SOE announces appointment of Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Associate Professor in the Educational Studies program and the Joint Program in English and Education
Upon approval by the Regents of the University of Michigan, Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas will be appointed Associate Professor in the Educational Studies program and the Joint Program in English and Education. Dr. Thomas will join the School of Education faculty beginning August 30, 2021. A graduate of the Joint Program in English and Education, she comes to the SOE from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.
A former Detroit Public Schools teacher and National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, she was a member of the NCTE Cultivating New Voices Among Scholars of Color’s 2008-2010 cohort, served on the NCTE Conference on English Education's Executive Committee from 2013 until 2017, and is the immediate past chair of the NCTE Standing Committee on Research.
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Dr. Thomas taught in public schools for several years after graduating from Florida A&M, a historically Black university in Tallahassee, Florida. After earning her doctorate from the University of Michigan in 2010, she returned to her master's degree institution, Wayne State University, as an assistant professor of Reading, Language, and Literature in the College of Education. In July 2012, she joined Penn GSE, where she is Associate Professor in the Division of Literacy, Culture, and International Education. Her program affiliation is Reading/Writing/Literacy.
Dr. Thomas has written and co-authored more than 25 articles and book chapters in numerous academic journals and edited volumes. She has also published two books: Reading African American Experiences in the Obama Era: Theory, Advocacy, Activism (Peter Lang, 2012), and The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to The Hunger Games (NYU Press, 2019). She currently serves as co-editor of the NCTE journal Research in the Teaching of English.
Her expertise on race and representation in children’s and young adult literature has been sought after nationally and internationally. She has been interviewed by MSNBC, the BBC, the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Chicago Tribune, to name a few. She is a former reviewer for Kirkus’ children’s book section, and has written book reviews for the Los Angeles Times. She is a past National Book Award for Young People's Literature judge (2020), and is a 2020-2022 member of the United States Board on Books for Young People.
The SOE community is eager to welcome Dr. Thomas. Her scholarship, teaching, mentorship, and service will shape the SOE as it enters its 101st year.