Citing a “changing” situation at the university, UF’s director of Black Affairs will step down from her position next week.
Vee Byrd, who has held the position for the past four years, will leave her students Wednesday for a new job in Jacksonville.
“Things are just changing at the university, and I just think it’s time for me to move on,” she said.
Byrd will begin her new job, as associate director of student engagement for Florida State College at Jacksonville on March 6. She said she’s looking forward to the new position because it will give her a chance to shape the college’s recently created program.
“This is a new position for FSCJ too, so I get to create it,” Byrd said. “I get to lay a foundation, which is very unique and is rare in higher-ed for you to get to do that.”
In September, Lloren Foster was removed as executive director of Multicultural and Diversity Affairs, which Black Affairs falls under. In that case, Foster’s contract had expired and UF did not renew it.
While searching for a new job, Byrd kept her students, who call her mom and mama, in the loop. She insists on remaining in a group chat of Black Affairs student ambassadors even after she leaves UF.
Latosha Jackson, a 21-year-old UF tourism, event and recreation management junior, said Byrd helped her grow as a person.
Though Jackson will miss Byrd, she’s happy her mentor is getting a new opportunity, she said.
“I’m happy she’s leaving because she deserves better, better in the sense of a better position, and I just feel like this campus takes her for granted sometimes,” Jackson said.
Khyra Keeley, a 20-year-old UF political science and African-American studies junior, met Byrd her freshman year. She said Byrd has always kept her students’ best interests in mind.
Keeley, of Jacksonville, said she hopes Byrd visits her in the city.
“Even if she wasn’t going to my hometown, she’s been somebody who’s been important in terms of my personal growth on campus, so it’s inevitable,” Keeley said. “I told her she can’t go anywhere and me not talk to her. It’s not an option.”
Vee Byrd
