Biography

Dr. Donald R. DeVito is an adjunct professor in the University of Florida Masters in Music Education program. He is also a certified music and exceptional student education (ESE) educator at the Rawlings Elementary Center for Fine Arts. In 2011, DeVito was the Clarissa Hug award recipient for the Council for Exceptional Children, the international organization for special education. In 2014 he was elected to the board of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) and has chaired their Community Music Activity Commission.  He publishes extensively and presents internationally on networking universities, schools, and community-based programs for the benefit of students with complex needs. Recent examples include: A Virtual Lab School: Developing a Multi-State Public School University Partnership to Benefit Minority Students at the 2022 College Music Society Conference, Culturally Responsive Research Projects in a Title One Elementary Center for Fine Arts in Visions of Research in Music Education, and A Viable Way of Teaching Popular Music Styles that Connect Neighborhood Music Traditions in a 99 Percent Minority Population School with Dr. Jose’ Ruiz at the 2022 virtual ISME Conference in Australia.