Annandale English Professor Named to National Committee

Steve Lessner, Annandale Campus Associate Professor of English, was chosen by the Conference on College Composition and Communication to chair their Outstanding Teaching Award Committee, which will present two annual awards to outstanding college instructors of first-year writing starting in 2021.

“I am very excited that this Teaching Award has been established specifically for excellent writing professors,” said Lessner. “There are six members from around the country and from various institutions serving on the Teaching Award Committee, and I am so happy to be working with them in selecting outstanding writing teachers.”

The teaching awards will be presented in two categories: one to an Emergent Outstanding Teacher who is in their first 10 years of teaching, and the other to a Sustained Outstanding Teacher with 11 or more years of teaching first-year writing.

“Professor Lessner has presented widely in the fields of writing studies and Hip Hop pedagogy and has been recognized for his teaching excellence,” said Jen Daniels, dean of the Annandale Campus LASS Division. “His appointment to chair this inaugural committee for the preeminent scholarly organization in his field is an honor for him and for NOVA!”

“Steve is an incredible teacher and an asset to his students and the Annandale campus,” said Jay Steere, LASS Associate Dean of English and Developmental English at the Annandale Campus. “It is no surprise that he should chair this national committee as his innovation in teaching pedagogy and care for his students is well-known to many in the NOVA community. We wish him the most heartfelt congratulations!”

The first round of award applications is due on July 1 and committee members will review materials from instructors nominated from around the country. “I think I will learn a wealth of new, exciting pedagogical strategies in reviewing the applicants’ materials,” said Lessner.

As Chair of the Committee, Lessner will announce the inaugural award winners at the April 2021 convention of the Conference on College Composition and Communication in Spokane, Wash.

Lessner teaches writing and literature courses, using Hip Hop and other music forms to help students transition to college level writing and utilizes innovative classroom learning activities to encourage student engagement. He has published and presented at conferences with his research on writing pedagogy and serves as a mentor for first generation college students with Man Up, NOVA’s minority male mentoring program.

The Conference on College Composition and Communication is a 6,000-member international organization established in 1949 within the National Council of Teachers of English to promote the exchange of knowledge, support research and promote professional development in college composition, writing and communication.