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 of Education celebrated the investiture of Matthew Lemberger-Truelove as the Letitia Neag Morgan Chair for Educational Psychology in the Gentry Building in December. The ceremony highlighted Lemberger-Truelove’s nationally recognized scholarship in counselor education, his commitment to student mental health and equity, and the impact of his community-based research. He shared reflections on the mentors, family, and communities that shaped his work, and a vision for school mental health grounded in student strengths, cultural wealth, and justice. View photos from the event.

The Neag School hosted a professional development session on “Teaching in Turbulent Times” with Dorinda Carter Andrews of Michigan State University in November. Her workshop explored how faculty can foster humanity, cultural relevance, and civility in the college classroom through humanizing and culturally relevant pedagogies. This session was part of the Neag School’s three-part professional development series supporting faculty and researchers as they navigate today’s higher education climate while sustaining their commitments to equity and social justice. View photos from the event.

Jodi L. Carr joined the Neag School in January as director of assessment, accountability, and accreditation. Carr comes to the Neag School from Radford University, where she served as director of assessment. Prior to that, she was the program manager for academic affairs at Texas A&M University. She earned her Ph.D. from George Mason University.

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

Graduate students from the Neag School’s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG) came together in December to showcase action research conducted in special education K–12settings and secondary classrooms across Connecticut. Held at the Hartford Public Library’s Center for Contemporary Culture, the TCPCG Research Expo brought together students, faculty, staff, administrators, and district partners to learn from and with one another. View photos from the event.

Tutita Casa, along with Neag School alumni Anna Strauss ’23 (ED), ’24 MA, Jenna Waggoner ’23 (ED), ’24 MA, and Mhret Wondmagegne ’23 (ED), ’24 MA, was interviewed by The Math Learning Center about strategies for teaching mathematics.

The IB/M English education cohorts gathered in the Gentry Building in November for a fall celebration, spending time reflecting on gratitude and sharing their work through writing and art. View photos from the event.

Sixteen students from Manchester High School visited UConn Storrs in November to explore careers in education, led by Neag School alumni Ryan Jones ’04 (ED), ’05 MA, and Jacob Skrzypiec ’13 (ED), ’14 MA, a current Ed.D. student. The visit was organized by Alyssa Hadley Dunn and Neag School master’s student Sofia Oyola Morales. Students attended music and elementary methods classes, then heard from current Neag Schoolstudents about their paths to teaching and the support they’ve found at the Neag School. View photos from the event.

Department of Educational Leadership (EDLR)

The Building Bridges, Informing Practice Speaker Series—co-sponsored by the Neag School and the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents—brings research and practice together to support Connecticut’s district and school leaders. The first of the four-part speaker series, “Principals’ Professional Learning: The How, the What, and the Why” was held virtually in November, led by Morgaen Donaldson, associate dean for research at the Neag School. The session shared insights from a national mixed-methods study on principals’ professional learning. Participants explored what effective principal learning looks like, how districts can support leadership growth, and how school leaders can advocate for research-informed practices in their local contexts. View information on the speaker series.

Neag School’s Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) graduate program students participated in HESA Day at the UConn Student Union in December. First-year HESA students presented research posters based on their practice briefs that focused on various topics, and second-year HESA students presented projects showcasing their learning about dialogue across differences and its implications for personal and educational development. In addition to the students in attendance, HESA faculty, as well as HESA alumni and campus partners from across the University, joined the event. View photos from the event.

Department of Educational Psychology (EPSY)

The Neag School of Education received funding from the Spencer Foundation to host a conference advancing civil rights protections for students of color. Held at the UConn Student Union and the Neag School’s Gentry Building in December, the convening brought together scholars, leaders, and community partners. Over two days, participants worked to envision a new QuantCrit Policy Center focused on community-centered quantitative research to challenge educational inequities—particularly in special education—and advance racial and disability justice. View photos from the event.

