Alvermann receives a Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award

Donna Alvermann, the Omer Clyde and Elizabeth Parr Aderhold Professor in Education and Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus in the Mary Frances Early College of Education’s Department of Language and Literacy Education, recently received an Outstanding Book Award from the Society of Professors of Education (SPE) for co-editing “Ideas That Changed Literacy Practices: First-Person Accounts from Leading Voices.”

The book includes first-person accounts from 32 literacy education scholars reflecting on how their research into literacy education influenced the field.

Alvermann co-edited the book with Dennis Sumara, a professor at the University of Calgary’s Werkland School of Education. The idea of the book came about in January 2020, and they made progress on it in 2020 and 2021.

“During the two years that Dennis Sumara and I worked with authors on the book, we found ourselves in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Alvermann said. “The irony of commissioning chapters written in the first-person point of view, at a time when we were already compelled to be socially distant, is not lost on us.”

Alvermann said neither she nor Sumara nominated the book for the SPE award, but noted positive reception of the book from scholars likely influenced the decision and made her feel humbled.

“Humbled by all that was transpiring, I turned to my laptop and quickly shared the good news with my co-editor, all our co-authors, and the reviewers whose remarks had likely brought attention to our book,” she said. “I thanked all who had a part in the book’s creation and invited them to attend the awards ceremony. Then, I simply stared off into space from my perch on cloud nine.”

Alvermann and Sumara will be recognized for the award at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Professors of Education, during the 2022 American Educational Research Association’s convention in San Diego, California, on April 23.