Collie Fulford, associate professor of writing and rhetoric and director of the Writing Center in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University, has received a 2026 Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) Outstanding Book Award. The recognition comes in the Monograph category for her book "Insiders, Outliers: Centering Adult Student Writers at an HBCU" (Rutgers University Press, 2025).

The CCCC Outstanding Book Awards honor exceptional scholarship in composition and rhetoric, recognizing works that advance the field through innovative research in pedagogy, practice, history and theory.

Fulford, who joined Syracuse in Fall 2025, is a writing and rhetoric scholar who studies the writing practices and educational histories of adult undergraduate and graduate students. Her research highlights the need for more age-inclusive institutional cultures in higher education, including broader approaches to research, policies, student services and teaching practices.

Her award-winning book presents case studies of diverse adult learners at a historically Black university. Through these stories, Fulford argues for increased attention to the needs and strengths of degree-seeking adult students, particularly the writing practices they bring from their nonacademic life experiences. The book aims to amplify adult students' voices and educational histories so that faculty, staff and administrators can learn from them and make higher education more inclusive.

Prior to joining the faculty at Syracuse, Fulford taught writing and rhetoric while directing writing programs at the University at Buffalo and North Carolina Central University. She holds a Ph.D. in English Composition and Rhetoric and an M.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a B.A. in English from Keene State College.

Fulford will accept the Outstanding Book Award at the CCCC Annual Convention in Cleveland, Ohio on March 6, 2026.

About the CCCC:
The Conference on College Composition and Communication, with more than 4,000 members and subscribers, supports and promotes the teaching and study of composition, rhetoric and communication skills at the college level, both in undergraduate and graduate programs.