Throughout the academic year, the Neag School is proud to share the latest achievements of its faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
Explore their most recent promotions, awards, retirements, publications, and more:
Dean’s Office
The Neag School is celebrating 25 years of its renaming after Ray and Carole Neag. On May 15, the Neag School hosted a 25th Anniversary Celebration, including family, friends, and supporters of Ray and Carole Neag, along with other major supporters of UConn.
The Neag School celebrated the Class of 2024 on May 5 and May 6, at UConn Storrs. Read more about the Undergraduate Ceremony — and check out a video featuring a special performance by music education majors, a video from Senior Send Off about seniors’ favorite memories, and a Husky Pride video that was shown during Undergraduate Commencement. Plus, enjoy photos from the Undergraduate procession and Commencement ceremony, featuring Jonathan XIV and XV, and the receptions for Neag School undergraduate, master’s/6th year students, and doctoral students. View featured grad profiles on UConn Today.
U.S. News & World Report issued its 2024 rankings of the nation’s best graduate schools of education, with the Neag School ranking among the top 25 public graduate schools of education for the ninth consecutive year. In addition, four Neag School graduate programs were also ranked for the first time: the Special Education program stands among the top 20 in the U.S., tied at No. 13; Neag’s Educational Psychology program came in at No. 23; Educational Administration programs tied at 25; and Curriculum and Instruction programs tied at No. 28.
The Neag School of Education honored several faculty, staff, and students at the May Neag School meeting with its annual awards recognizing research, teaching, and service. The Neag School’s Dean’s Office solicited nominations in March from current students, faculty, and staff. The 2024 award recipients are:
- Perry A. Zirkel Distinguished Teaching Award– Saran Stewart
- Distinguished Researcher Award –Del Siegle
- Outstanding Early-Career Scholar Award –Chen Chen
- Outstanding Student Researcher Award –Elizabeth Zagata
- Valerie J. Pichette Outstanding Staff Award –Anna Roberts
In April, the Neag School hosted a reception for faculty, students, and alumni during the annual American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference in Philadelphia. View a list of presentations from the AERA Conference. Check out photos from the event. Two Neag School researchers, Danielle Filipiak and Grace Player, received Early Career Awards at AERA. Read about their recognition. Alyssa Hadley Dunn and Suzanne Wilson were also recognized as Outstanding Reviewers at AERA. Read about their recognition.
UConn’s Office of the Provost announced the promotion and tenure of 91 faculty across its campuses. Neag School faculty who were recognized include:
- Promotion to Professor –
Alyssa Hadley Dunn, Curriculum and Instruction
Devin Kearns, Educational Psychology
Allison Lombardi, Educational Psychology
Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead, Educational Psychology
Jennie Weiner, Educational Leadership - Promotion to Associate Professor and Tenure –
Grace Player, Curriculum and Instruction
Thanks to around 136 individuals, the Neag School garnered more than $9,000 in contributions during UConn Gives 2024. The annual University-wide fundraising event raised nearly $800,000 for UConn in just 36 hours, with incoming donations to support everything from scholarships and academic programs to student groups and athletics. The Neag School, including its Alumni Board, promoted three different education-affiliated projects during this year’s UConn Gives, held in April.
Sarah Gilmore, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Psychology, prepared a rapid research brief with the Center for Education Policy Analysis, Research, and Evaluation (CEPARE). This brief explores factors behind surprising student achievement growth in a district amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s adverse effects on K-12 education.
Instructors across Connecticut, certified to teach Neag School’s EDCI 1100: If You Love It, Teach It and EDLR 1162: Health and Education in Urban Communities, gathered for an annual Early College Experience (ECE) Instructors workshop this month. The workshop, hosted by Danielle DeRosa and Tom Levine, welcomed Rachel Gabriel to share her expertise on making college-level readings accessible.
Jason G. Irizarry, dean of UConn’s Neag School of Education, received the 2024 Equity Champion Award from the Connecticut Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (CALAS). The award recognizes an individual who has been a champion for equity and has committed their life’s work to create conditions conducive to Latino advancement and support. Read about Dean Irizarry’s recognition.
The Neag School organized a career panel in May tailored specifically for doctoral students. The panel provided valuable insights into various professional opportunities awaiting them before and after graduation. The event served as a platform for students to engage with industry experts, gaining firsthand knowledge about potential career paths and strategies for navigating the job market. View photos from the event.
The Neag Graduate Student Association hosted a pottery paint night in May. Thirty graduate students and guests from the three Neag School departments came together to build community and have fun. Check out a photo album from the event.
Department of Curriculum and Instruction (EDCI) and Office of Teacher Education
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, representatives from the Neag School visited four partner schools in Connecticut with a special delivery of cookies to show the Neag School’s appreciation. The schools included Kennelly School, Natchaug Elementary School, Illing Middle School, and Glastonbury High School. View photos from the cookie delivery.
Neag School hosted a music education alumni reception before the Connecticut Music Educators Association (CMEA) Conference in March. The reception at UConn Hartford reunited alumni and friends who were attending the Conference or from the area. View photos from the event.
