AAAL Announces 2026 Distinguished Public Service Award Winner

AAAL Announces 2024 Distinguished Public Service Award Winner: Drew S. Fagan

The AAAL Distinguished Public Service Award (DPSA) recognizes individuals outside of the field of applied linguistics -- writers, journalists, politicians, lawyers, etc. -- whose work (1) raises public awareness of important social issues connected to language and (2) makes exceptional contributions to promotion of multilingualism, linguistic social and justice, and language-related human rights.

For the last three decades, Dr. Drew Fagan has dedicated himself to raising the greater public’s awareness on the importance of multilingualism. Currently a clinical professor at the University of Maryland, he directs (and developed) the state’s first Ed.D. in School System Leadership Program with a specialization in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and Dual Language Education for P-12 teacher leaders and administrators. He is a past president of the Maryland TESOL Association and currently sits on the board of directors for the TESOL International Association. He was also the 2023 recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award for the TESOL International Association and National Geographic Learning. 

While active as a traditional academe, Drew’s professional work interweaves his in-depth knowledge of language learning with various public service partnerships beyond traditional higher education spheres. His philosophy is that all stakeholders who play a role in promoting asset-based perspectives of multilingualism in education (P-12 teachers, higher education professors, researchers, administrators, not-for-profit associations, governmental offices, publishers, parents/families/community members, and lawmakers) need to come out of their siloes and collaborate to make change happen. Case in point, Drew has worked closely with the last three state superintendents of Maryland as the invited language education/multilingual learner lead on numerous task forces, where he has collaborated with teachers, administrators, union representatives, state board members, governor’s office representatives, legislators, lawyers, department of health and labor representatives, among others, to assist in their understanding of why multilingualism is beneficial for all students towards advancing the state’s public school system. Most recently, Drew’s leadership efforts have led to the Seal of Biliteracy being made one of the official variables school systems can use to illustrate students’ post-secondary preparation in state accountability reporting. 

Drew has also developed, advocated for, and helped pass state laws connecting language acquisition and educational achievement. In 2023, he took on a role in a grassroots coalition to develop a law ensuring that all designated academic community college English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses not deemed remedial would be credit-bearing for the first time in the state’s history and transferrable to four-year institutions. This collaborative effort brought together community college faculty and students (former and current), media representatives, non-for-profit associations, and representatives from the Maryland legislature and their staff (some of whom were formerly affected by these policies) in thinking about how they could collaborate in creating a law that would address this issue. As the lead language acquisition expert, Drew ensured that research was presented so the lawmakers and their constituents would understand the need for this as it related to helping the students and the state overall. What would eventually become the Credit for All Language Learning Act passed into law April 2024 and is scheduled to go into effect this upcoming year.

With the philosophy that actively working outside of our siloes can lead to greater change, Drew has begun mentoring and advising language learning higher education faculty on how to engage with various stakeholders outside of traditional outlets to expand the reach of their knowledge and scholarship to broader education decision-making communities.

Congratulations, Drew!