Vincent A. Anfara, Jr. Outstanding Middle Level Education Research Award

Steven B. Mertens, Illinois State University

Steven B. Mertens is professor of middle level education in the School of Teaching & Learning at Illinois State University.  Prior to that, he served for 15 years as a Senior Research Scientist at CPRD at the University of Illinois, where he worked as a principal investigator on numerous research and evaluation projects. He has authored over 70 publications and has presented papers at over 80 national, state, and regional conferences addressing varying aspects of middle level education and reform and teacher preparation. Steve is past Chair of AERA’s Middle Level Education Research SIG, a member of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grade’s Reform, and a former member of AMLE’s Research Advisory Board. He currently serves as the series co-editor for the Handbook of Research in Middle Level Education and the Handbook of Resources in Middle Level Education, published by Information Age.