Tommie Boyd, Ph.D., came to NSU in 1995 to complete her doctoral degree. She liked it so much that she decided to become a professor after completing her studies. Boyd is an associate professor and chair of the department of family therapy in the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences. She said that a passion for students led her to teaching.
“The student involvement and connection — it’s so rich, and it’s such a major learning process for students and it’s so nice to be a part of that. To see students grow and transition is really exciting,” she said.
Boyd has a private practice and said that the family and marriage therapy field fits who she is.
“If you like what you do, you don’t burn out and you don’t get tired of it. You love it every day,” she said. “I love what I do every day. I love being a clinician. I loved it years ago and I still feel the same thing today. It’s something I have a passion for.”
Boyd said that the benefit of marriage and family therapy was seeing her patients grow and change based on their strengths and accomplishments.
“It’s helping them see that they do have those strengths. Sometimes they don’t always know that coming into therapy. You know you’ve touched somebody’s life in a different sort of way,” she said.
Boyd transmits this passion to her students by being curious and energized. She said she believes that because faculty have a passion for what they do, they get more creative instead of tired. She said they maintain this energy and creativity by being curious about who the students are, how they respond to learning and what really touches their lives.
“Students develop that kind of passion as well,” she said. “They really want to do more and learn more. They want that depth of education. They’re hungry for learning the best of the best in skills and looking at philosophy and theoretical orientation and being able to put theory and practice together.”
Boyd said that faculty supervise students serving in more than 100 community locations including homeless shelters, schools and hospitals.
“Community service and community engagement is very important because it’s where the people are. That’s where the need is,” she said.
Boyd was nominated for administrator of the year in the 2010 Student Life Achievement Awards and won the award for administrator of the year in 2008. In 2007, she won the Florida Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Leadership and Service Award, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Leadership Award, and the Florida Divisional Contribution Award from the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. She also served as the president of the Florida Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
Boyd said she thinks her contribution to the department of family therapy is her dedication.
“I’m really dedicated to the department, the university and dedicated to doing the best job I can do. I think being an administrator has allowed me to expand in my development and creativity. I’m a very creative person I can expand being creative and identifying new and different things that can be done,” she said.
When she isn’t working, Boyd enjoys reading, playing the piano and the flute and spending time with her grandchildren. Boyd also watches baseball with her husband and her favorite team is the Atlanta Braves.
