Dr. Sonya Armstrong Bio

Interim Grant Director

Dr. Sonya L. Armstrong is, first and foremost, a proud first-generation college graduate. She is also a Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas State University. Prior to coming to Texas State, she worked at Northern Illinois University for nine years as Associate Professor of Postsecondary Literacy, co-founder and Coordinator of the Certificate of Graduate Study in Postsecondary Developmental Literacy and Language Instruction, and Director of the College Learning Enhancement Program (the university’s developmental reading and learning program). Before that, she taught everything under the English umbrella as an adjunct faculty member across multiple community colleges in Ohio. 

Dr. Armstrong is a practitioner-researcher with foci situated at the intersections of literacy and postsecondary teaching and learning; her research using metaphor analysis approaches focuses on improving postsecondary literacy and learning pedagogy and practice to more effectively facilitate students’ college literacy transitions, thereby increasing access and potential for success for all within higher education.  

Dr. Armstrong’s leadership in professional organizations includes serving as a journal editor, publications director, and president of the College Reading and Learning Association. In 2017, she was inducted as a Fellow in the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations (CLADEA).