About the Award

The Dr. John J. Gumperz Memorial Award for Distinguished Lifetime Scholarship has been established in memory of Dr. John Gumperz, linguist, anthropologist, and developer of Interactional Sociolinguistics. Through his lifelong commitment to learning and developing ideas, John Gumperz was as a role model, and he laid a foundation for deconstructing deficit models of education based on linguistic performance. This award recognizes and honors the lifelong distinguished scholarship of a senior scholar whose program of research in language and social processes and professional service have made significant contributions to our field and to the work and vision of the Language and Social Processes Special Interest Group. The LSP SIG has a long tradition of encouraging the future of our field as well as making visible the roots of and routes to current and future research. With the Dr. John J. Gumperz Memorial Award, we seek not only to recognize the work and contributions of our senior scholars, but also, like Dr. Gumperz, their capacity to serve as role models for commitment to learning and to exploration and development of ideas.

For more information about Dr. John J. Gumperz, see here: https://gumperz.wordpress.com/part1/

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Eligibility

A nominee for senior scholar will have been working in the field for at least twenty years. While the award’s emphasis is on lifelong contributions to research in language and social processes and to the LSP SIG, it is open to nominations by any AERA member of any senior scholar meeting the eligibility criteria. The senior scholar’s program of research places research focused on language and social processes in education at the forefront; the scholar’s professional service will also be considered, particularly in terms of contributions to the field and to the work and vision of the LSP SIG (evidenced through review of the CV, including list of publications as well as professional service, letter of nomination, and other supportive letters and/or materials).

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Materials to Submit

Nominations should be based on the fact that this award is intended to recognize the lifetime contributions of the awardee to research on language and social processes and to the work and vision of the LSP SIG. The nomination materials will include a nominating letter (from the scholar making the nomination), a vita, and any additional letters (up to three) and/or materials in support of the nomination.

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Criteria

The nomination will be assessed by the following criteria: the candidate’s program of research and professional service and contributions to the field and to the work and vision of the LSP SIG. While it is not anticipated, the award committee may determine, based on AERA guidelines, that, based on submitted nominations, none of the entries in a given year meet the standards set for the award, in which case no award will be given that year.

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Nomination Materials

The application packet should include in an electronic file folder:

• Nominating letter (from the scholar making the nomination)
• Curriculum vita
• Additional support materials (e.g., letters of support for the nomination [up to three] (optional)