Morgan State Professor Dr. Thurman L. Bridges Awarded 2025 A. Noam Chomsky Global Shining Star Medal of Research

Honor Recognizes Exceptional Global Impact in Scholarship, Leadership, and Humanitarian Service, While Highlighting Transnational Reach of Faculty

In recognition of the global impact and exemplary intellectual contributions of his educational research, Morgan State University’s School of Education and Urban Studies (SEUS) Associate Professor Thurman L. Bridges III, Ph.D., has been awarded the 2025 A. Noam Chomsky Global Shining Star Medal of Research.

This recognition affirms Dr. Bridges as a distinguished scholar and academic leader whose globally influential work spans culturally relevant, translingual, and transnational education. His seminal study, “Towards a Pedagogy of Hip Hop in Urban Teacher Education,” continues to shape discourse on identity and learning. He has led eight study-abroad and service-learning programs across five countries, advanced pedagogical reform in Liberia, and strengthened institutional partnerships in France and Senegal.

“Global learning is not a passport stamp. My work in culturally relevant, translingual, and transnational education has shaped my belief that knowledge must cross borders, and that the purpose of scholarship is to build bridges strong enough for all of us to walk across,” said Dr. Bridges. “Receiving this award is not only an honor; it is a mandate to build partnerships rooted in reciprocity and justice, ensuring that communities who are borne the weight of inequity become co‑authors of global solutions.”

Each year, the STAR Scholars Network—a non-profit organization composed of a consortium of institutions, educators, and scholars committed to promoting transnational research and collaboration across countries—honors influential scholarly contributions across multiple disciplines, along with their scholarly impact and global engagement. The awards recognize scholars and institutions whose work advances transnational research, global justice, and international collaboration.

Established to honor Professor A. Noam Chomsky—one of the most cited living authors and a major public intellectual—the program celebrates contributions that help create a more humane and interconnected world. The Shining Star Research Award specifically highlights influential scholarly work across multiple disciplines and languages, emphasizing scholarly impact, depth of analysis, global engagement, and contributions to humanity.

Serving as associate professor and chair of Teacher Education and Professional Development for SEUS, Dr. Bridges’s research examines the social context of urban education, African American male teacher identity, and hip-hop pedagogy. In 2025, Dr. Bridges was awarded the Fulbright U.S. International Education Administrators award, which enabled him to travel to France and Senegal, where he collaborated with other educators to explore advanced strategies, best practices, and optimized instructional effectiveness, among other methodologies for enhancing educational capacities. He also received a Fulbright Specialist Award to visit Liberia’s William V.S. Tubman University, where he focused on improving the professional development capacity of teachers by implementing a successful and impactful teacher development program.

Congratulations to Dr. Bridges on this most recent recognition!