Awards

NCTE Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award

2025 Recipient: E. Sybil Durand

University of Arizona

Dr. Sybil Durand is a former high school English teacher and current associate professor at the University of Arizona, where she teaches courses on young adult literature. She has been an active member of NCTE since 2010, when she was selected as a fellow in the NCTE Research Foundation’s Cultivating New Voices among Scholars of Color (CNV) mentoring program. She earned her PhD from Louisiana State University in 2012 and has held several leadership positions in NCTE since. Durand is the president-elect of ALAN, the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE, which holds a two-day conference featuring young adult authors immediately following the NCTE Annual Convention. She served on the NCTE Committee on Resolutions, which revised a resolution supporting teacher expertise and autonomy in the classroom. She has mentored doctoral students and early career faculty for the NCTE Latinx Caucus since 2017 and for CNV since 2022. In her home state, Durand was the president (2023–2024) of the NCTE state affiliate Arizona English Teachers Association (AETA), and is the co-director of AETA’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee. In 2024, Durand was a guest coeditor for a special issue of English Journal focused on “Affirming Queer and Trans* Youth.” She regularly presents at NCTE, NCTEAR, and ELATE conferences, and publishes research and pedagogical articles about young adult literature.

My ultimate goal as an educator and scholar of young adult literature is for every person, regardless of age, to discover two types of books in their lives: first, a book that reflects who they are and that validates their experiences; and second, a book that expands their understanding of the world as one culturally pluralistic community. Such stories, particularly ones that highlight the perspectives of youth from historically underrepresented groups, are an essential curriculum resource for cultivating students and teachers who are empathetic, critical thinkers, and civic-minded members of society.

Award Details

The NCTE Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award (APCL), established in 2007 and first presented in 2008, is a special award given to an NCTE member of color who has made a significant contribution to NCTE and the development of our professional community. We remind nominators, nominees, and selection committee members that members of NCTE Conferences—CCCC, CEL, ELATE, LLA, and TYCA—are members, by definition, of NCTE.

Purpose:
To promote and support the advancement of communities of color in the profession and contribute to promoting equity and dismantling racism.

Frequency/Number of Awards:
This award will be bestowed only when the APCL Selection Committee decides a nomination warrants presentation of the award. The composition of the selection committee includes POC from various groups within the Council, e.g., caucuses, affiliate groups, and assemblies. This award may not be given each year. This award may be given to a deceased person. Only one recipient will be selected each year.

Current NCTE Executive Committee members are not eligible for this award. Recipients of this award are not eligible to receive any other Executive Committee approved awards in the same year, nor in the following year.

Eligibility:
People of color refers to historically underrepresented groups: African American, Black Diasporic communities, American Indians, Asian Americans, Latinx, and Pacific Islanders. The APCL Selection Committee will consider nominations from current NCTE members. The Executive Committee will approve the committee’s selection. It is customary that recipients of this award have a significant history of advancing POC in NCTE-affiliated venues and platforms and have held membership in NCTE for many years.

Nomination Requirements:

Required materials for submission are a cover letter or letter of nomination and a resume/CV.

Award Criteria:
The bold statements are the award criteria. The remaining statements are intended to describe some of the possibilities suggested in the criteria and are not intended to be rated individually. Please remember that different individuals have different levels of access to various opportunities (for example, small rural and urban vs. large rural and urban contexts).

Significant Contributions to NCTE

• Service contributions supporting NCTE and advancing individuals and communities of color (national, regional, local, and campus levels as well as conferences, affiliates, assemblies, caucuses, etc.)
  • Committees
  • Elected roles
  • Advocacy and program support
• Writing/presenting/editing/reviewing at NCTE-affiliated conferences/publication venues that contribute to literacy research, development, and innovative practice related to issues which disproportionately affect people of color

Development of Our Professional Community
Professional communities focused on activities/work/processes that promote and support the advancement of communities of color in the profession, contribute to promoting equity and dismantling racism in their community locally, nationally, and in NCTE, in literacy-related activities, and in public engagement. Literacy learning can be varied (e.g., global, national, regional, and local/campus)

• Teaching
  • Developing district/state/national curriculum
• Scholarship
  • (Co-)research with community members
  • (Co-)publish with community members
• Advocacy of policy and practices that influence and advance understanding of equity and antiracism
• Professional development
  • Offer professional development school/training for community members

Strong candidates tend to show strength in all areas.

Selection Committee:
The NCTE President appoints one Executive Committee member to serve as chair and four NCTE members-at-large from relevant NCTE groups.

Award Specifics:

• A plaque is given to the recipient during the NCTE Awards Session.
• The recipient will also receive:
  • A complimentary NCTE Annual Convention registration
  • Domestic round-trip coach airfare to the NCTE Annual Convention
  • One-night lodging (Friday) with meals

Please contact NCTEAwards@ncte.org with any questions.