Welcome to this first online edition of Spotlight, the Neag School of Education’s newsletter highlighting the news, research and achievements of our school, alumni, faculty, staff and students, and hope you’ll find this new format convenient and informative.

While you’ll discover many of the same types of articles in this and future editions, we have expanded our coverage of our alumni and faculty research, practice and publications that can make a real difference in the health, well-being and education of the people of Connecticut and beyond. In future issues, we are planning stories that will acquaint you with some of our students and the quality of their work, a large gallery of commencement photos and an in-depth look at issues facing five Connecticut superintendents, all of whom are Neag alums who took part in our first of what we hope becomes a series of Roundtable Discussions.

As you read through this issue of Spotlight, I hope you’ll gain a better sense of why I am proud of our faculty, students and alumni and their work. As this publication continues to evolve, we would appreciate feedback from our readers. We’d like to hear from you about the types of stories and features you’d enjoy reading.  Are there attributes or stories you would like to see improved, expanded or eliminated? As we spread the word about the best of who we are and what we do, our hope is to share the kind of information with you that you feel good about sharing with others.  To put it simply, your story ideas, comments and information about career milestones and innovations are welcome. To contact us directly, send an email to: neagnews@uconn.edu. Another tool for sharing your thoughts is at the bottom of each article where a “comment” field is located.

Future issues of Spotlight are planned for mid April and June. To acquaint you with this new format, we thought we’d point out some of its feature. First, Spotlight’s front page will always be available at this link: http://wp.education.uconn.edu . From the front page, you can navigate to the stories and information that interest you. Each article is filed under one of six sections located under the BROWSE SECTIONS heading. Select the general topic that appeals to you:

1. the latest — You’ll find the latest news and information involving the Neag School.
2. in the field — A key component of the work we do is “in the field,” and that’s where stories about faculty, student and alumni research and clinical practice will be found.
3. in print — Publish or perish is a mantra in academia. Whether it’s a book, chapter or journal article “in print,” you’ll find news of it here.
4. in the spotlight — Feature articles and announcements about achievements and awards are “in the spotlight.”
5. focus on alums — With 22,000-plus alums, it’s fitting we “focus on alums” with a series of feature articles and alumni news updates.
6. supporting neag –Finally, for ideas on how you can support the Neag School, its faculty and students, the “supporting neag” section highlights ongoing fund-raising efforts.

No matter where you are in the newsletter, click on the HOME tab at the top left of your screen to return to the front page.

Please enjoy reading this, the inaugural issue of Spotlight, and I hope we’ll hear from you!

Thomas C. DeFranco, Ph.D.
Dean, Neag School of Education
University of Connecticut