Dr. Allyson Watson

Dr. Allyson L. Watson

Dean, College of Education

Dr. Allyson L. Watson serves as dean for the College of Education at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Prior to her arrival at FAMU, Dr. Watson served as interim chief academic officer and dean at USF St. Petersburg, and at Northeastern State University assistant dean and the first named endowed chair. Her educational background includes a master's (M.Ed.) and doctoral (PhD) degree in educational administration, curriculum and supervision from the University of Oklahoma. Her baccalaureate degree is from Bethune-Cookman University in Elementary Education. Dr. Watson served as assistant director at the University of Oklahoma-Center for Educational & Community Renewal (now K-20 Center). Additionally, her educational career and experience include teaching 1st-8th grade in urban areas. Dr. Watson has focused her research on urban education, faculty of color in higher education, and urban school and university partnerships. She is a full professor and tenured graduate faculty with a substantial amount of teaching experience in courses such as educational research, advanced educational measurements and statistics, public school relations, and instructional strategies. In 2010, Dr. Watson founded Teaching & Urban Reform Network (TURN), a program to prepare pre-service teachers in urban education and encourage effective pedagogical practices. This work has served as a platform for successful acquisition of grants, research presentations, journal articles, and a book chapter. Dr. Watson is a 2014 Pinnacle Woman of the Year awardee from the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women, a recipient of the “40 under 40 Most Influential People in Oklahoma” award from Oklahoma Magazine and the 2012-2013 recipient for the College of Education Outstanding Faculty in Service award from NSU. In 2015, Dr. Watson coordinated a team of educators from across the US to help establish the first-ever robotics lab for girls in north Haiti. This sustainable work has empowered girls and women in STEM. Through this innovative initiative, Haiti sent the first competitive girls team in the history of the nation to compete in the VEX World Championship Robotics Competition. In the Summer of 2018, USFSP College of Education launched an inaugural STEM robotics camp for students in 5th through 8th grade to enrich academic and experiential learning within the St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay region. Dr. Watson was named the Girls, Incorporated STEM Woman of the Year for 2018. Following that prestigious recognition, USFSP’s College of Education celebrated the grand opening of a state of the art innovative STEM lab for all future educators, educational leaders, and organizational partners to engage and experience creative and innovative discovery first hand. Dr. Watson was the recipient of the 2019 Legacy Award in Education at the Legacy Gala in St. Petersburg, Florida. Additionally, was a 2019 Woman of Distinction from the St. Peterburg, Florida community. Dr. Watson is an inaugural alumnus of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, former (2010-13) national alumni president and 2014 past president of the Gates Millennium Scholars Alumni Association.