Career
He was reelected in the 2015 provincial election as a Liberal in the new district of Mount Scio. He currently serves as Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development in the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador. Kirby was born in Saint Lawrence on the Burin Peninsula.
He was raised on a small farm in Lord"s Cove where generations of his family have worked in inshore fishing industries.
Kirby began working at an early age at Kirby"s Store, later Kirby"s Kwik-Way, a family-run grocery and convenience store. He graduated from Saint Joseph"s Academy in 1989.
Kirby earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Education degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland before completing a doctorate in higher education theory and policy studies at the University of Toronto. While at university, he held a number of elected student union positions at the local, provincial, and national levels.
As chairperson of the Newfoundland and Labrador component of the Canadian Federation of Students in the 1990s, Kirby led a successful campaign to freeze college and university tuition fees in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In 2006, Kirby was appointed an assistant professor of post-secondary education studies in the Faculty of Education at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He was promoted to the position of associate professor in 2011. Prior to joining Memorial University, he worked as a senior advisor on education policy in the Ontario Public Service.
Kirby is a professor, researcher, and consultant on student access and participation in college and university and in the area of online learning.
In recognition of his contributions and advocacy, the Canadian Council on Learning named him a Minerva Scholar in 2007. Kirby was sworn at Government House as Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development by Lieutenant Governor Frank Fagan on December 14, 2015.
Kirby is on a full leave of absence from his position as associate professor of education at Memorial University of Newfoundland.