The American Educational Research Association recently announced the winners of its 2026 awards for excellence in education research.
“We are honored to recognize the recipients of the 2026 awards, an outstanding and inspiring group of education researchers and leaders,” said Tabbye Chavous, executive director of AERA. “Their contributions continue to advance education research and positively impact countless students, educators, and the environments in which they live, learn, and work.”
Among this year’s recipients are six Black scholars in academia.
Vivian Gadsden, the William T. Carter Professor Emerita of Child Development and Education at the University of Pennsylvania, won two awards: the 2026 Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award and the 2026 Dr. Felice J. Levine Distinguished Contributions to Mentoring in Research and Leadership Award.
At Penn’s Graduate School of Education, Dr. Gadsden serves as co-faculty director of the Penn Early Childhood and Family Research Center. Throughout her career, she has conducted extensive research on learning and literacies across the life-course and has worked to address issues of equity, access, and change for young children and families in historically marginalized communities. An HBCU graduate, Dr. Gadsden received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and English from Fisk University in Nashville. She holds a doctorate in educational psychology and policy from the University of Michigan.
James L. Moore III, the Distinguished Professor of Urban Education in the College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State University, received the 2026 Distinguished Public Service Award.
An Ohio State faculty member for over two decades, Dr. Moore is currently on loan to the U.S. National Science Foundation, serving as the assistant director for its Directorate of STEM Education. His scholarship centers on the experiences of African American men in both K-12 and higher education settings, as well as other societal domains. Dr. Moore is an HBCU graduate, holding a bachelor’s degree in English education from Delaware State University. He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in counselor education from Virginia Tech.
Nicole Patton Terry, the Olive & Manuel Bordas Professor in the School of Teacher Education at Florida State University, received the 2026 Exemplary Contributions to Practice-Engaged Research Award.
Dr. Terry currently directs Florida State’s Florida Center for Reading Research. She is also the founding director of The Urban Child Study and The Village, where researchers collaborate with school and community partners to promote student success. Her research, innovation, and engagement activities concern young learners who are vulnerable to experiencing difficulty with language and literacy achievement in school. Dr. Terry earned her bachelor’s degree in human communication sciences, her master’s degree in learning disabilities, and her Ph.D. in communication sciences and disorders from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Terrell. R. Morton, associate professor of identity and justice in STEM education in the department of educational psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, received the 2026 Scholars of Color in Education Early Career Contribution Award.
As a scholar-activist, Dr. Morton focuses his research and work on identity as it informs the persistence and engagement of racially minoritized students in STEM postsecondary education. Drawing from critical race theory, phenomenology, and human development insights, he examines Black students’ consciousness and how it manifests in their various embodiments and actions that facilitate their engagement in STEM education. Dr. Morton received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from historically Black North Carolina A&T State University. He holds a master’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Miami and a Ph.D. in education with a concentration in learning sciences and psychological studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Chezare A. Warren, associate professor of education policy and of teaching and learning at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, received the 2026 Scholars in Education Mid-Career Contribution Award.
A former secondary math teacher and school administrator in Chicago, Dr. Warren centers his research on understanding the conditions that enable Black students’ education success and wellbeing. He is the principal investigator of THE POSSIBILITIES PROJECT, an “arts-informed knowledge hub” that generates, accumulates, and disseminates research useful for advancing evidence-based Black education solutions. Dr. Warren received his bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a minor in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds a master’s degree in school leadership from Concordia University Chicago, an MBA from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. in policy studies in urban education from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Sean Darling-Hammond, assistant professor of community health sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, is a co-recipient of the 2026 Palmer O. Johnson Memorial Award, which honors his article “No Matter How You Slice It, Black Students are Punished More: The Persistence and Pervasiveness of Discipline Disparities” (See JBHE’s summary here). Dr. Darling-Hammond shares the award with his co-author, Eric Ho of the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Darling-Hammond’s background includes experience in education, psychology, econometrics, and law. His research aims to identify K-12 practices that enhance well-being for students of all backgrounds, as well as social policies that reduce levels and consequences of racial bias. Dr. Darling-Hammond is a graduate of Harvard University, where he majored in sociology. He holds a juris doctorate and a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
