Ernest Morrell

Ernest Morrell is the Coyle Professor in Literacy Education and Director of the Center for Literacy Education at the University of Notre Dame. Ernest has recently been named director of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) James R. Squire Office for Policy Research in the English Language Arts. He is an elected Fellow of the American Educational Research Association, a past president of NCTE, and a co-convener of the African Diaspora International Research Network. From 2015-2019 Ernest has been annually ranked among the top 200 university-based education scholars in the RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings published by EdWeek. Ernest is also the recipient of the NCTE Distinguished Service Award, the Kent Williamson Leadership Award from the Conference on English Leadership, and the Divergent Award for Excellence in 21st Century Literacies . His scholarly interests include: literacy studies, the teaching of English, literature for children, critical media pedagogy, youth popular culture, and postcolonial literatures of the African Diaspora.

Email Professor Morrell directly to receive a copy of his forthcoming book! Email: [[email protected]](mailto: [email protected])

• YouTube video: "Fighting for Life in the Digital Age" – Bread of Life Dinner Fall 2018 — Professor Morrell urged students to develop a "pro-life media literacy" which doesn't simply ignore the pervasive anti-Catholic, anti-life message presented in popular media by taking a "head-in-the-sand" approach, but instead advocates a combination of healthy skepticism, creativity, and technical skill development. As he said, "if we don't like the media we have, develop the skills to create another."
• Center for Literacy Education — No single gift is more precious and empowering than the gift of reading. Simply put, when students read more, their lives improve. Academic literacy rates are positively correlated to life expectancy, educational outcomes, and earning potential, while low literacy rates are negatively correlated to incarceration, dropping out, and unemployment. To open a book is to unlock a whole host of academic and professional opportunities that might not otherwise be available. With this in mind, the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Educational Initiatives founded the Center for Literacy Education (CLE) in 2017 with the generous support of a Notre Dame family from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The CLE’s goal is to transform literacy scholarship and practice in today's urban and multicultural urban schools. Led by inaugural director Dr. Ernest Morrell, a nationally known expert in literacy studies, the CLE especially targets students from vulnerable populations attending public and Catholic schools.
• Every Child a Super Reader — Literacy experts Pam Allyn and Ernest Morrell maintain that when we build on children's key strengths and immerse them in an intellectually invigorating, emotionally nurturing, literature-rich community, we grow "super readers"-avid readers who consume texts with passion, understanding, and a critical eye.
• Theme Song: "I Dunno" by grapes — I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque