Dr. Jess Smith

Dr. Jess Smith

Graduate Writing Coordinator
Affiliate Clinical Professor

Jess Smith, Ph.D., serves as a graduate writing coordinator for the Research and Writing Development Center within the Ed.D. Learning and Organizational Change Program as well as an affiliate clinical professor in the department of curriculum and instruction. Dr. Smith has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in secondary education, social foundations of education, and research methodologies. As a former secondary teacher, Dr. Smith has a passion for relational, student-centered literacy instruction. Dr. Smith earned a B.A. with secondary teaching certificate from the University of North Texas, an M.Ed. in Instructional Design and Technology from Tarleton State University, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teaching from Baylor University. She has served on more than 50 dissertation committees and publishes regularly with her students. Her research trajectory focuses on reading, particularly how secondary English teachers come to select the texts their students read, and writing development at the graduate level. Jess and her husband, Wes, have three children, Granger, Caroline, and Raleigh. Dr. Smith and her family are active members at University Baptist Church, and in her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and trying to keep the plants in her garden alive.