Month: September 2021


Mike Fenn in a science classroom holding a beaker.

10 Questions: Following a Family Legacy of Teaching

September 30, 2021

Michael Fenn ’19 (CLAS), ’21 MA, a native of East Lyme, Connecticut, grew up around many family members who served as teachers, including his father, grandmother, mother, and two of his sisters. After completing his undergraduate degree in general science at UConn in 2019, Forsyth went on to earn his master’s degree in curriculum and instruction through the 11-month Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG) at the Neag School of Education. He is now a middle school science teacher for Manchester (Connecticut) Public Schools.


Courage to Persist: TEDxUConn Hosts First In-Person Event Since Onset of Pandemic

September 30, 2021

On Sept. 25, UConn students gathered in the Student Union Ballroom, intent on hearing the ideas of their peers and staff members presented in a formal setting.
Saturday’s event was the first in-person TEDxUConn event since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It featured talks from three speakers from the UConn community: one graduate student, one undergraduate and one staff member. The talks were connected by the theme of “the courage to persist.”


School age girl wearing mask interacts with science experiment during BRAIN Camp.

Five Weeks at B.R.A.I.N. Camp Could Give Kids a Brighter Future

September 29, 2021

This summer, UConn neuroscientist Fumiko Hoeft, Neag School Associate Professor of Educational  Psychology Devin Kearns, and collaborators from psychological sciences, education, mathematics, the Brain Imaging Research Center (BIRC), and others  launched the five-week, all-expenses-included summer camp at Storrs for third- and fourth-grade children who are struggling to read.


Hands on laptop mixed with binary code.

Campbell Receives NSF, Google Grants to Improve Science Education

September 28, 2021

Neag School of Education professor of science education Todd Campbell is working on two grants focused on expanding the diversity and accessibility of science education in Connecticut and beyond. The first grant is funded through a $1.5 million National Science Foundation grant. The project will develop and implement a unit on the science of COVID-19 through a social justice lens, while also supporting groups of teachers to develop, test, and refine justice-centered instructional practices in local schools.





Dodd Impact’s 2021 Malka Penn Award Honors This is My America

September 28, 2021

Lauded by critics for its crucial look at justice in the United States, This is My America by author Kim Johnson has been recognized as the 2021 recipient of the Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature, presented by Dodd Human Rights Impact at UConn.

“Kim Johnson has delivered a gripping story that tackles the human rights issues of historical racism, corruption, police brutality, and incarceration at a critical moment in our society,” says Glenn Mitoma, director of Dodd Human Rights Impact and a Neag School faculty member.


How Far Will Supreme Court’s Super-Conservative Majority Go to Push Religious Freedom in Public Schools? Maine Choice Case Provides Fresh Test

September 28, 2021

Preston Green doesn’t think a decision for the plaintiffs would immediately lead to churches or other religious organizations running charter schools, but added, “You’re really, really close.”

“This is about dominoes falling and it’s a deliberative legal strategy,” he said. “They don’t need to do it right away. They just need to establish a true line where they can make these legal arguments.”