Professor Kevin Flanigan is a Professor of Education in the Literacy Department at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. in History from Mary Washington College, his M.Ed. from James Madison University, and his M.Ed. in Reading Education from the University of Virginia. After working as a middle grades teacher and reading specialist, he received his Ph.D. in Reading Education from the University of Virginia, with a dissertation on emergent readers' developing concept of word in text.

In 2011, Professor Flanigan was nominated for the U.S. Professors of the Year Award. In 2009, he and his colleagues at West Chester University received an Educator 500 award for innovative teaching.

Professor Flanigan's research focuses on developmental word knowledge, vocabulary development and instruction, and interventions for struggling readers. He presents frequently at national and international conferences and works with schools to implement effective literacy instruction. He is coauthor of Words Their Way with Struggling Readers, Vocabulary Their Way (2nd edition), and Developing Word Recognition. Professor Flanigan is on the authorship team for the Vocabulary Their Way middle school program. He has published articles in many professional journals, including The Reading Teacher, the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, and the Journal of Literacy Research.