Maria Coady

Dr. Maria Coady is the Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Educational Equity and Professor of Multilingual Education at North Carolina State University’s College of Education. Her work focuses on rural multilingual students, educator preparation, and policies impacting language equity. She previously held a professorship at the University of Florida and served as a US Fulbright Distinguished Chair at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland. Her research integrates critical place-conscious frameworks with multilingualism, teacher education, and family engagement.

Dr. Coady earned her PhD from the University of Colorado, Boulder, studying bilingualism in Irish Gaelscoileanna schools. Her expertise spans multilingualism, multiliteracy development, and language policies. She has advised the US Department of Justice and Office for Civil Rights on ML student rights and led international educator training programs in countries like China, South Africa, and Ukraine.

Her recent work emphasizes rural multilingual education challenges, publishing books such as Connecting School and the Multilingual Home (2019) and Educating Multilingual Students in Rural Schools (2023). Funded by the US Department of Education, Ford Foundation, and Spencer Foundation, her research explores equity in education systems and teacher preparation.

Key awards include the prestigious Goodnight Distinguished Professorship and Fulbright Chair. She has authored over 80 scholarly articles on topics ranging from refugee student policies to dual-language program histories. Her professional development initiatives, such as place-conscious PD for rural educators, aim to bridge community and classroom practices.