TRAILS) (NSF and NIST)