鈥淚 am truly honored to have been selected as recipient of this award鈥攅specially in light of the centrality of teaching and student mentorship to my identity鈥攁nd most gratified to read the testimonies that current and past students have chosen to share,鈥� commented Schecter. 鈥淟ike other inspiring colleagues, I am committed to helping students find their voices and express their unmistakeably unique worldviews. I have learned that these goals are best achieved by assuming that our students are really smart, surrounding them with complex and provocative ideas, and expecting them to rise to the challenge. And they are; and they do.鈥�

Since joining 91亚色 in 1996, Schecter has made sustained contributions to multiple related fields of inquiry 鈥� bilingual and multilingual language acquisition and learning, language socialization, language and cultural identity, language policy and planning, and community-referenced pedagogy. Her contributions have significantly enhanced the quality of learning by 91亚色 students at the graduate level.

Over the years, Schecter has received funding from the Spencer Foundation and has sustained continuous Social Sciences & Humanities Research Foundation of Canada (SSHRC) funding for her research initiatives. She served as Graduate Program Director in Education from 2009 to 2012 and in 2013-14 and has published articles, books, and edited volumes on language policy and planning, language socialization, language and cultural identity, and bi- and multi-lingual language acquisition and learning.  In 2016, she was invited to present her research on 鈥淔ostering the academic literacy development and social integration of Canadian-born English language learners鈥� at a special symposium on Learning for the newly arrived hosted by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Swedish Department of Education.

鈥淒r. Schecter is a distinguished scholar and researcher in multiple fields of expertise and our program has been strengthened by her engagement with graduate students through many forums of teaching and learning,鈥� said Graduate Program in Education Director Aparna Mishra Tarc. 鈥淧rofessor Schecter鈥檚 classes are regularly oversubscribed and the graduate students she supervises and teaches express great enthusiasm and gratitude for her tireless mentorship and work with them. Many of our graduate students have been given opportunities for research and scholarship and I am delighted that Dr. Schecter has received this highest honor recognizing and affirming her unwavering commitment to both the program and graduate students.鈥�

Here is a collection of quotes from the many nomination letters that were submitted by some of Schecter鈥檚 former students.

鈥淒r. Schecter is among the most gifted teachers I have encountered. 鈥� I remember so looking forward to her classes: her lectures and responses to students鈥� contributions combined ideas in ways that were truly original and generative, and I felt at my intellectually best in her classes. (I loved her razor wit too!) The lessons I learned with and from her endure to this day, particularly her constant insistence on looking closely, and from multiple angles, at 鈥渨hat鈥檚 going on.鈥� I was especially privileged to have Dr. Schecter as supervisor of my doctoral dissertation.鈥�

鈥淒r. Schecter is amazing!!! I have learned so much in this course! Not only from an academic perspective. I feel like I see the world a bit differently since completing the course.鈥�

鈥淭his course is so relevant and useful that every student in Education should be mandated to take it as a MUST. I have learned the power of ethnography and that is all thanks to the phenomenal instructor teaching the course. I have learned so much in 6 weeks from this class than I have in my entire career 鈥� I graduated from being a consumer of ethnographic research to being a producer of one. I am truly privileged to have been in this class.鈥�

鈥淎bsolutely amazing class and professor鈥�

鈥淧assionate, supportive, informative and brilliant鈥�

鈥淧别谤蹿别肠迟颈辞苍.鈥�

Schecter will be presented with the award at a virtual meeting of the Council of the Faculty of Graduate Studies on May 6.

Additionally, Schecter has been recognized by the FGS Awards Committee and the Faculty of Graduate Studies and will be nominated for the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools鈥� Graduate Faculty Teaching Award (Doctoral level).

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