Dr. Patricia Foy Selected for Induction into SC Music Educators Hall of Fame
Dr. Patricia Foy, Professor of Music Education in the Petrie School of Music, has been selected for induction into The South Carolina Music Educators Hall of Fame. Criteria for selection include effectiveness in teaching music, the ability to inspire positive attitudes among students, application of educational innovations, active involvement in professional organizations, and demonstration of the highest ideals and professional integrity during their career, among others.
“This is a tremendous honor, which bespeaks the regard in which Dr. Foy is held by her colleagues throughout our state,” said Dr. Scott Robbins, Associate Dean of the Petrie School of Music. “The music education program at Converse is highly-regarded, and it is in large part due to the efforts of Dr. Foy that this program’s influence has become so important. Patti Foy has also provided her expertise to music education beyond Converse, recently and notably through her service as President of the South Carolina Music Educators Association.”
Dr. Foy has been a member of the Petrie School faculty since 1990. Before beginning her career as a college-level educator, she taught K-12 general and choral music for twelve years in South Carolina and Georgia. In addition, she has served churches in the roles of accompanist, children’s choir director, and adult choir director. At Converse, she teaches choral and general music classes on both the undergraduate and the graduate levels. The founder and director of the South Carolina Music Technology Institute, she has received nearly a half-million dollars in grants from the South Carolina Department of Education and the South Carolina Arts in Basic Curriculum Project since 2001 to educate South Carolina music teachers in the use of instructional technology.
Dr. Foy is active in the Southeast as a clinician, consultant, and choral adjudicator. An active member of MENC: The National Association for Music Education, she is a Past President and the current Executive Director of the South Carolina Music Educators Association. Dr. Foy served thirteen years as a member of the Steering Committee for the South Carolina Arts in Basic Curriculum Project, and is also a former member of the Board of the SC Alliance for Arts Education, an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, she has regularly served as a consultant to the South Carolina Department of Education on K-12 music curriculum and in the assessment of college and university music teacher preparation programs.
Dr. Foy earned the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Converse College in 1977. She earned a Master of Music Education degree in choral music education in 1980 and a Ph.D. in Music Education in 1988 from the University of South Carolina, where she served as the graduate editor for Update: the Applications of Research in Music Education. Dr. Foy is a Kodály specialist, having completed Levels I, II, and III of the certification program.