2003: Stephen Bernhardt

Citation for
Stephen Bernhardt
Elevated to ATTW Fellow, March 2003
(written by Sherry Little)

We are here tonight to elevate Stephen A. Bernhardt to Fellow of ATTW.

Steve Bernhardt has made extraordinary contributions to the field of Technical and Professional Communication and to the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. He now holds the Andrew B. Kirkpatrick Chair in Writing at the University of Delaware and has taught at New Mexico State University and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Besides having a wide range of teaching interests and specialties, he is a consultant for numerous schools and universities across the United States and to businesses in the United States and abroad.

He has published widely, with his book Expanding Literacies: English Teaching and the New Workplace, named the Outstanding Collection of Essays on Scientific and Technical Communication in 1999 by the National Council of Teachers of English. He has as well accumulated an impressive record of significant activities in professional organizations, serving as president and secretary in the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication; president, vice-president, and member-at-large of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing; and active participant in the Society for Technical Communication and numerous other professional associations. He is an articulate spokesperson for technical communication at conferences, delivering keynote addresses across the country.

In sum, Stephen A. Bernhardt is a dynamic leader who has made significant contributions to technical communication. His activities indicate exceptional and exemplary achievement on a local, national, and international level. He is a dedicated scholar and an articulate voice for technical communication to a wide and varied audience. His leadership is a model for the advocacy of literacy and for the power of education integrated with industry. He well deserves the recognition accorded him here today.