The Neag School co-sponsored the Connecticut Association of Latinos in Higher Education (CALAHE) Annual Conference, which took place at UConn Storrs in April. The conference’s theme was “Navigating the Political Landscape for Latinos/as in Higher Education: Smoke and Mirrors.” The event included keynote speakers and breakout sessions with educators, administrators, students, and community members. View photos from the event.
In March, the Associated Teachers of Mathematics in Connecticut (ATOMIC) held its annual conference in New Haven. Numerous Neag School graduates were in attendance, showcasing their outstanding accomplishments. Check out a photo album from the event.
Sign Fest, sponsored by the Neag School and the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, convened a daylong workshop at UConn Hartford in May. The event featured deaf education experts, including Gloshanda Lawyer, Octavian Robinson, and Anna Lim. These thought leaders challenged attendees to integrate concepts from crip linguistics, QuantCRIT, asset-based pedagogy, and culturally sustaining pedagogy into their work and thinking. View a photo album from the event.
Fifth-year Neag School music education students in Joseph Abramo’s Popular Music course performed in May at Hops 44 in Mansfield, Connecticut. The faculty band, the Vygotskys, featuring the Notorious ZPD, opened for the students. View photos from the event.
Office of Teacher Education faculty embarked on a journey with the secondary English education cohort for a daylong trip to New York City in April. Danielle Filipiak organized the trip, which included a special visit to the Tenement Museum to provide students with a deeper understanding of immigration, home, and belonging as they prepare to teach about these themes in their future classrooms. The trip was funded through one of the Neag School’s Office of Teacher Education microgrants. Check out photos from the trip.
E.B. Kennelly School in Hartford, Connecticut, hosted its annual “UConn Day” in April. The event included a schoolwide parade and a basketball game with students playing against Neag School student teachers and staff. The event was developed by Kennelly School to recognize its partnership with the Neag School and provide the children an opportunity to recognize the positive impact of students and student teachers. View photos here.
The Teacher Education Program hosted a Master’s Day of Research where master’s students presented their research projects from the past semester. The event was held at the UConn Student Union in May. View photos from the event.
The Neag School’s Office of Teacher Education continued its inaugural Educational Equity and Justice Speaker Series this spring, featuring the second speaker, Dr. Terah Venzant Chambers. She spoke on “ROC’ing UConn: Understanding Racial Opportunity Cost (ROC), the Toll of Academic Success for Black and Latinx Students, and What Educators Can Do About It?” Check out photos from the event.
Department of Educational Leadership (EDLR)
The HESA Master’s Program Class of 2024 hosted a pre-graduation celebration in the UConn Student Union in early May. The students officially graduated during the UConn Graduate School Ceremony on May 6. View photos from the celebration.
Neag School’s Sport Management program hosted a virtual panel in April, “Can There Be ‘Normal’ Sport in an Abnormal World? Sport Boycott and Athlete Activism for Ceasefire in Gaza.” Moderators included Chen Chen and Roc Rochon; the co-moderator was Daniel Sailofsky from the University of Toronto; and panelists included Daniel Bannoura – Ph.D. candidate, University of Notre Dame, founder of Ultimate Palestine; Omar Dreidi – co-founder of Athletes for Ceasefire, NBA and FIBA player agent; Michael Darragh MacAuley – community sports and wellbeing coodinator, North East Inner City (NEIC) of Dublin, Irish Sport for Palestine; Kaiya McCullough – former professional soccer player and current law student; Rebecca O’Keeffe – peace activist, author, and researcher, Irish Sport for Palestine; and Katarina Pijetlovic – professor of sports law, Catolica Global School of Law, Lisbon.
The Neag School hosted “Supporting Women in Education Leadership” this month at UConn Hartford. The evening included celebrations, learning, and networking focused on supporting women in education leadership. Jennie Weiner, a professor of educational leadership at the Neag School, discussed her new book, “Lead(her)ship: Advancing Women in K-12 Administration,” and the Women’s Leadership Certificate Program at UConn. In addition, panelists Kimberly Culkin of Bristol Public Schools, Danielle DeRosa of UConn, Sasha Douglas of CREC Schools, and Daisy Torres-Hill of Hartford Public Schools also engaged participants in these topics. Check out photos from the event.
Department of Educational Psychology (EPSY)
The Gifted Education program received a $3.4 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program. The grant will launch ”Project Focus,“ bringing more learners into gifted programs — and more strategies from gifted education into general classrooms.
The Department of Educational Psychology hosted the 12th annual Learning and Teaching with Technology at UConn Storrs in May. This conference for educators provides insights on integrating iPads, Chromebooks, Artificial Intelligence, and Cloud-Based Computing devices into the teaching and learning process. In addition, this learning-filled day allows for fellow educators to share how they use technology to promote student learning. View photos from the Conference.
During National Health Week, UConn’s Collaboratory on School and Child Health (CSCH) partnered with UConn’s Public Health House Learning Community to help prepare supplies for puppet kits for future Feel Your Best Self workshops in schools. Read about the partnership. CSCH also celebrated a productive first year of the Connecticut Whole School, Whole Community, Whole (WSCC) Partnership with East Hartford Public Schools. Read about the program.
