Banks Named 2026 NCTE LGBTQIA+ Advocacy and Leadership Award Recipient

Dr. Will Banks, Professor and Director of ECU’s University Writing Program, has been named the recipient of the 2026 NCTE LGBTQIA+ Advocacy and Leadership Award. NCTE presents the award to recognize members of the LGBTQIA+ community who make significant contributions to NCTE and the professional community through service, scholarship, and work supporting the advancement of LGBTQIA+ communities. 

Banks directs ECU’s University Writing Program, which coordinates Writing Across the Curriculum/Writing Intensive courses, and he formerly directed the Tar River Writing Project, a local site of the National Writing Project. He also teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in rhetoric and composition, children’s literature, and women’s and gender studies. His current book projects include Queer Rhetorics, which examines the rhetorical work of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans people across media; Practicing Digital Activisms: On Rhetoric, Writing, and Technical Communication’s Social Justice Obligations; and a follow-up to his award-winning Failing Sideways exploring innovative writing assessment practices. 

The department congratulates Dr. Banks on this recognition and his continued contributions to the field!