Gifted Education faculty and graduate students had a combined 17 posters and conference presentations at the National Association for Gifted Children annual conference in November in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Jacqueline Caemmerer and Jessica Koslouski presented at the Advancing School Mental Health Conference in Orlando, Florida, in December.

Michael Coyne was interviewed on the Teaching Literacy Podcast about research he is leading, which found that a popular oral-only phonemic awareness program may not improve students’ reading outcomes.

Del Siegle, D. Betsy McCoach, E. Jean Gubbins, and Neag School alumna Carolyn Callahan ’73 Ph.D. co-published “A Decade of NCRGE Findings on Gifted Education” for the December issue of Gifted Child Today.

Brandi Simonsen co-edited the second edition of “Handbook of Positive Behavior Support” (Springer Publishing, 2025). Michael Coyne, Susannah Everett, Jennifer Freeman, Brandi Simonsen, and fellow UConn faculty members, along with Neag School alumni Kathryn “Kate” Dooley ’17 Ph.D., Laura Kern ’11 MA, ’17 Ph.D., and Sarah Sinnott ’25 Ph.D., all co-authored chapters in the book.

Feel Your Best Self, an interdisciplinary initiative at UConn and co-founded by Neag School’s Sandra Chafouleas, is a finalist for a Kidscreen Award for the second time. Its new animated shorts series earned a finalist nod for Best Digital Series (Preschool). The Kidscreen Awards recognize top programming and digital media worldwide, with past entries from PBS Kids, Nickelodeon, and BBC Studios. Read more on UConn Today.

Faculty/Staff

Cara Bernard conducted a chamber singers group at von der Mehden Recital Hall at UConn Storrs in December in honor of  Jamie Spillane, UConn’s director of choral studies, who retired last fall. View the recording.

Melissa Bray co-authored “Attention to Task and Work Completion: Helping Handout for School” for the National Association of School Psychologists and “To G or Not to G, That is Our Question on Early Childhood Developmental Assessments” for the December issue of Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology.

Todd Campbell co-authored “Planning for the Unexpected: How Uncertainty Drives Scientific Practice” for the November issue of The Science Teacher.

Sandra Chafouleas made numerous community presentations on behalf of Connecticut Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Partnership, including the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE)/Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) Conference in November in Hartford, Connecticut.

Casey Cobb co-authored a chapter, “Racial Homogenization in Arizona’s Rural Charter Schools,” for the book “Navigating Charter School Landscapes” (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2025).

Kiah DeVona ’25 Ph.D. started a new position at the Neag School as a postdoctoral research associate. She also serves as adjunct faculty for the Department of Educational Leadership.

Morgaen Donaldson was interviewed for UConn360 about the pandemic’s effects on student performance and well-being.

Preston Green co-authored an article on rural schools and school choice that was featured by UConn Today and the National Education Policy Center.

James Kaufman co-authored research, which was featured by Forbes. Kaufman also co-authored “Does Creativity Have a Genius Bias?” for the December issue of Center for Open Science, and co-published a chapter, “Inspiring Creativity in Others,” for the book “The Artist’s Life: The Heartbeat of the Creative Person” (Cambridge University Press, 2025), which he co-published.

Joseph Renzulli was awarded an honorary doctorate (doctor honoris causa) by the University of Brasilia in recognition of his decades of contributions to gifted education. View the event recording. Renzulli was also ranked as a 2025 ScholarGPS Scholar for exceptional performance and accomplishments in education.

Del Siegle authored “Marrying AI and the Internet to Meet Gifted Students’ Learning Needs” for the December issue of Gifted Child Today.

Tracy Sinclair gave the keynote presentation, as the organization’s current president, at the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Career Development and Transition International Conference in Denver, Colorado, in October.

Laura Steacy is part of a team that launched a new database/tool to support teachers and literacy researchers titled the Developmental English Lexicon Project (d-ELP). Read more in a UConn Today article. Steacy also co-authored “Exploring Theoretically Relevant Word Reading Instructional Elements: Moving Beyond Component Training Toward Building Strong Lexical Representations in Children With Dyslexia” for the October issue of Mind, Brain, and Education and “Is the Role of Set for Variability in Word Reading Influenced by Conditions Leading to Partial Decoding?” for the August issue of Scientific Studies of Reading.

Students

Erin Abrams and Jacob Lasek, seniors in the music education program, are featured in The Daily Campus in an article about a campus recital.

Zachary Boudah, a graduate student in the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program, published an opinion piece in the CT Mirror about parking at UConn.

Lexi Hastings ’25 (ED), a sport management alumna and current graduate student in the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program, was drafted by Boston in the inaugural Women’s Pro Baseball League. Prior to the draft, she was featured in the Hartford Courant.

Khadija Shaikh, a graduate student in the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program, was recognized by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NAPSA), Region 1, as Connecticut’s Outstanding Graduate Student Award.

Jacob Skrzypiec ’13 (ED), ’14 MA, a doctoral student in the Ed.D. program, moderated a conversation with Kimberlé Crenshaw at the National Council for the Social Studies annual conference in Washington, D.C., in December. Crenshaw, a professor at Columbia Law School and expert on race and gender issues, spoke about her vision for a more inclusive, multiracial education system, and the challenges and successes teachers face in the current national climate.

Alumni

Matthew Abate ’23 (ED), ’24 MA is the recipient of the Katie Powell Remembrance Grant from the Tolland Education Foundation to fund the purchase of musical equipment. Abate is a music educator at Tolland High School in Tolland, Connecticut.

Alan Addley ’07 ELP, ’14 Ed.D. was named interim superintendent of Milford Public Schools. Addley previously served as superintendent of Darien Public Schools before retiring last June.

Cynthia “Cyndi” Callahan ’15 6^th Year, ’24 ELP was appointed director of teaching and learning for Wethersfield Public Schools. She most recently served as principal of the Langford School in East Hartford, Connecticut, where she was recognized as Connecticut Elementary School Principal of the Year in 2022.

Jennifer Frese-Miller ’15 6th Year, ’20 ELP was appointed assistant superintendent for Wethersfield Public Schools. She previously served as assistant superintendent for Regional School District 17 in Higganum, Connecticut.

Jeffrey Newton ’13 ELP, superintendent of East Lyme Public Schools, was recognized by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents as the 2026 Connecticut Superintendent of the Year. Read more on UConn Today.

Darren Schwartz ’09 6^th Year was featured in a CT Insider article about his first full year as superintendent of Waterbury Public Schools.

Perry Zirkel ’72 Ph.D., ’76 JD was recognized with the inaugural Dr. Mary Lynn Boscardin Excellence in Special Education Research Award from the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE). Zirkel is university professor emeritus of education and law at Lehigh University and is widely recognized as the nation’s leading authority on special education law. His scholarship, teaching, and service have shaped the field for more than 40 years. The Neag School’s Dr. Perry A. Zirkel Distinguished Teaching Award is named in his honor.

In Memoriam

Frank J. Alagna ’78
Raymond F. Brown ’70
Kathleen Cahill ’78
Barbara L. Caldwell ’71
Elizabeth R. Cawley ’56
Susan B. DeDeo ’68
John W. Flood ’64
Dorothy R. Gilliam ’55
Stephen J. Gregorski ’75
Laura A. Gubernat ’92
Jean U. Johnson ’53
Vincent J. Lanzalotta ’54
Peter A. Muzeroll ’75
Suzanne E. Murphy ’66
Ann M. Orza ’88
Judith B. Paesani ’77
Anita G. Plaskett ’83
Frank W. Riley ’70
Lawrence P. Shea ’69
C. Kevin Synnot ’20
Nancy B. Walker ’85
Timothy S. Zeuschner ’86
Edward J. Zieger ’59