KNOXVILLE, TN., May 20, 2025 — Dr. Ronnie Erwin, philanthropist, businessman, and education advocate, has been named the 2025 recipient of the prestigious Friend of Literacy Award, honoring his extraordinary contributions to advancing children’s literacy and supporting educators across Tennessee.

Dr. Erwin, a retired businessman and consultant, established the Lynn McKee Erwin Conference on Children’s Literature in memory of his beloved late wife, Lynn, a dedicated educator who believed in the power of literacy to change lives. Since its founding in 2023, the annual conference—hosted by the University of Tennessee, Southern—has become a landmark event in the region, offering free access to nationally recognized children’s authors, literacy experts, and over 5,000 books distributed to date.

Held each February, the conference attracts more than 150 participants annually, including K-5 educators, teacher assistants, university faculty, librarians, and future educators. Designed to support rural school districts and historically underserved communities, the event provides high-quality professional development, networking, and classroom-ready resources at no cost to its attendees.

The conference originally was sparked by a scholarship he established in 2019 for elementary education majors. Dr. Erwin not only funds a student each year, but also meets with all recipients to share what teaching meant to his wife, what her dedication to the children and to the profession can mean to them, and to their classrooms and students.  Dr. Erwin’s commitment has since deepened through his collaboration with university leadership around creating the conference to promote literacy in rural communities. Together, Dr. Erwin and UT Southern created an experience that not only honors Lynn Erwin’s legacy but meets a need in today’s educational landscape.

Participants have praised the conference as “life-changing,” citing the quality of speakers, access to current children’s literature, and the rare opportunity to interact directly with authors and publishers. Dr. Erwin is known for being present at every event, engaging with attendees and sharing stories that underscore the mission: Teachers make the difference.

In receiving the Friend of Literacy Award, Dr. Erwin is recognized not only for his philanthropic leadership, but for modeling how a deeply personal mission can inspire real change in underserved communities.

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For more information, please contact Trace Riggs, at triggs3@utk.edu.

Shelby County program works tirelessly to support educators with literacy best practices.

Ensuring that teachers and leaders are trained in research-backed literacy methodology to support the schools they serve, the Memphis Literacy Institute exemplifies putting best practices first. In working to fulfill their mission, the MLI has established a Reading Specialist Certificate program, school-based partnerships, professional learning cohorts, and an annual Literacy Conference.

Housed under Memphis Teacher Residency, the MLI was created to tackle the most challenging issues facing educators in the Mid-South.

The Tennessee Reading Research Center has selected Memphis Literacy Institute as the inaugural Literacy Champion Award recipient. This award was created to recognize an organization that has shown exemplary partnership with the TRRC on literacy issues. The TRRC was challenged to choose among several nominees making important contributions. The MLI was chosen through a selection process that included a review of criteria established for the award.

This year’s Literacy Champion Award was presented to the team and stakeholders of the Memphis Literacy Institute, on November 5th at the MLI’s offices in the Crosstown Concourse.

We are thrilled to present the Memphis Literacy Institute with the 2024 award.

Find out more about the Memphis Literacy Institute. 

For more information:
Trace Riggs, Communications Specialist
triggs3@utk.edu
865-974-0782

Multi-Year Research Project Will Analyze Summer Reading Benefits and Losses in Grades K-5

Deborah Reed, Tennessee Reading Research Center Director,  is the recipient of a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. The project will review and meta-analyze two bodies of research: One on the summer learning effect and on the other on the effectiveness of summer reading interventions. The results of the four-year project could inform school planning for summer programs, existing policies on students’ summer learning, and the gaps in what we know about students’ reading achievement over the summer. Also partnering on this work are Terri Pigott from Georgia State University and the Tennessee Reading Research Center’s Research Assistant Professors Anna Gibbs and Huibin Zhang.

Find our more about the project at the IES website.

“The Right to Read” Screening

On September 19, 2023, from 4-6 p.m., at the Hodges Library (Lindsay Young Auditorium, Room 101), on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the Tennessee Reading Research Center and the College of Education, Health, & Human Sciences’ Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion present a screening of the documentary, “The Right to Read.”

Open to members of the public and to those within UT System with an interest in literacy as a form of social justice. Registration is limited to 150 attendees.

Parking and Transportation: Parking for the event is: G17 Garage (1800 Lake Ave). A charter bus will run to the event from parking. Attendees will need to pick the charter bus up on Terrace Ave behind the G17-Lake Avenue/G11-Terrace Avenue garages. See image:

Schedule for bus:

• Before event – From G17 to Hodges: 3:30 and 3:50 pm
• After event – From Hodges to G17: 6:05 and 6:15

Agenda: After a welcome, the documentary will be screened (1 hour 20 minutes) and followed by a facilitated discussion (30 minutes) and closing. The film features the work of Oakland NAACP activist and former teacher Kareem Weaver, who believes literacy is our most important civil right. It also features schools and families in California, Virginia, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee as they address children’s literacy.

The event is aligned with President Boyd’s and Chancellor Plowman’s charge for UT to be a leader in literacy, and it is aligned with the college’s DEI action plan.

From the directors: “The Right to Read shares the stories of an activist, a teacher, and two American families who fight to provide our youngest generation with the most foundational indicator of life-long success: the ability to read.

That’s why Oakland-based NAACP activist Kareem Weaver believes literacy is one of the greatest civil rights issues of our time and is fighting for better reading instruction. “What good is winning the right to vote if we can’t even read the ballot?” Fed up with the bleak reading scores in his own community, Kareem files a petition with the Oakland Unified School District demanding change.“

By Macy Roberts, CEHHS Student News Reporter, Class of 2024

In March, the Tennessee Reading Research Center: A Reading 360 Initiative established its official social media presence. The TRRC was started by the UT System and the Tennessee Department of Education in 2022 and can be found under the username @TNReadResearch on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and soon YouTube.

Read the rest of the article at CEHHS.

In a recent community celebration, the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education (TPTE) celebrated five recipients for their contributions to education in East Tennessee.

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