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Grants and Awards

The James E. Alatis Award for Service to TESOL

Purpose

To acknowledge outstanding and extended service by a TESOL member. This award was established in 1987 to honor James E. Alatis, TESOL's first executive director, for his 21 years of devoted service.

Application Deadline

Applications are due 15 September 2023.

How to Apply

Any TESOL member may nominate another TESOL member for this award. Former TESOL staff and board members may be nominated until three (3) years after completion of their term of service.

IMPORTANT: On the basis of the best information currently available to the United States Department of the Treasury, the following countries require or may require participation in, or cooperation with, an international boycott (within the meaning of section 999(b)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). The boycotted countries are Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen. As a result, TESOL International Association cannot send funds or issue awards to recipients of these countries. Award applications received from residents of these countries will be removed from consideration. We apologize to those individuals affected.

A commemorative plaque is presented to the recipient at the annual TESOL convention, and the recipient's name is placed on a permanent plaque containing the names of all previous winners that hangs in the TESOL office. One award is presented each year.

The recipient is selected according to evidence of:

  • Genuine and long-lasting support of TESOL International Association through leadership and service.
  • Exemplary professionalism and representation of TESOL values of professionalism, respect, integrity, and lifelong learning.
  • Commitment to the mission of TESOL.
  • Dedication to the field/the profession.

For more details, please see the Evaluation Rubric.

Support of the nomination by two other TESOL members is required. You will be asked for the following information to complete the nomination process. You are strongly encouraged to gather this information before you begin the application to expedite the nomination process.

  1. Nominee’s Information: full name, institution (place of work), place of residence (city, state/province, country), email address, phone number.
  2. Description of the nominee’s achievements and activities that demonstrate their commitment to the TESOL values of professionalism, respect, integrity, and lifelong learning and show they are an ambassador for the association and the profession (max 500 words).
  3. List of the nominee’s leadership roles/service, dates of service that they have had within TESOL International Association.
  4. List of the nominee’s leadership roles/service, dates of service that they have had outside TESOL International Association and are relevant to the profession.
  5. The nominee’s professional bio (max 300 words).
  6. Any additional information about the nominee’s professionalism and commitment to the mission of the organization and the TESOL profession (max 400 words).
  7. Names and email addresses of two other TESOL members who support the nomination.

Apply Now

Submit Your Online Application

The application deadline is 15 September 2023.

2023 Recipient

Dudley Reynolds is senior associate dean for education and teaching professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University Qatar. He was the 51st president of TESOL International Association. A teacher of multilingual language learners for more than 30 years, his research addresses language education policy, literacy development, and teacher education.

Past Award Recipients

View a list of past recipients.

Questions?

Please contact TESOL Awards, Honors, & Grants.

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