For Immediate Release
February 19, 2026

Contacts:
Tony Pals, tpals@aera.net
(202) 238-3235

Marla Koenigsknecht, mkoenigsknecht@aera.net
(202) 238-3233

AERA Selects 34 Exemplary Scholars as 2026 Fellows

WASHINGTON, February 19, 2026—The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has announced the selection of 34 exemplary scholars as the 2026 class of AERA Fellows. The AERA Fellows Program honors scholars for their exceptional contributions to, and excellence in, education research. Nominated by their peers, the 2026 Fellows were selected by the Fellows Committee and approved by the AERA Council, the association’s elected governing body. They will be inducted during a ceremony at the 2026 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles on April 9. With this cohort, the total number of AERA Fellows will reach 820.

“We are thrilled to honor the 2026 AERA Fellows as they join a distinguished community of scholars,” said AERA Executive Director Tabbye Chavous. “Their significant contributions to education research demonstrate the highest standards of academic excellence and scholarship.”

The 2026 class of AERA Fellows are:

Audrey Amrein-Beardsley Arizona State University	Anthony Artino George Washington University	Robert Balfanz Johns Hopkins University	Keith Barton Indiana University Bloomington	Margaret Beier Rice University	Robert Q. Berry III Indiana University Bloomington
H. Gerald Campano University of Pennsylvania	Joseph R. Cimpian New York University	Timothy Cleary Rutgers University	Laurie Cutting Vanderbilt University	Jimmy de la Torre University of Hong Kong	Eric Dearing Boston College
Thurston Domina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Ravit Golan Duncan Rutgers University	David Feldon Utah State University	John Ferron University of South Florida	Megan Franke University of California, Los Angeles	Brian French Washington State University
Hunter Gehlbach Johns Hopkins University	Krista Glazewski North Carolina State University	Socorro Herrera Kansas State University	Shouping Hu Florida State University	Odis Johnson Johns Hopkins University	James Kim Harvard University
Matthew Kraft Brown University	Jessica Nina Lester Indiana University Bloomington	Xiufeng Liu University of Macau	Julie Marsh University of Southern California	Jennifer Randall University of Michigan	Cheryl Matias University of San Diego
	Cecilia Rios-Aguilar University of California, Los Angeles	Ivory Toldson Howard University	Vasti Torres Indiana University Bloomington	Lisa Wolf-Wendel University of Kansas

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About AER
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, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky.