2026 Keynote Speaker

Alfred W. Tatum, Ph.D.

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Alfred W. Tatum, Ph.D., is a Professor of Literacy Education in the School of Education, Executive Director of the MSU Denver Literacy Research Center and Clinic (LRCC). Prior to joining MSU Denver in 2021 as the university’s provost, he was dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also served as director of the UIC Reading Clinic from 2007-2020. 

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Dr. Tatum, who served as the President of the Literacy Research Association, is the foremost expert on the literacy development of African American boys. He has authored more than 80 publications on the topic. He authored four books that include the award-winning book, Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males: Closing the Achievement Gap; Reading for Their Life: (Re) building the Textual Lineages of African American Males; Fearless Voices: Engaging a New Generation of African American Adolescent Male Writers; and Teaching Black Boys in the Elementary Grades: Advanced Disciplinary Reading and Writing to Secure Their Futures. His most recent research project focused on the roles of texts and writing to advance the literacy development of Black boys in grades 3, 4, and 5. A gifted speaker, Dr. Tatum has provided more than 250 keynote addresses and 500 presentations in the United States and Canada. 

Dr. Tatum earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Literacy, Language, and Culture Program. He was a middle school teacher and reading specialist in the Chicago Public Schools.