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
• Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Office of Teacher Education
• Department of Educational Leadership
• Department of Educational Psychology
• Faculty/Staff
• Students
• Alumni
• In Memoriam

Dean’s Office

The Neag School held its annual Scholarship Awards Celebration to recognize our 2024-2025 student scholarship recipients and the generous donors who support them. Students, their families, donors, faculty, and staff gathered in the Student Union Ballroom and heard from a student speaker, as well as donor and Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Emeritus Scott Brown. Learn more about the event here.

To inspire and encourage future educators and sport management professionals, the Neag School welcomed high school students from the Early College Experience (ECE) program to campus in October. The event gave 116 students from nine schools—accompanied by ten high school instructors—a chance to explore campus life, connect with faculty, and discover academic opportunities within the Neag School. Panel discussions featured Neag’s current Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s and Sport Management students, who shared insights into their UConn journeys, academic experiences, and the diverse activities available on campus. Read more about the program on UConn Today or view photos from the event.

UConn hosted its Fall Campus Visit Days in October, open house opportunities to showcase the best UConn offers. The Neag School hosted sessions featuring faculty and students who highlighted its academic programs and admissions process for prospective students. View photos from the events.

Researchers with the Neag School’s Center for Education Policy Analysis, Research, and Evaluation (CEPARE) prepared a research brief regarding Connecticut mandating an elective Black and Latino studies course. Read more from the executive summary. In November, CEPARE also hosted a panel at UConn Storrs on “Implementing the Black and Latino Studies Elective in Connecticut High Schools.”

The Neag School hosted the annual Robert Run/Walk, dedicated to the memory of Robert Colbert, an avid runner, associate professor, and School Counseling program coordinator. The run, coordinated by the Community Building Committee, celebrated Dr. Colbert’s commitment to equity and social justice.

Department of Curriculum and Instruction (EDCI) and Office of Teacher Education

Throughout the fall semester, Coventry Public Schools held a School University Partnership Breakfast Series and Husky Days at all their schools that partner with the Neag School. In addition, George Hersey Robertson School and Coventry Grammar School hosted Sandra Quiñones’ Master’s Seminar class for the Neag School’s Elementary Education students. School and district leaders offered professional development in literacy and mathematics, including observations of classroom instruction and discussions of school-based curriculum programs, assessment tools, and thinking-centered approaches to teaching and learning. View photos here.

The Neag School’s Teacher Education Program hosted a special event, “Effective, Equitable, and Just for All: IB/M Alumni on What it Means to Teach in Schools Today” in October. The event, which was held at the Student Union Ballroom at UConn Storrs, featured a meet-and-greet with Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s (IB/M) students, faculty, and staff, as well as a panel discussion with five recent IB/M alumni. Guests were treated to festive mocktails during the event. View photos here.

UConn’s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates recently streamlined its course offerings, boosted enrollment, and enhanced school partnerships. These significant changes have been implemented to better accommodate the needs of students and school district partners. Read more on UConn Today.

UConn was awarded $11.5 million in state funding to deploy effective and inexpensive build-it-yourself air filter technology in every public school classroom across the state. The Neag School’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction is a partner in the project. Read more about the partnership on UConn Today.

Department of Educational Leadership (EDLR)

The Neag School’s Sport Management Program hosted a coffee hour at the UConn Toscano Ice Forum in November. The event brought together faculty, graduate students, alumni, and friends of program. The morning offered the chance to invest in long-lasting partnerships and cross-campus collaboration. View photos from the event.

UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport, one of Connecticut’s SNAP-Ed agencies, recently received $4.9 million from the USDA. This funding will support the initiative for the next three years, allowing it to enhance its nutrition and physical activity education programs in local communities. Read more on UConn Today.

The Neag School’s Higher Education Programs launched a new website, with a fresh design and improved navigation. For the first time, information about the UConn HESA Master’s Program, the Higher Education Racial Justice and Decolonization Ph.D. concentration, and the department’s Ed.D. program is all together in one location.

The Sport Management Program participated as a mentorship site in the annual Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP). Laura Burton and Danielle DeRosa acted as the hosting mentors for Ghoroor Abdulwaheed, a dedicated health and sports affairs specialist from Qatar and the founder of NutritionbyGhoroor, a platform designed to share valuable health and nutrition knowledge with the community. View photos from her visit.

Department of Educational Psychology (EPSY)

In partnership with the Child Health and Development Institute and the UConn Collaboratory on School and Child Health, the Neag School co-hosted the third Symposium on Trauma-Informed School Mental Health in September at UConn Storrs. Community-based organizations, educators, state agencies, and researchers met to discuss opportunities to advance cross-agency work in Connecticut. Sandy Chafouleas and Jeana Bracey co-chair the CT Trauma-Informed School Mental Health Taskforce as part of the CT Connecting to Care Initiative. View photos from the event.

Faculty/Staff

Melissa Bray received a Congressional Letter from Congressman Anthony P. D’Esposito in response to the publication of her latest work, “Desk Reference in School Psychology.” Bray was also featured by the Collaboratory on School and Child Health.

