Robert J. Tierney is an international educator whose passion is for developing research partnerships to address local literacy needs with educators in different countries. He began his career as a classroom teacher in Australia, then proceeded to work in the United States, Canada, and China. He is dean emeritus and professor emeritus of Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia, the former dean and honorary professor of the Faculty of Education and Social Work at University of Sydney, and a distinguished university professor at Beijing Normal University. In the United States, he has served on the faculties of the University of Illinois, University of Arizona, The Ohio State University, Harvard University, and the University of California.
He has written a number of books and numerous articles on literacy especially related to reading comprehension, reading–writing connections, assessment, digital literacy, diversity, and literacy development. During his tenure as an educator, he has served as the president of the Literacy Research Association, a coeditor for Reading Research Quarterly, and the president of the Association of Canadian Deans of Education/L'Association canadienne des doyens et doyennes d'éducation as well as on a number of committees and boards for professional groups and government and nongovernment agencies. In addition, he has been involved in a range of projects for UNESCO, Children's Television Workshop, and Apple. For his contributions to literacy he received the W.S. Gray Award.