Linda Dorn

“Learning is meaningful, purposeful, self-directed, and generative, for it leads to new discoveries and new knowledge” (Dorn & Soffos, 2001, p. 17).

Dr. Linda J. Dorn passed away peacefully on September 18, 2019 after a battle with cancer. Known nation-wide for her pioneering work in teaching children to read and training teachers to be effective teachers of reading, Linda Dorn was an author, keynote speaker, and served as the President of the Reading Recovery Council of North America. As a nationally recognized leader in literacy, Linda J. Dorn received the Distinguished Service in Literacy Award from the Arkansas State Reading Association in 2016. She served on numerous editorial review boards including the Journal of Reading Recovery and the International Journal of Language and Literacy.

Linda taught at University of Arkansas Little Rock for 29 years and was the director of the Center for Literacy. Known by her colleagues as an influential force in her field and full of graciousness and generosity, she received the University Faculty Excellence Award in Research in 2000, the UALR Graduation and Retention Medallion in 2014, the Gene Campbell Scholarship Research Award in 2018, and the College of Education and Health Professions Dean’s Award in 2019. In 2010, Linda received the Arkansas Powerful Woman Award for her commitment and dedication to reading efforts in Arkansas. Dedicated to her Ph.D. and Ed.S. students, Linda served as chair and major advisor for 14 dissertations since 2014 and 48 theses since 2010.

Linda’s legacy will live on through her words, in the children she taught, and the teachers and colleagues she inspired. She will be greatly missed by the Reading Recovery and early literacy community.

In honor of Linda’s significant contributions to graduate education and the Reading Recovery Community, RRCNA has established two funds in her memory: The Linda Dorn Doctoral Fund and the Linda Dorn Reading Recovery Legacy Fund.