Sherick Hughes, associate professor in the School of Education, has been selected to receive the 2016 Scholars of Color Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Educational Research Association.
Hughes, who has taught at Carolina since 2012, conducts research and writes on topics involving race and education. Two books that he authored or co-authored have won Critics Choice Awards from the
American Educational Studies Association, and a third was nominated for the award.
The Scholars of Color Distinguished Scholar Award is one of three awards given annually by an AERA committee to recognize scholars who have contributed significantly to the understanding of issues that disproportionately affect minority populations, and minority scholars who have made a significant contribution to education research and development. The Distinguished Scholar Award is awarded to mid-career scholars.
“Sherick Hughes has conducted powerful research into matters of race in education and has published works that help inform students, educators and others about the impacts of racial bias in learning environments,” said Deborah Eaker-Rich, interim dean of Carolina’s School of Education. “It’s heartening to see his work recognized with this important award.”
Hughes’s work has been recognized by Phi Delta Kappa and the Harvard Family Involvement Network of Educators. He has been honored with a 2010-2011 CTE-Lilly Fellowship from the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Office of Undergraduate Studies and in 2012 was honored with a Border Crossers Award, from Border Crossers, a community organization in New York City that works to bring together diverse students to explore issues of inequality, discrimination and social justice.
Hughes, who teaches in the cultural studies and literacies strand of the School of Education’s Ph.D. program, is a native of North Carolina. He received his bachelor’s degree from UNC-Wilmington, a master’s degree from Wake Forest University and a UNC-Chapel Hill master’s of public administration and a Ph.D. from Carolina’s School of Education.
He previously taught at the University of Maryland-College Park and at the University of Toledo.
The award will be presented during the 2016 annual meeting of the AERA in Washington, D.C., in April.