Dr. Ernest Morrell
The cause was cancer, said the University of Notre Dame, where Morrell was the Coyle Professor of Literacy Education.
A teacher-turned-academic whose classroom experience shaped decades of influential scholarship, Morrell advocated for what he called a "radical reimagination" of the relationship between students and texts. His work centered on empowering young people, particularly those historically underserved by educational systems, to access information, exercise informed citizenship, and participate fully in civic and cultural life.
"Frederick Douglass said that 'education means emancipation, it means life and liberty,'" said Nicole Stelle Garnett, a Notre Dame law professor. "I can think of no one whose life better reflected those words."
Morrell's influence extended across academic and professional circles. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2024, joining a class that included actor George Clooney and Apple CEO Tim Cook. He was also an elected member of the National Academy of Education and a fellow of the American Educational Research Association. For the past decade, Education Week included him in its annual Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, recognizing academics with the greatest impact on educational practice and policy.
In 2025, he received the James R. Squire Award from the National Council of Teachers of English, a prestigious honor given only 31 times since 1967. Morrell had served as NCTE president in 2014 and directed its James R. Squire Office on Policy Research since 2020.
Ernest Morrell Jr. was born April 27, 1971. He earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1993, followed by a California teaching credential in 1994. While teaching English at Oakland High School, he pursued graduate studies at UC Berkeley, earning a master's degree in education in 1997 and a Ph.D. in language, literacy and culture in 2001.
