Congratulations to Gariel Pierce, a Ph.D. candidate in Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, who has been awarded a prestigious and competitive American Educational Research Association (AERA) Minority Dissertation Fellowship in Education Research for 2026-27.
Pierce is pursuing a doctoral double concentration in History of Education and Social Sciences and Education Policy. Prior to attending Illinois, she was a passionate and award-winning fourth-grade educator in South Carolina. Her research primarily focuses on the historical intersections of education, race, discipline, punishment, and policy. As an interdisciplinary scholar, she merges history with the contemporary.
Pierce is currently working on a project that explores the history of corporal punishment and its connection to the School-Prison Nexus. Pierce will present her research at the 2027 AERA Annual Meeting and participate in a mentoring workshop with senior scholars.
The fellowship award is $25,000 and officially begins on July 1, when AERA will announce all Minority Dissertation Fellows in Education Research for 2026-27.
