Elizabeth (Liz) Stephens, EdD
Texas State University – San Marcos

For her outstanding work at the local, state, and national level, Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Stephens is the 2012 Dr. Edmund J. Farrell Award recipient.

After earning her doctorate from the University of Houston, Dr. Stephens joined the faculty of Texas State University, where she started a very successful National Writing Project site—the Central Texas Writing Project—before becoming a leader in the National Writing Project. As Director of National Writing Projects in Texas from 2008 to 2011, she coordinated state meetings and the activities of the various sites.

From those local and state leadership roles, Dr. Stephens moved to the national level. She currently serves on the National Writing Project Board of Directors and on the Advisory Panel to the National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges. Of course, the work of the National Writing Project goes hand-in-hand
with the mission of the National Council of Teachers of English and the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts.

In recognition of her exemplary teaching in undergraduate reading, writing, and educational technology courses, Dr. Stephens was nominated for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching by Texas State University’s College of Education in 2007. She also was a regular presenter at state and national conferences and at Texas high schools. Dr. Stephens also has served on the TAKS Content Validation Review Panel from 2000 to the present.

Dr. Stephens edited English in Texas, the professional journal of the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, from 1999 – 2003. She was named Editor Emerita for her service to TCTELA. In 2000, during her tenure as editor, the journal was named the Best NCTE Affiliate Journal. Early in her career, Dr. Stephens served on the Review Committee for Reading Online, the electronic refereed journal of the International Reading Association; she was the editor for the newsletter of the AERA Literature Special Interest Group; and she also was the editor of the Texas Reading Report, the newsletter of the Texas State Reading Association.

Dr. Stephens has been a prolific scholarly writer as well. With three books, four book chapters, and numerous articles to her credit, she has become a national leader on writing and technology innovations. Her book, Using Technology to Improve Adolescent Writing: Digital Makeovers for Writing Lessons, currently is in press. Her articles have been published in Voice in the Middle, International Journal of Learning, the Journal for Technology and Teacher Education, and Research in Middle Level Education Online. Most of her writing and research is focused on the uses of technology in the classroom, so it should come as no surprise that Dr. Stephens was recognized for “best use of Instructional Technology” by the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education.

Obtaining funding for projects has been a major aspect of Dr. Stephens’ work. She has received numerous grants from the U.S. Department of Education, Texas State University, and Microsoft. With almost two million dollars in grant awards, Dr. Stephens has garnered financial support that Texas State University is using to develop innovations in technology and learning.

Under Dr. Stephens’ leadership, our state writing projects continue to flourish. Under Dr. Stephens’ leadership, the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts developed an outstanding, award-winning journal, English in Texas. Under Dr. Stephens’ leadership and counseling, the high school TAKS and STAAR for English language arts is a better assessment system. Dr. Stephens is an innovator who advocates for the English educators of Texas, encouraging us to be more professional, more innovative, and more able to meet the digital natives we teach today in our schools.

Although Dr. Stephens certainly is not at the end of her career—or even at the end of her contributions to the English language arts teachers in Texas— she definitely is deserving of this lifetime service award.