McBride Teacher-Scholar Award

The McBride Teacher-Scholar Award honors Bill McBride, who taught for 45 years in Colorado schools, including Manzanola, Poudre and Fort Collins High Schools, and Colorado State University. Established when he retired in 1998, the endowment continues Bill’s legacy of ensuring quality English Language Arts teachers for secondary schools.

Thanks to the generous support of the McBride Endowment, the CSU English Education program is able to provide awards to area teachers every year.

The recipient(s) of the award shall be participating in classes, workshops, the CSU Writing Project, or other offerings by the Department of English at Colorado State University. Recipient(s) must meet the selectivity requirements of the respective professional development activity.

Preference shall be given to a participant who is a teacher of English language arts in a public school. Current teachers of other subjects and prospective teachers of English language arts who have only student teaching left to complete may also apply. Applicants who self-identify as members of marginalized populations are strongly encouraged to apply.

The award covers tuition for one 3-credit, graduate-level English course at CSU. Candidates can reapply for future semesters.The application deadline for Fall 2025 is May 19, 2025.

We offer several graduate-level English courses in the late afternoons (starting at 4pm or later) once per week.


Fall 2025

E633 – Special Topics in Writing and Rhetoric: Storytelling for Social Justice | 3 credits | 05:00 - 07:30 PM | W | Cindy O'Donnell-Allen

This course focuses on the rhetorical function of narratives in U.S. culture over time, as conceptually framed by Bell’s “Storytelling for Social Justice” model (2019). Students will critically examine and problematize widely-circulated, public-facing narratives across varied genres that address "justice," broadly defined (e.g., the American Dream), and will uncover and generate counter-narratives that center resistance and transformative social change. All programs welcome.


Spring 2026

E632 – Professional Concerns in English Education: Critical Approaches to Diverse Young Adult Literature | 3 credits | 05:00 - 07:30 PM | Day TBD | Ricki Ginsberg

This course engages students in the study of some of the most controversial and frequently censored critical theories and diverse young adult texts. Moving beyond traditional literary criticism, we will explore frameworks such as critical race theory, queer theory, postcolonial theory, and other theories that challenge dominant narratives and power structures. Students will be offered choices in the young adult texts that they will read in this course, and assignments will be adaptable to reflect each students’ own interests, communities, and goals. Through student-centered pedagogical approaches, this course fosters a collaborative learning environment that values multiple ways of knowing and being. Assessments will also prioritize student choice, allowing for deep integration of course content into each student’s academic, creative, and professional goals. Local teachers not enrolled at CSU are welcomed to enroll in the course, and students from all programs are enthusiastically invited.

McBride Teacher-Scholar Award Application

Fill in and submit this digital form to apply for the McBride Teacher-Scholar Award.

  • In approximately 250 words, explain how you will use this award to advance your career interests and objectives, especially as they pertain to the goals described at the start of this application.