The following faculty members were promoted this spring. Congratulations to all these faculty members for their hard work and dedication to the Neag School of Education.

Del Siegle, Ph.D.

Del Siegle was promoted to the rank of professor of educational psychology.  He will become the head of the Educational Psychology Department in July. Prior to his new position, he was an associate professor where he was honored as a teaching fellow in 2004. Dr. Siegle was the co-editor of the Journal of Advanced Academics, writes a technological column for Gifted Child Today and has held positions such as president of the National Association of Gifted Children. Dr. Siegle received his Ph.D. in Special Education (Gifted and Talented/Educational Psychology) from the University of Connecticut and earned both his M.Ed. and B.S. from Montana State University – Billings. Dr. Siegle’s research interests include web-based instruction, motivation of gifted students and teacher bias in the identification of students for gifted programs.

Jason Stephens, Ph.D.

Jason Stephens was promoted to associate professor with tenure in the Neag School of Education. Prior to his promotion, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, teaching courses on human learning, academic motivation and research methods. In addition, Dr. Stephens is a principal investigator of Achieving with Integrity, a three-year intervention project aimed at promoting academic engagement and honesty in Connecticut high schools. Dr. Stephens received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Stanford University and holds a M.Ed. from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. from the University of Vermont. Dr. Stephens’ research centers on academic motivation and moral development during adolescence, with a particular interest in the problem of academic dishonesty.

Mary Truxaw, Ph.D.

Mary Truxaw wwas promoted to associate professor with tenure in the Neag School of Education. Prior to her promotion, Dr. Truxaw was an assistant professor of Mathematics Education. Dr. Truxaw has served as co-investigator on the Mathematics Learning Discourse Project, as well as the Math ACCESS (Academic Content and Communication Equals Student Success) Project. She currently is participating in Project PREPARE-ELLs (Preparing Responsive Educators who Promote Access and Realize Excellence with their ELLs), a grant-supported (Levine & Howard, 2010) faculty learning community working to improve preservice teachers’ capacity to teach English language learners. Dr. Truxaw earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Connecticut, her M.S. at the University of Southern California and her B.A. at the University of California. Dr. Truxaw’s research focuses on the intersection of mathematics education and language with a growing interest in issues related to urban, linguistically diverse schools.

Brandi Simonsen, Ph.D.

Brandi Simonsen was promoted to associate professor with tenure in the Neag School of Education. Prior to her promotion, Dr. Simonsen was an assistant professor of Special Education and a research scientist with the Center for Behavioral Education and Research (CBER). Dr. Simonsen received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Special Education: Exceptional Learner from the University of Oregon and her B.A. from the College of William and Mary. Her research areas of interest include school- and class-wide positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS), targeted and individuals PBIS for students with intense learning and behavioral needs and applications of PBIS in alternative educational settings.

Thomas Levine, Ph.D.

Thomas Levine was promoted to associate professor with tenure in the Neag School of Education. Prior to his promotion, Dr. Levine was an assistant professor in the Curriculum & Instruction Department. Dr. Levine is currently nurturing a faculty learning community among 15 teacher educators to improve preservice teachers’ capacity to teach English language learners, a three-year funded project he co-leads with Liz Howard. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Connecticut, Dr. Levine was a high school history teacher and also taught undergraduate and graduate courses in both the United States and China. Dr. Levine earned his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teacher Education at Stanford University and won the Stanford Graduate Fellowship, as well as a Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowship. Dr. Levine received his Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from Clark University, his M.A.T from Tufts University and his B.A. with honors from Brown University. His current research explores how collaboration among professionals creates opportunities for learning and improvement of professional practice.

Robin Grenier, Ph.D.

Robin Grenier was promoted to associate professor with tenure in the Neag School of Education. Prior to her promotion, Dr. Grenier was an assistant professor of Adult Learning in the Department of Educational Leadership. She received her Ph.D. in Adult Education and Certificate in Qualitative Inquiry from the University of Georgia, her M.A. from the University of South Florida and her B.S. from Florida State University. Dr. Grenier’s research interests include expertise development, informal and experiential learning, and museums as places of learning and qualitative inquiry.