Ernest Morrell (born April 27, 1971) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

university professor, currently the Coyle Professor in Literacy Education at Notre Dame. In July 2021, he will also become the Associate Dean for the Humanities and Equity in the College of Arts and Letters. He is also the founder and president of Desert Highway Music which produced blues and folk music with the intention of keeping American art forms alive.

Education

Morrell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

in 1993, his California teaching credential in Secondary English (1994), Master of Arts degree in education (1997), and Ph.D. in Language, Literacy and Culture (2001) from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Professional career

Morrell began his teaching career as an English teacher at Oakland High School in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

in 1994. While continuing to teach at Oakland High School, Morrell served as an instructor at the University of California Berkeley and supervised student teachers for the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

. Beginning 1999, he served as a research associate at Center

and an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate School of Education at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

. Morrell was then an assistant professor in the Department of Teacher Education and an affiliated faculty member of the African-American and African Studies and Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures departments at Michigan State University from 2001 to 2005. From 2002 to 2004, Morrell continued as a visiting assistant professor at UCLA. In 2005, Morrell became a tenure-track assistant professor. In 2007, Morrell earned tenure and became an associate professor at UCLA. He later became the Macy Professor of English Education and Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME) at

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

. He then transitioned to Notre Dame, where he will in July become the Associate Dean for the Humanities and Equity in the College of Arts and Letters. He is concurrently the Coyle Professor in Literacy Education, teaches English and Africana Studies, and is director of the Notre Dame Center for Literacy Education. He is also an elected member of the AERA Council, elected Fellow of the American Educational Research Association, a past-president of the National Council of Teachers of English, an appointed member of the International Literacy Association’s Research Panel, and convener of the African Diaspora International Research Network

Scholarship and publications

Morrell is the author of four books: ''Becoming Critical Researchers: Literacy and Empowerment for Urban Youth'', ''Linking Literacy and Popular Culture: Finding Connections for Lifelong Learning'', ''Critical Literacy and Urban Youth: Pedagogies of Access, Dissent, and Liberation'', and ''The Art of Critical Pedagogies: Possibilities for Moving from Theory to Practice in Urban Schools''. Morrell's scholarship focuses on how to provide youth the skills they need to succeed academically and function more powerfully as citizens in a multicultural democracy (see

Multicultural education Multicultural education is a set of educational strategies developed to provide students with knowledge about the histories, cultures, and contributions of diverse groups. It draws on insights from multiple fields, including ethnic studies and wo ...

). A front-page story in the Los Angeles Times described how "Education professors Ernest Morrell and Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade use hip-hop lyrics to deepen students' understanding of established literary texts."

Awards and recognitions

In 1999, Morrell received a Certificate of Recognition for commitment to Oakland High School from the State of California Senate. Following graduate school, Morrell received the Outstanding Dissertation Award in 2001 from the University of California, Berkeley. He then received an

American Educational Research Association The American Educational Research Association (AERA, pronounced "A-E-R-A") is a professional organization representing education researchers in the United States and around the world. AERA's mission is to advance knowledge about education and p ...

/OERI postdoctoral fellowship for 2001–2004. In 2005, Morrell was selected for inclusion in Academic Keys Who's Who in Education. In 2008, Morrell received the Distinguished Teaching Award at University of California, Los Angeles. Morrell was featured in the UCLA Prime Magazine in an article titled, "7 Bruins Who Will Change the World."Thelandersson, Frederika (May, 2009) "7 Bruins who will change the world". Prime Magazine

Personal

Morrell resides in South Bend with his wife, Jodene Morrell, and three sons. Morrell is

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and has spoken of the anti-Catholic nature of his former employers, namely

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

system. He cited this as a factor in his decision to come to Notre Dame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrell, Ernest 1971 births Living people American political candidates California Democrats UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education alumni UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies faculty University of California, Santa Barbara alumni African-American Catholics