Colin Byard

Colin is a strategic thinker and executor who is committed to ensuring that students of diverse backgrounds are able to succeed in higher education. A native of Indiana, Colin relocated to Florida to pursue work at the University of Central Florida. Colin is a two-time graduate of Indiana University, with a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and Religious Studies, and a Master’s in Higher Education and Student Affairs. Colin began his career at UCF by working in the Department of Housing and Residence Life. As an award-winning professional in Housing and Residence Life, Colin focused his time in developing systems to improve job placement for student staff members, providing social justice education, and developing curricular initiatives to lead to increased student retention. These experiences led Colin to develop passions in redesigning student service experiences, studying the effects of co-curricular learning, and ensuring quality career outcomes for students.

Most recently, Colin served as a Regional University Innovation Alliance (UIA) Fellow for the “Bridging the Gap from Education to Employment” project, where he sought to use Human-Centered Design principles to inspire professionals at UCF and Georgia State University to think about innovative ways to improve student success.