A special interest group of the american educational research association

2017 CESJ Award Winners

Our list of winners for this year’s CESJ awards are shining examples of scholar activists, impactful leaders, and tremendous mentorship. Please take some time to read the work of these individuals, and if you cross paths with them, wish them congratulations!

Outstanding Dissertation Award-Dr. Bailey Smolarek

Dr. Bailey Smolarek's dissertation study explored policies and practices in the education of Latina/o immigrants in U.S. high schools through an ‘anthropology of policy’ lens.  The issues that Dr. Bailey engaged with are at the cutting edge of research at the intersection of educational policy and applied linguistics; she has done much-needed border crossing between the two fields.  She has drawn on this duality of expertise not only theoretically, but also in shaping her design and executing her study. Her scholarship, through a close anthropological look at the impact of educational and language policy on this particular group of students, contributes to understandings of schooling policies and practices, and their impact on the lives and academic achievement of Latinx immigrants. 

Honorable Mention: Dawn Sherman

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Scholar Activist/Community Advocacy Award-
Dr. Rita Kohli


Dr. Rita Kohli is an Assistant Professor at the University of California Riverside in the Department of Education, Society, and Culture. She is the co-founder and co-director of the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice ( ITOC ).  Kohli also served a four year term as chair and program chair for the Critical Educators for Social Justice ( CESJ ). Her co-authored article "Teachers, please learn our names!: Racial Microagressions and the K-12 Classroom" (Kohli & Solórzano, 2012) was featured on PBS and NPR, and has been downloaded more than 5800 times. 
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Revolutionary Mentor Award-Dr. Daniel Solórzano

Dr. Daniel Solórzano is the director of UC/ACCORD (All Campus Consortia on Research on Diversity) and a Professor of social science and comparative education in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and in the Chicana and Chicano Studies and Women’s Studies departments at the University of California, Los Angeles. Over his 44-year career Solórzano has taught and mentored students in and outside of the academy, chaired over 60 dissertation committees, and created the Center for Critical Race Studies at UCLA. Among Solórzano’s many awards are the 2014 AERA Scholar of Critical Race Theory, the 2012 Derrick Bell Legacy Award, and the 2012 AERA Social Justice in Education Award. Dr. Solórzano was nominated for this award by over fifty of his former doctoral students. In the words of one of them; “What is transformative about Danny, is that once you become his student, you become his student for a lifetime…I have always admired how someone so established and renowned can walk with so much humility, but this is Danny, he walks with purpose, love, and justice.”
 
Honorable Mention: Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz is an Associate Professor of English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is also the founder of the Racial Literacy Roundtable Series at Teachers College and the co-founder of the Teachers College Civic Participation Project. Sealey-Ruiz has made the educational autobiography a centerpiece of her teaching philosophy and is known for taking authentic and compassionate interest in the lives of her students. Sealey-Ruiz has published 2 books and over 20 articles, many of which she coauthored with her doctoral students, and was awarded the 2016 AERA Mid-Career Award. In the words of one of her students; “The nature of her mentorship is one of critical engagement and community building rather than an authoritative relationship maintained purely for self-interest. She values everyone she works with as brilliant and important human beings.”

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Call for 2017 Awards Nominations & Awards Committee Members

​The time has come again for us to begin the process of soliciting nominations for our SIG Awards! We’ve made some exciting changes to our awards this year in order to capture all of the amazing work of our members. We will have the Outstanding Dissertation Award, the revised Scholar Activist/Community Advocacy Award, and a new Revolutionary Mentor Award.

We hope that you consider applying and/or serving on an awards committee! 
Awards Submission Deadline:
If you intend to nominate and/or apply for any of the awards, the deadline for submission is Monday, January 9th by 11:59pm.  Attached to this email are the descriptions and eligibility requirements for each award.

