Ernest Morrell: Education, Empowered.
From Beowulf and hip-hop to the power of literacy transforming lives and changing the world
Ernest Morrell, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Literacy Education, Coyle Professor of Literacy Education, and faculty member in the English and Africana Studies Departments at Notre Dame, discusses the power of literacy, the limitless potential of children, and being a night person all while having Michelangelo and Raphael painting in his garage.
Experience the Episode
Presented by Institute for Educational Initiatives
Tuesday, April 29, 2025 12:00 pm
From Beowulf and hip-hop to the power of literacy transforming lives and changing the world
Ernest Morrell, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Literacy Education, Coyle Professor of Literacy Education, and faculty member in the English and Africana Studies Departments at Notre Dame, discusses the power of literacy, the limitless potential of children, and being a night person all while having Michelangelo and Raphael painting in his garage.
MoreMeet the Faculty: Ernest Morrell
Editor’s Note: Professor Ernest Morrell passed away in February 2026. This page and his biography remain as a tribute to his transformative work and his enduring legacy at the University of Notre Dame.
Ernest Morrell was the Coyle Professor of Literacy Education, a member of the faculty in the English and Africana Studies Departments, and Director of the Center for Literacy Education at the University of Notre Dame. He also served as Associate Dean for the Humanities and Equity, College of Arts and Letters.
Ernest was also director of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) James R. Squire Office for Policy Research in the English Language Arts. He was an elected member of the National Academy of Education, an elected Fellow of the American Educational Research Association, and a past president of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Since 2015, Ernest was annually ranked among the top university-based education scholars in the RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings published by EdWeek. Ernest was also the recipient of the NCTE Distinguished Service Award, the Kent Williamson Leadership Award from the Conference on English Leadership, and the Divergent Award for Excellence in 21st-Century Literacies. His scholarly interests included critical pedagogy, English education, literacy studies, postcolonial studies, and youth popular culture.
Ernest authored 100 articles, research briefs, and book chapters and 15 scholarly books including Educating Harlem: A Century of Schooling and Resistance in a Black Community (Columbia, 2020), Stories from Inequity to Justice in Literacy Education, New Directions in Teaching English, and Critical Media Pedagogy: Teaching for Achievement in City Schools, which was awarded Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association. Ernest earned numerous commendations for his university teaching including UCLA’s Distinguished Teaching Award. He received his Ph.D. in Language, Literacy, and Culture from the University of California, Berkeley where he was the recipient of the Outstanding Dissertation award.