Keith Gilyard (born 1952 in New York City) is a writer and American professor of English and African American Studies. He has passionately embraced African American expressive culture over the course of his career as a poet, scholar, and educator. Beyond his own literary output, he has pursued – and in some instances merged - two main lines of humanistic inquiry: literary studies, with its concern for beauty and significant form, and rhetorical studies, with its emphasis on the effect of trope and argument in culture. Moreover, his interests branch out into popular culture, civic discourse, and educational praxis. A critical perspective concerning these areas is, in his view, integral to the development of discerning and productive publics both on and beyond campuses and therefore crucial to the optimal practice of democracy.
As a faculty member at Medgar Evers College-CUNY, Gilyard helped to establish (1986) the National Black Writers Conference, now convened biennially at that venue. He served as director of the Writing Program at Syracuse University (1995–1999) and as interim chair of the Department of African American Studies at the same university (1996–1997). During that period, he taught course at Onondaga Community College and Auburn State Prison. Upon his arrival at Penn State in 1999, he began planning the seventeenth Penn State Conference on Rhetoric and Composition, which was held during the summer of 2001 around the theme “American Ethnic Rhetorics.” Long active in national organizations, Gilyard headed the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) in 2000 and was the centennial president of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) in 2011-2012. Before joining academe full-time, Gilyard contributed to several community initiatives, including newspapers and libraries as well as educational and other service programs.
Gilyard received his undergraduate degree (BS) from the City University CUNY Baccalaureate Program (1974), his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Columbia University (1979), and his doctorate (EdD) from New York University (1985), this last degree under the mentorship of Gordon M. Pradl.[1]
Gilyard's first college teaching appointment was at LaGuardia Community College in 1980. In 1981, Gilyard became a faculty member at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York. He continued at Medgar Evers as a teacher and writing program administrator until 1993, when he took a position as professor of writing and English at Syracuse University. He directed Syracuse University's writing program from 1995-1999. Since 1999, he has been on the faculty of Penn State University, where he currently serves as the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English and African American Studies.
Notable among Gilyard's professional accomplishments are his receipt of two American Book Awards for his monographs (1991) and John Oliver Killens: A Life of Black Literary Activism (2010); Faculty Honoree, City University of New York (1993); the Penn State Class of 1933 Medal of Distinction in the Humanities (2005); the Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts and Humanities (2006); Honor Book Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (2011); CCCC Exemplar Award (2013); NCTE Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award (2014); the Assembly of the State of New York Proclamation for Career Achievement (2015); the NCTE Distinguished Service Award (2018), and the Rhetoric Society of America Cheryl Geisler Award for Outstanding Mentor (2020). He has presented at more than 150 colleges and professional conferences.[2]
Gilyard's publications are substantial, including scholarly monographs and articles, biographies, poetry, fiction, and textbooks. His major publications include the following: