Dedicated teacher of teachers wins Charles Carpenter Fries Award

English professor Carlin Borsheim-Black’s dedication to teaching future English teachers is being noticed and rewarded.

The Michigan Council of Teachers of English (MCTE) proudly honored Borsheim-Black as the recipient of the highly esteemed Charles Carpenter Fries Award for 2024-2025, an award that recognizes an individual with a distinguished career in advancing the teaching of English.

MCTE members recognized Borsheim-Black’s years of service at the local and national level and her passionate dedication to being a leader at the intersection of literary instruction, antiracist education, and dialogic teaching.

Borsheim-Black, also a former high school teacher, says the award is a great honor.

“Receiving the Charles Carpenter Fries Award is especially meaningful to me because it comes from members of my English teaching community, who I respect and admire so much,” said Borsheim-Black.

Throughout her career, her scholarship has focused on possibilities and challenges of antiracist teaching, especially in predominantly white, rural, and politically divided communities. Her book, Letting Go of Literary Whiteness: Antiracist Literature Instruction for White Students, co-authored with Dr. Sophia Sarigianides, was recognized with the 2022 Outstanding Book Award by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. 

Borsheim-Black will serve as the Fries honoree for the current school year and will be celebrated at the spring conference of the Michigan Council of Teachers of English in March 2025.