Patricia (Patty) Anders holds the Jewell Lewis Distinguished Professor of Reading in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies, College of Education, the University of Arizona. She received her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1976.

Dr. Anders’ research and scholarship focuses on secondary school student’s language and literacy development, particularly in the content areas and reading comprehension; teacher’s beliefs, theories and practices, especially as related to the teaching of literacy across the curriculum/academic literacies and to school leadership; and adult, family, community and workplace literacies.  She is the co-author of Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas, and the co-editor of three books, Understanding Readers’ Understanding, Literacy Development of Students in Urban Schools:  Research and Policy, and the Handbook of Reading Disabilities. 

Her journal publications include the award-winning article “The relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practices in reading comprehension” in the American Educational Research Journal and others in leading journals in the field.  She co-edited the Journal of Literacy Research, a journal of the Literacy Research Association.

She is an elected member of the Reading Hall of Fame and served as Treasurer. She is also a Fellow of the National Council Research in Language and Literacy and served as President. She is Past President of the Literacy Research Association (formerly the National Reading Conference) and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association (currently the International Literacy Association). She also served as the secretary of the American Education Research Association’s Division C and the Chair of the Basic Reading Research Special Interest Group.

She was awarded the Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring Award from the Graduate College, University of Arizona and the Outstanding Faculty Service/Outreach Award from the College of Education.