Awards Committee Volunteer Information:
If you’re interested in volunteering to review applications, please contact the appropriate board member by Monday, January 9th, by 11:59pm to indicate your willingness to serve on the committee:
  • Dissertation Award: Sosanya Jones smjones@siu.edu
  • Scholar Activist/Community Advocacy: Carolina Valdez  cavaldez@csumb.edu
  • Revolutionary Mentorship Award: Beth Sondel  bethsondel@gmail.com

                                                                                Outstanding Dissertation Award

Award Description:
This award recognizes doctoral level research that utilizes critical theory and focuses on the struggle for social, environmental, racial and/or economic justice or human rights. This award includes a $300 stipend towards the cost of attending the AERA conference. Please send all materials electronically to the committee chair, Sosanya Jones, at smjones@siu.edu.
Eligibility Requirements:
  • Nominee must be an active AERA member
  • Nominee must have successfully defended their dissertation between May 15, 2015 and December 31st, 2016
  • Recipient is strongly encouraged to attend the CESJ annual business meeting in San Antonio, TX
Submission Requirements:
  • A nomination letter including name, title, institution, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address (Self-nominations are acceptable)
  • Curriculum vitae
  • A one-page dissertation abstract (double spaced)
  • A 20-25 page synopsis of the dissertation (double spaced)
  • A letter of support from the dissertation supervisor that also indicates the completion date of the dissertation.
  • The applicant must remove all identifiable references to individuals, institutions and, places that might bias reviewers.
  • Finalists may be required to submit their full dissertation after the first round of adjudication.
Evaluation Criteria:
  • Definition of the problem/question is clearly articulated
  • Rationale for the study is persuasive
  • Research approach is appropriate for the problem and rationale
  • Findings are well established and articulated
  • Conclusion(s)/interpretation(s) are grounded in data
  • Contribution to the fields of critical education and social justice
                                                                 
​                                                                         Scholar Activist & Community Advocacy Award

Award Description
This award recognizes a scholar-activist (any rank) who has made significant
 contribution to the promotion of social, environmental, racial and/or economic justice or human rights through collaboration with community partners (this new award has collapsed the Scholar Activist and Community Advocacy Awards). Community activism can be broadly conceptualized and can include political action, service, grassroots organizing and any other advocacy work that directly benefits community members. The AERA member and their community partner(s) will share this award. All applications should be sent electronically to the committee chair, Carolina Valdez, at cavaldez@csumb.edu.

Eligibility Requirements
  • Nominee must be an active AERA member
  • May not be a paid member of any community organization involved in the advocacy work.
  • May not have received any compensation (excluding grant funding) from community groups or members involved in the advocacy work.
Evaluation Criteria
  • Focus on issues of social justice in education from a critical perspective:  The scholar-activist and the community partner demonstrate a commitment to the struggle for equity, human rights and/or democracy for diverse communities centered on cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and/or economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and/or communities.
  • Evidence of linking academic scholarship to activism: There is evidence that the scholar-activist uses scholarship broadly defined as a vehicle to rethink traditional research methods and theoretical frameworks, builds upon indigenous knowledge(s), and/or center marginalized perspectives for the benefit of the community organization.
  • Impact of scholar-activism: The impact of the scholar activist and community partner will be evaluated through evidence of the purposeful ways they are making social justice change (i.e. has their work created positive change for students, communities, and institutions towards equity).  
Nomination Materials

  • A nomination letter including name, title, institution, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address of the scholar activist and parallel contact information for a representative(s) of the community partner. (Self-nominations are acceptable).
  • Curriculum Vitae
 of the scholar-activist
  • Two letters of reference providing evidence of how the nominee have contributed to community activism related to issues of social justice in education. One letter must be from the community partner.

                                                                                 Revolutionary Mentor Award
Award Description:
This new CESJ award recognizes the essential role mentorship plays in supporting critical scholarship. This award recognizes a scholar who has made distinguished contributions in the mentoring of PK-12 students, undergraduate and graduate students, and/or junior scholars, as a means of helping to develop critical social justice scholars, educators, and activists. We seek to honor a scholar (at any rank) who has been vital in supporting others in their research, teaching, and/or critical community engagement. We want to highlight scholars who encourage, support, and help guide critical scholarship inside and outside of the academy. Please send nomination materials to committee chair, Beth Sondel, at bethsondel@gmail.com

Eligibility:
  • Nominee must be an active AERA member
  • Nominee must have an active research agenda
Nomination Materials:
  • A nomination letter including name, title, institution, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address (Self-nominations are not acceptable)
  • Curriculum Vitae

