Carolyn Bird, PhD, AFC, RFC

Bio

Dr. Carolyn Bird earned her Ph.D. in Family Science at the University of Minnesota. As a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University, her scholarship includes academic instruction, outreach, and applied research. She is a member of the Graduate Studies Committee and the PhD Program Work Group. She teaches in the department’s academic program, holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Masters of Arts and Liberal Studies (MALS) program, and advises graduate students.

Dr. Bird has two overarching research foci: the intersection of families, rural communities, and economic policy and leadership in education settings. She is the state principal investigator on a multi-state project investigating family health, health policy, and economics affecting low-income, rural families. Her leadership in education settings focuses on K-12 public schools and universities. In collaboration with faculty across NC State’s campus and at other universities, her K-12 study employs an interdisciplinary approach to gain a fuller understanding of teacher and administrator practices that contribute to an equitable learning environment for African American students. Study results are expected to inform teacher-educator programs and school system diversity and equity goals. At the university level, her inquiries seek to gain fuller understanding of leadership exhibited by faculty and department chairs and supports her interest and active engagement in developing programs for faculty to foster community and success in the academy.

Dr. Bird’s outreach and engagement efforts address financial well-being, health and food insecurity. At the passage of the Affordable Care Act, she developed and conducted an outreach and education program to promote informed decision-making when selecting a health insurance plan through the federally facilitated marketplace on the Marketplace.gov website. Educational content explained eligibility criteria, features of the Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans and the available subsidies and plan selection considerations among other things. Additionally in the realm of health insurance, she served as the lead for NC State Extension’s partnership with the NC Department of Insurance to deliver the State Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP). Each year, the Extension sites offering the NC SHIIP program assisted older adults with Medicare Part D plan selection saving them millions of dollars in prescription drug costs. As a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging, her efforts center on two areas: the integration of health and social services and food security.

Among her outreach efforts is a program to address North Carolina’s high rate of food insecurity. Dr. Bird developed and is the Principal Investigator for the More In My Basket program, a SNAP Outreach program, to promote food security by addressing barriers to accessing food assistance benefits. The program provides education, outreach, and application completion assistance to likely-eligible adults. Formerly, she served as Co-Principal Investigator for the SNAP-Ed program and developed food resource management content for older adults.

Dr. Bird’s honors include her current appointment as an Office of Faculty Excellence/Faculty Affairs Fellow, and previous engagements as Provost Faculty Fellow, and NC State Chair of the Faculty. She is a Community Engaged Faculty Fellow and has Partner Status with the Institute for Emerging Issues. Her academic instruction has been recognized multiple years through the Provost Office’s Thank a Teacher Program. Dr. Bird is active in the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education and serves on its Ethics and Certification Committee. She welcomes international collaborations and has hosted visiting scholars with whom she published cross-cultural studies.

Area(s) of Expertise

• Personal Finance
• Military Families
• Food Security
• Rural Families/Communities and Economic Policy
• Health Insurance
• Leadership in Education (K-12 & Higher Education)
• Faculty Well-being