“We are pleased to present the 2025 awards to this commendable and exemplary group of education scholars and champions,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “They have contributed tremendously to education research, across all career stages and fields, and continue to make a difference in the lives of students and educators.”
AERA will honor the recipients at the Awards Ceremony Luncheon at the 2025 Annual Meeting in Denver on Thursday, April 24, from 11:40 am to 1:25 pm MT in the Colorado Convention Center.
2025 Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award
Recipient: Robert Pianta (University of Virginia)
The Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award is the premier acknowledgment of outstanding achievement and success in education research. It is designed to publicize, motivate, encourage, and suggest models for education research at its best.
2025 Distinguished Public Service Award
Recipient: Joan Ferrini-Mundy (University of Maine)
This award is granted annually in recognition of an individual who has worked to enact or implement policies that are well grounded in education research, or who has been at the forefront of efforts to increase recognition and support for education research.
2025 Excellence in Media Reporting on Education Research Award
Recipient: Kevin Mahnken (The 74)
This award recognizes a person who has made noteworthy contributions to reporting on findings, bodies of research, or scholarship in the field of education research in any medium of public communication. The award honors a media professional whose work exemplifies promoting a broader vision of the value of education research to society.
2025 Review of Research Award
Recipients: Andrene J. Castro, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Kimberly Bridges, Shenita E. William (Virginia Commonwealth University)
"Drawn Into Policy: A Systematic Review of School Rezoning Rationales, Processes, and Outcomes"
Review of Educational Research, Volume 94, Issue 4, August 2024.
This award is given in recognition of an outstanding review of research article appearing in the Review of Research in Education or the Review of Educational Research.
2025 Outstanding Book Award
Recipient: OiYan A. Poon (College Admissions Futures Co-Laborative)
Asian American Is Not a Color: Conversations on Race, Affirmative Action, and Family
The Outstanding Book Award was established to acknowledge and honor the year’s best book-length publication in education research and development.
2025 E. F. Lindquist Award
Recipient: Linda Cook (ETS)
This award is presented jointly by AERA and ACT in recognition of outstanding applied or theoretical research in the field of testing and measurement. The award is meant to acknowledge a body of research of an empirical, theoretical, or integrative nature rather than a single study.
2025 Early Career Award
Recipient: Raquel Muñiz (Boston College)
Established to honor an individual in the early stages of their career no later than 10 years after receipt of the doctoral degree, this award is granted for study in any field of educational inquiry.
2025 Social Justice in Education Award
Recipient: Gloria Swindler Boutte (University of South Carolina)
Established in 2004, the Social Justice in Education Award honors an individual who has advanced social justice through education research and exemplified the goal of linking education research to social justice.
2025 Distinguished Contributions to Gender Equity in Education Research Award
Recipient: Deirdre L. Cobb-Roberts (University of South Florida)
Established in 2006, the Distinguished Contributions to Gender Equity in Education Research Award recognizes individuals for distinguished research, professional practice, and activities that advance public understanding of gender and/or sexuality at any level in the education community.
2025 Exemplary Contributions to Practice-Engaged Research Award
Recipient: Leticia Alvarez Gutiérrez (University of Utah)
This award is presented to an education research scholar or scholars in recognition of collaborative project(s) between researchers and practitioners that have had sustained and observable effects on contexts of practice.
2025 Outstanding Public Communication of Education Research Award
Recipient: David Edward DeMatthews (University of Texas at Austin)
This award honors scholars exemplary in their capacity to communicate the importance of education research to the broad public, including education communities. It recognizes scholars who have excelled in conveying important findings and research to wide audiences and who have demonstrated the capacity to deepen understanding and appreciation of the value of education research in the public sphere.
2025 Scholars of Color in Education Early Career Contribution Award
Recipient: Roderick L. Carey (University of Delaware)
Presented to a scholar who is within the first decade of their career after receipt of a doctoral degree, this award is intended to recognize (a) scholars who have made significant contributions to the understanding of issues that disproportionately affect minority populations, and (b) minority scholars who have made a significant contribution to education research and development.
2025 Scholars of Color in Education Mid-Career Contribution Award
Recipient: Tisha Lewis Ellison (University of Georgia)
Presented to a scholar in mid-career who is beyond the first level of professional appointment and for whom 10 or more years have passed since receipt of the doctoral degree, this award is intended to recognize (a) scholars who have made significant contributions to the understanding of issues that affect minority populations, and (b) minority scholars who have made a contribution to education research and development.
2025 Scholars of Color in Education Distinguished Career Contribution Award
Recipient: Valerie Kinloch (Johnson C. Smith University)
Presented to a senior-level scholar, usually 20 years or more after receipt of the doctoral degree, this award is intended to recognize (a) scholars who have made significant contributions to the understanding of issues that disproportionately affect minority populations, and (b) minority scholars who have made a significant contribution to education research and development.
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About AERA
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky.
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