Graduate Coordinator Mona Kerby receives Distinguished Scholars Award

Mona Kerby, the L. Stanley Bowlsbey Endowed Chair at McDaniel College, is the recipient of the college’s Distinguished Scholars Award.

The Distinguished Scholars Award provides additional time, through a semester-long course release, for faculty members to pursue projects that are exceptional in nature. These projects must not only exceed the expectations of normal scholarship but also represent a unique window of opportunity for the applicant. Projects may focus on research, instruction, service, or creative work for major metropolitan, national, or international venues.

During the fall 2023 semester, Kerby plans to write and publish a science-fiction comedy novel geared towards third- to fifth-grade readers.

Kerby, who joined McDaniel in 1994, coordinates the School Librarianship program and also serves as coordinator of the Writing for Children and Young Adults and Learning Technologies Specialist certificate programs.

She began her career as a kindergarten teacher with the Arlington Independent School District in Arlington, Texas, and was a librarian before coming to teach at McDaniel. Kerby is also an award-winning author of 15 books ranging from fiction and non-fiction to picture books.

She has served as a member of numerous professional associations, including the American Association of School Librarians, Association of Library Service to Children, International Association of School Librarians, the Maryland Association of School Librarians, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

In 1993, she was named a National Endowment for the Humanities Teacher Scholar and in 2020, she was the recipient of the American Association of School Librarians’ Distinguished Service Award. She was also honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater, Texas Woman’s University, in 2022.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Spanish from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas, a master’s degree in Counseling Education from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Library Science from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas.