Nicole Patton Terry, PhD., is the Olive & Manuel Bordas Professor of Education in the School of Teacher Education, Director of the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR), and Director of the Regional Education Lab—Southeast at Florida State University (FSU).  Prior to joining FSU in 2018, she was an Associate Professor of Special Education at Georgia State University (GSU). She is the founding director of two university-based research entities where researchers work collaboratively with diverse school and community stakeholders to promote student success among vulnerable children and youth: The Urban Child Study Center at GSU and The Village at FCRR. 

Dr. Terry’s research, innovation, and engagement activities concern young learners who are vulnerable to experiencing poor language and literacy achievement in school, in particular, African American children, children growing up in poverty, and children with disabilities. Her research and scholarly activities have been supported by various organizations, including the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Institute of Education Sciences, and the Spencer Foundation. She currently serves as president elect for the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Associate Editor for the Journal of Learning Disabilities, and a member of the National Academies’ Committee on the Future of Education Research at the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Terry earned a Ph.D. from Northwestern University's School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, with a specialization in learning disabilities, in 2004. She was as a special education teacher in Evanston Public Schools in Evanston, IL.