The Neag School welcomed Dr. Robert Schoen from Florida State University to UConn Storrs for two days of presentations about designing a measure of implementation and working with educational practitioners on research. He was a guest of UConn’s Center for Education Policy Analysis, Research, and Evaluation and the Neag School’s Research Methods, Measurement, and Evaluation program. View photos from the visit.
Over 440 educators attended the 13th annual Northeast PBIS Network Leadership Forum in Mystic, Connecticut, earlier this month. The event was organized by faculty and staff from the Neag School. The conference was a regional opportunity for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) leaders and implementers in the Northeast to learn, share, refine, and discuss their implementation experiences to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of schools. The goal was to improve all students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Support from the OSEP National Center on PBIS and the Neag School allowed the forum planning team to focus on presenters who were teachers, administrators, researchers, families, and students interested in freely sharing ideas, materials, practices, and systems. Check out a photo album from the event.
The University of Iowa’s Belin-Blank Center partnered with the Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development and the National Center for Research on Gifted Education to host the 2024 Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development in May. Supported in part by a generous endowment from the Wallace Research Foundation, the Symposium was held at UConn Storrs from May 19 to 21. Scholars worldwide were invited to share current research findings and explore important questions relevant to the field.
Faculty/Staff
Danielle DeRosa was the emcee for the UConn Career Everywhere celebration this month. She was also acknowledged for her work as a Center for Career Development Faculty Fellow.
Preston Green was a panelist for “Brown at 70 – With All Deliberate Speed,” hosted in April by Columbia University’s Low Memorial Library.
Risa Isard’s research was shared on ESPN’s flagship podcast, the ESPN Daily (12-minute mark). Isard also co-published a research paper which was originally featured in Sports Business Journal.
James Kaufman was named by ScholarGPS as an inaugural Highly Ranked Scholars for his exceptional performance in various fields, disciplines, and specialties. His prolific publication record, the high impact of his work, and the outstanding quality of his scholarly contributions have placed him in the top 0.05% of all scholars worldwide. Kaufman co-published “Testing the Domain Specificity of Creativity with Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale: A Meta-Analytic Confirmatory Factor Analysis” for the 2024 issue of Journal of Creative Behavior and “In Quest of Creativity: Three Paths Toward an Elusive Grail” for the 2024 issue of Creativity Research Journal.
Students
Cole Stefan, a sport management student, published “The Final Coleumn: It is Okay to Not be Perfect; Cole Stefan’s Self-Reflection and Sentimental Farewell” for The Daily Campus.
Alumni
Claudia Bachmann-Bouchard ’19 MA published “Wonders of the World: Exploring Living Creatures” for the Geography Teacher Journal.
Dorie Conlon Perugini ’05 (ED), ’06 MA earned her Ph.D. from UConn in the Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies program in the Department of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages. She’s a graduate assistant teaching EDCI 5610: Teaching World Languages in Elementary Schools and EDCI 3215: Teaching World Languages to the Elementary-Age Student: Seminar and Clinic with Michele Back.
Evelyn Robles-Rivas ’97 MA, ’01 Ph.D. was tapped by New Haven Public Schools as their director of multilingual learners. She most recently served as principal of Worthington Hooker School.
Tamashi Hettiarachchi ’21 (ED), ’22 MA was recognized as a Knowles Teacher Initiative 2023 Teaching Fellow and was featured in UConn Today. Established by Mr. C. Harry Knowles and Mrs. Janet H. Knowles, lifelong philanthropists and STEM educators, the Knowles Teacher Initiative is a nonprofit organization that recognizes and supports a national network of mathematics and science teachers who are collaborative, innovative leaders improving education for all students in the United States.
George Schott ’21 MA, a financial services executive turned educator, is profiled in UConn Today. Schott is a special education teacher at the Academy of Information Technology and Engineering (AITE), an interdistrict magnet school in Stamford, Connecticut.
Kathleen Williamson ’13 MA, ’17 Ph.D., ’17 6th Year wrote “Whole Child Initiative” for the May issue of Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.
In Memoriam
Elinor S. Bromberg ’63
Barbara A. Dutton ’59
Dorothy G. Dimmock ’46
Sally M. Edlund ’51
Agnes A. Helming ’46
Adam J. Korpalski ’57
Earl J. Kurtz Jr. ’64
Margaret C. Lieberman ’65
Barbara N. Mariano ’55
Ruth R. Martin ’80
Nelson D. Martins ’82
Steven Vincent Owen (professor emeritus)
Harold M. Portner ’70
Virginia A. Potenza ’69
Francis P. Rudini ’64
Norman J. Schmitt ’60
Stanley C. Speer ’64
John V. Swan Jr. ’83
Robert E. Thompson ’80
Hans-Erik Wennberg ’86
Congratulations to our Neag School alumni, faculty, staff, and students on their continued accomplishments inside and outside the classroom. If you have an accolade to share, we want to hear from you! Please email us any news items or story ideas.
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