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2025 ĢTV Leadership Awards

Eleven Exceptional Educators Presented with 2025 ĢTV Leadership Awards

Annual awards recognize excellence in teaching, research, and advocacy

A nationally known expert in literacy studies who is leading a transformative higher education center, a former elected leader of four national literacy organizations, and a scholar of diverse young adult literature are among the winners of the 2025 ĢTV Council of Teachers of English Leadership Awards.

“It is a joyful day when we have the opportunity to honor the profession’s leaders for their unwavering dedication to fostering literacy and to bolstering English language arts educators everywhere,” said ĢTV President Tonya B. Perry, who is also provost and vice president of academic affairs at Miles College. “Our 2025 Leadership Award winners are doing crucial work that will benefit students for years to come.”

The ĢTV Leadership Awards are presented annually to individuals who have demonstrated leadership and commitment in advancing literacy, the field of education, and ĢTV, the professional organization for literacy teachers spanning preK–college. Awardees are nominated by ĢTV members.

“The ĢTV Leadership Awards remind us to pause and reflect on the immense contributions of our members and colleagues to building a more literate society through English language arts education,” ĢTV Executive Director Emily Kirkpatrick said. “It is a privilege to honor these literacy leaders and to count them as part of our ĢTV community.”

2025 Leadership Award Recipients

James R. Squire Award: Ernest Morrell, University of Notre Dame

Distinguished Service Award: Douglas Hesse, University of Denver

ĢTV Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award: E. Sybil Durand, University of Arizona

ĢTV Leadership Award for People with Disabilities: Brittany R. Collins, Write the World, Inc.

ĢTV LGBTQIA+ Advocacy and Leadership Award: Josh Thompson, Virginia Tech

ĢTV Media Literacy Award: Cassie J. Brownell, University of Toronto

David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English: The Magnitude of Us: An Educator’s Guide to Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms by Marlee S. Bunch

ĢTV ĢTV Intellectual Freedom Award: Frank Strong, KIPP Austin Collegiate High School, Texas Freedom to Read Project

ĢTV ĢTV Intellectual Freedom Award Honorable Mention: Ben Hodge and Patricia A. Jackson, Central York High School

Alan C. Purves Award: “Heteroglossia and Community Translanguaging in an English-Medium Classroom: Multilingual Elementary Students’ Use of Multiple Voices in Digital Texts” by Lindsey Rowe

Award recipients will be honored during a ceremony at the in Denver on Saturday, November 22, at 7:30 a.m. ET.

Individuals who are interested in nominating an ĢTV member for a 2026 Leadership Award may fill out this form. Winners will be honored at next year’s ĢTV Annual Convention in Philadelphia.

About ĢTV

The ĢTV Council of Teachers of English (ĢTV) is the professional organization for literacy teachers spanning preK through college. Through the expertise and advocacy from its members’ professional research, practice, and knowledge, ĢTV has served at the forefront of every major improvement in the teaching and learning of English and the language arts since 1911. For more information, please visit ncte.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Allie Ciaramella, ĢTV: media@ncte.org