Congratulations to Dr. Pranav Jani, selected earlier this month as the recipient of the 2026 National Council of Teachers of English Intellectual Freedom Affiliate Award. This prestigious award honors individuals, organizations and institutions that have shown courage in advancing the cause of intellectual freedom or fighting censorship. 

Professor Jani is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, and the previous program director for the CES Asian American Studies program. He was nominated for the award by the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, the NCTE’s Ohio Affiliate, “for his unwavering commitment throughout his esteemed career to creating pockets of space both inside and outside of his classroom for free speech, for intellectual and academic freedom and for working toward a truly democratic and just world."

In addition to his groundbreaking scholarly work, Professor Jani has long been a voice for leadership and justice in our community. He has served as an advisor for Students for Justice in Palestine from 2010 to 2025, as a member of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP), and as a board member and former president of the Ohio State University’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-OSU). As he stated in an interview with Sam Risak of The Sun: “There’s a notion that critical thinking means we don’t have opinions on anything. That’s not true. Professors take stands on issues, and I want to model for my students what that should look like.”