Jacqueline Caemmerer, Briana Hennessy ’12 (ED), ’13 MA, ’21 Ph.D., and others co-published “Predictors of Kindergarten Science Achievement and Its Growth Across Elementary School for Multilingual and English Monolingual Learners” for the Elementary School Journal. Jacqueline Caemmerer, Melissa Bray, Johanna deLeyer-Tiarks ’17 MA, ’20 6th Year, ’20 Ph.D, and others co-authored “Does the Bayley-4 Measure the Same Constructs Across Girls and Boys and Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers?” for the August issue of Psychological Assessment.

Milagros Castillo-Montoya presented new research, “Equity-Based Teaching Improves Student Success,” along with colleagues from Florida International University and American University. The research findings uncover policies and practical steps to support and reward equity-based teaching on campus. The presentation was held in Washington, D.C., in October.

Sandra M. Chafouleas published “Coping With Big Feelings Post-Election” for Psychology Today.

Alexandra Freidus is partnering with other researchers and two multiracial school districts to develop new district integration plans, which the Spencer Foundation and the American Institutes for Research supported. Read more about the partnership on UConn Today.

Richard Gonzales participated as a panelist in the Preparing Equity-Centered School Leaders webinar hosted by SchoolSims in October. This panel provided insights from educational leaders on implementing a simulation-based perspective.

Preston Green was a co-speaker on “The Law, Rights, and Religion Project” hosted by The Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School in September.

Elizabeth Howard presented “Celebrating the Languages, Knowledge, and Stories of Multilingual Learners Through a Focus on Sociocultural Competence” at the 53^rd Annual Connecticut Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ConnTESOL) Conference in Fairfield, Connecticut, in October.

Kathleen Lynch published “The Application of Behavioral Economics to Teacher Professional Development” in the Educational Researcher in September. Additionally, she co-authored the research piece “Sociodemographic Differences in Kindergarten Children’s Summer Enrichment: Trends Over Time Using National Data,” published by the American Educational Research Association in October.

Alan Marcus joined the UConn 360 podcast to discuss his work on global education, the Holocaust, and teaching difficult history through a virtual reality exhibit.

Adam M. McCready collaborated on an article, “An Examination of Fraternity Men’s Orientations Toward Political and Social Involvement,” for Innovation in Research and Scholarship Feature.

Joseph Renzulli’s namesake elementary school, Dr. Joseph S. Renzulli Gifted & Talented Academy, was named a Connecticut State Department of Education School of Distinction for Hartford Public Schools.

Kathy Chau Rohn co-published “The 360 Diary Method in Experiential Education: Using Social Media as a Complementary Method to Interviews and Audio Diaries” for the October issue of Visual Studies.

Jennie Weiner was a guest panelist on Gail Markin’s “Beyond Self Care” podcast series, episode six “Leadership and Well-Being – Working Together.” Weiner also co-published with Morgaen Donaldson and Taylor Strickland “Structural Stasis: Considering Education Leaders’ Efforts to Racially Diversify the Teaching Course” for Volume 131 of the American Journal of Education

Students

Hannah Cooke, Todd Campbell, and others co-published “‘I Sit Here Thinking I Can Do This’—Developing Justice-Centered Ambitious Science Teaching Identities in Professional Learning Communities” for the October issue of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching.

Morgan O’Malley, secondary transition certificate graduate student and EastCONN transition educator, was awarded the DCDT Iva Dean Cook Outstanding Teacher award at the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Career Development and Transition Annual Conference in Chantilly, Virginia in October.

Alumni

Symone James Abiola ’16 (ED), ’17 MA, ’22 6th Year published her first book, “Anti-Racist Teaching: 8 Steps to Build a Framework for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Your School, as a part of the Hack Learning Series (2024). Read more about James Abiola’s book on UConn Today.

Robert Cotto ’22 Ph.D. published “Framing of Black and Latinx School Closure in Redeveloping Hartford, Connecticut,” for the Volume 13 issue of the Berkeley Review of Education.

Kathleen Williamson ’13 MA, ’17 Ph.D., ’17 6th Year project coordinator for Connecticut WSCC Partnership; Melissa Cyr ’02 (CLAS) assistant principal at Bacon Academy; Sandra Chafouleas; and Meghan Amado, an assistant principal at Colchester Elementary School; presented at the New England Association of School Superintendents’ 2024 Regional Conference in Westbrook, Connecticut, about the CDC-funded Connecticut Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Partnership. The conference took place in October.

Fany DeJesus Hannon ’08 MA, UConn’s dean of students, was interviewed on UConn 360: The UConn Podcast about her role on campus and Latino heritage.

In Memoriam

Janet Barnett ’55
Gilbert W. Billings ’76
Vincent C. Cibbarelli ’69
John L. Delgrego ’71
Leon A. Duff ’62
Janet E. Galante ’80
Robert D. Gara ’56
Carol B. Griffin ’67
John H. Hanna
Fran A. Hartwell ’63
Ernest R. Hartz ’56
Mary L. Kelly ’53
Averill L. Loh ’87
Susan J. Michel ’91
Daniel P. Moynihan ’88
Lucy M. Leavenworth ’63
Barbara P. O’Leary ’68
Norine Polio ’89
Charles E. Regan ’63

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 neag-communications@uconn.edu with any news items or story ideas.