Joe D. Thomas Award TCEA established the first Joe D. Thomas Award at its meeting in Huntsville, March 5, 1994. President Fred Tarpley of Jarvis Christian College and East Texas State University proposed to the Executive Committee the establishment of a Joe D. Thomas Scholarship-Teacher Award to be presented annually. The Executive Committee approved the proposal and named William Tanner the first recipient of this Award. Dr. Tanner was presented a plaque in recognition of this honor. At the same meeting, Dr. Tanner was also appointed editor of the Joe Thomas Papers.

The following year, 1995, CEA presented an award to the paper most in the spirit of Dr. Thomas. In 1999, at the CEA conference in Philadelphia, CEA changed its criteria for the award. The CEA Joe D. Thomas distinguished service Award is currently an award of professional participation and contribution. The award recognizes distinguished service to CEA through contributions to the activities of the organization through offices, committee work, projects, and other work. Recipients must have been members of CEA for at least five years.

You are invited to nominate a colleague for the Joe D. Thomas Scholar-Teacher of the Year Award. Below is a summary of the guidelines:

1. Nominations should reach the president of the Texas College English Association (Deborah McCollister, listed above) no later than December 1.

2. Nominations should provide the name and affiliation, address, telephone number, and email address of the nominee, a curriculum vitae, and specific reasons the nominee should be recognized with the award.

3. You should also include your own name, affiliation, and contact information.

4. The president of the TCEA will transfer the nominations to a selection committee chaired by the TCEA president.

Previous Honorees: