Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award (DSSA)

The Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award (DSSA) committee is responsible for identifying recipients of the DSSA, which is normally given at the annual conference. The purpose of the Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award is to recognize and honor a distinguished scholar for their scholarship and their service to the American Association for Applied Linguistics. In making this award, AAAL recognizes that contributions to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion are integral to distinguished scholarship and service.

Call for Nominations

Our current call is for the 2025 Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award (DSSA). The 2025 award nomination is closed. 

Any member of AAAL may nominate a person for this award. Current members of the AAAL DSSA committee and Executive Committee are not eligible for this award and are not eligible to submit a nomination for this award. Individuals who have been nominated but not selected for the award in previous years are eligible. However, they must be re-nominated with a current statement of nomination and CV to be considered for the current award.

Those nominated must be a current AAAL member in order to receive the award. The recipient then receives lifetime honorary membership in AAAL, lifetime waiver of AAAL conference registration, and an engraved award. The award is presented to the recipient at the annual conference by the President of AAAL or by a person designated by the President.

A statement of nomination (maximum length of two single-spaced pages, authored by one or a maximum of two individuals) and a current CV of the nominee must be submitted by June 1. The contents of the nomination letter should state specific contributions of the nominee in the areas both of scholarship and service to AAAL. The nomination should make clear the nominee’s contributions to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion as part of their distinguished scholarship and service. Due to the stipulated need for confidentiality of nominations, only the nomination letter and CV will be accepted.

Award selection is made by September 30 annually.

For questions about the Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award, email DSSA@AAAL.org.

Recipients

  • Kendall King (2024)
  • Aneta Pavlenko (2023)
  • Alison Mackey (2022)
  • Kathleen Bailey (2021)
  • Ryuko Kubota (2020)
  • Nick Ellis (2019)
  • Suresh Canagarajah (2018) (View Recording)
  • Patricia (Patsy) Duff (2017)
  • James Lantolf (2016) 
  • Carol A. Chapelle (2015)
  • Terrence Wiley (2014)
  • Heidi Byrnes (2013)
  • Elaine Tarone (2012)
  • Diane Larsen-Freeman (2011)
  • Lyle Bachman (2010)
  • Richard Schmidt (2009)
  • Nancy Hornberger (2008)
  • Claire Kramsch (2007)
  • Andrew Cohen (2006)
  • William Grabe (2005)
  • Merrill Swain (2004)
  • G. Richard Tucker (2003)
  • Susan Gass (2002)
  • Jodi Crandall (2001)
  • Shirley Brice Heath (2000)
  • Roger Shuy (1999)
  • Robert Kaplan (1998)
  • Courtney Cazden (1997)
  • Charles Ferguson (1996)