Assistant professor receives Early Career Award from literacy association

Tisha Lewis Ellison, an assistant professor in the department of language and literacy education, recently received the Early Career Achievement Award from the Literacy Research Association (LRA) for her significant contributions to the field of literacy research and education.

“LRA has afforded me, as a literacy educator and researcher, the opportunity to share the familial and digital literacy practices of African American families and adolescents that are meaningful, relevant and significant to the literacy field,” said Lewis Ellison. “I am truly humbled to receive the Early Career Achievement Award.”

Lewis Ellison was awarded a plaque and $500 during the 2016 LRA Conference on Dec. 1 in Nashville, Tennessee. The LRA is a non-profit professional organization, comprised of individuals who share an interest in advancing literacy theory, research and practice.

“Winning this prestigious and competitive award has inspired me,” said Lewis Ellison. “I know that this work validates and humanizes African American families and adolescents’ lives and narratives. I look forward to continuing this work and to advance the literacy field in innovative ways.”

Using a critical sociocultural approach, Lewis Ellison examines how African American families and adolescents construct agency, identity and power when using digital literacies as mediating tools to make sense of their lives.

Lewis Ellison is a past recipient of the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, the National Council of Teachers of English’s Research Foundation Grant, the NCTE Promising Researcher Award and the LRA’s J. Michael Parker Award.