  • Two letters of reference providing evidence on how the nominee has mentored others in ways that promote social justice within the academy.
Evaluation Criteria:
  • Focus on social justice:  Demonstrates commitment to the struggle for equity, human rights and/or democracy for diverse communities.
  • Commitment to revolutionary mentorship: Commits in words and actions to supporting other scholars and students through the academy in ways that encourage critical social justice engagement and radical self-care.
  • Creates supportive, inclusive environment for others. Takes action and risks within departments and other levels of the academy to dismantle oppressive structures and policies, address microaggressions, and promote the nurturing of colleagues and students.
2016 CESJ Award Winners

This year’s CESJ award winners highlight the amazing and influential people our SIG attracts and the difference social justice educators can make in academia and their communities. We encourage you take a closer look at the work these individuals are doing.
 
2016 Scholar-Activist Award:  Winner – Patrick Camangian

Patrick Camangian is an associate professor in the Teacher Education Department at the University of San Francisco. He has been an English teacher since 1999, beginning in the Los Angeles Unified School District where he was awarded "Most Inspirational Teacher" by former mayor Richard Riordan and the school's student body. Professor Camangian currently volunteers in the Oakland Unified School District teaching English. He has collaborated with groups such as California's People’s Education Movement, the Education for Liberation national network, and San Francisco's Teachers 4 Social Justice. 

Honorable Mention – Luz Murillo

​2016 Community Advocacy Award: Winner - Mary Hermes

Mary Hermes moved to the Lac Court Oreilles reservation during graduate school in 1993 where she spent 20 years raising her family and becoming immersed in the Ojibwe language. As a mixed-cultural-heritage person, Mary is proficient in the language and passionate about helping to return it to people like herself, whose ancestors spoke it for generations. She helped found the Waadookodaading School in Lac Court Oreilles and is the lead researcher for the Ojibwe Conversational Archives project. Today, her work takes her into the homes of elders recording the language. It also takes her into the homes of young families to investigate the effectiveness of various teaching methods and technologies.

Honorable Mentions-
Katherine Bruna
Erin Dyke
Jaime Del Razo
Joyce Elaine King
Valerie Kinloch
Mariana Pacheco
Mark Warren
Rachael Wendler
 
2016 Outstanding Dissertation Award:  Winner- Sakeena Everett
Dissertation Title: Disrupting the Single Story: Cultivating More Complete Stories about Academically High Performing Young Black Men.

Sakeena Everett is the director of research and outreach for the College’s Black Male Early Literacy Impact Project. Her dissertation defined traits of Black male success in secondary education settings Her study began in an academic enrichment summer program for rising juniors that focused on understanding Black male success through narrative.  Participants possessed GPAs of 3.0 or better, high ACT scores and eventual full-ride scholarships to college.  Students engaged with critical theories of education to compose narratives describing their experiences in education, essays that in some cases served as college application material. After the summer program, she built on these writing experiences, working to equip her students with language to defend and define themselves.  Her students read Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” and scholarly journal articles, examining how research reflected—and did not reflect—their experiences as students. Everett tracked these students as they completed their high school education, interviewing students, teachers, administrators, friends and family to gain a nuanced understanding of how the students conceptualized their academic success and what informed and sustained these successes.  She witnessed students’ confidence as writers growing as they progressed through these experiences.

AWARDS

This SIG-sanctioned award recognizes the collaboration of an AERA member and community partner(s) who have together made distinguished contributions to improve the educational conditions of students, families and/or communities towards social justice. Community partner(s) are broadly defined and could include, but are not limited to community members such as students, teachers, parents, or organizations. Community advocacy can be broadly conceptualized and can include political action, service, grassroots organizing and any other advocacy work that directly benefits community members. The AERA member and their community partner(s) will share this award. 
This AERA-sanctioned award recognizes a dissertation of exemplary conceptual, methodological and rhetorical quality on an important topic that specifically and skillfully addresses social justice issues in education. Click on the button above for more information about past winners and how to submit an application.
This AERA-sanctioned award recognizes a junior, mid or advanced-career scholar-activist (Assistant, Associate or Full professor) who has made distinguished contributions linking scholarship with activism focused on issues of social justice to improve the educational conditions of students, families and/or communities. Click on the button above for more information about past winners and how to submit an application.