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
• Alumni

Dean’s Office

The Neag School celebrated the Class of 2026 on May 10 and May 11 at UConn Storrs. Read more about the Undergraduate Ceremony, check out a video from Senior Send Off about seniors’ favorite memories, a Mother’s Day video shown during Undergraduate Commencement, and a video of advice for the Class of 2026 from one of our student teachers’ second graders. Plus, enjoy a sights and sounds video along with photos from the Undergraduate procession and ceremony, featuring Jonathan XV. Featured graduate profiles can also be read on UConn Today.

U.S. News & World Report issued its 2026 rankings of the nation’s best graduate schools of education, with the Neag School ranking among the top 30 public graduate schools of education for the 11th consecutive year. In addition, three Neag School graduate programs that were ranked last year increased in the specialty rankings: the Special Education Program is ranked No. 16, up two spots from 2025; the Educational Administration Programs are tied at No. 25, up three spots; and the Curriculum and Instruction Program jumped an impressive 10 spots to be tied at No. 24.

The Neag School of Education honored several faculty, staff, and students at its May 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 2026 award recipients are:

• Dr. Perry A. Zirkel Distinguished Teaching Award – Tutita M. Casa (Read more about Casa’s Zirkel award on UConn Today).
• Distinguished Researcher Award – Melissa A. Bray
• Outstanding Mid-Career Scholar Award – Saran Stewart
• Outstanding Early-Career Scholar Award – Jacqueline M. Caemmerer
• Outstanding Student Researcher Award – Taylor Strickland
• Valerie J. Pichette Outstanding Staff Award – Li He

During the meeting, the Neag School also celebrated years of service milestones for the following individuals:

25 Years of Service:

• Sandra Chafouleas

20 Years of Service:

• Robin Grenier
• Thomas Levine
• Brandi Simonsen-Gaines
• Megan Staples
• John Zack

15 Years of Service:

• Wendy Glenn

10 Years of Service:

• Michele Back
• Craig Kennedy

5 Years of Service:

• Jacqueline Caemmerer
• Mikala Kane
• Susan Langley
• Kathleen Lynch
• Katherine Meyer
• Diandra Prescod
• Karen Robbie
• Tracy Sinclair
• Saran Stewart
• Frank Tuitt
• Alyssa Valentine

UConn’s Office of the Provost announced the promotion and tenure of faculty across its campuses. Neag School faculty who were recognized include:

Promotion to Professor:

• Michele Back, Curriculum & Instruction
• Saran Stewart, Educational Leadership

Promotion to Associate Professor and Tenure:

• Jacqueline Caemmerer, Educational Psychology
• Zachary Collier, Educational Psychology
• Kathleen Lynch, Educational Psychology

In April, Neag School faculty, students, and alumni attended the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. Three Neag School of Education faculty received awards at this year’s meeting: Kathleen Lynch is the Out-of-School Time Special Interest Group Scholar Award winner, while Kylie Anglin and Alexandra Freidus were recognized as outstanding reviewers for AERA Open and the American Educational Research Journal, respectively. Read about their recognition on UConn Today.

Thanks to about 525 individuals, the Neag School garnered nearly $70,000 in contributions during UConn Gives 2026, including $7,500 in funding from challenges. The annual University-wide fundraising event raised a record-breaking $7.1 million overall for UConn, with incoming donations to support everything from scholarships and academic programs to student groups and athletics. The Neag School highlighted 10 of its funds during this year’s event, held on April 21 and 22. The School was also lucky to have several matches and challenges this year, supported by generous benefactors, to help drive donations. Out of the 10 Neag School funds highlighted during UConn Gives, the top finishers were: Professor Emeritus William & Marjorie Servedio Scholarship, The Renzulli Center Fund, Dr. Sue Saunders Higher Education & Student Affairs (HESA) Professional Development Fund, and Neag School of Education Dean’s Fund.

The Neag School hosted a recognition ceremony for the Connecticut Letters About Literature contest winners at the State Capitol in Hartford in April. Co-sponsored by the Neag School, UConn’s Department of English, and the Connecticut Writing Project, the 33rd annual Letters About Literature winners for the 2025-26 academic year were announced in March.

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

Fifth-year music education students in Joseph Abramo’s Popular Music course performed at Hops 44 in Mansfield, Connecticut, in May. The faculty band, the Vygotskys, opened for the students.

The 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 attending the conference.

The Neag School math education juniors shared their innovative work with school-based partners, faculty, and special guests during two inspiring sessions at UConn Storrs in April.

The Leadership in Diversity (LID) student group hosted its annual conference on April 25. This year’s conference was titled “Access to Education in Challenging Times: Educational Equity Under Pressure,” and alum Miguel Cardona ’01 MA, ’04 6th Year, ’11 Ed.D., ’12 ELP was the keynote speaker. A recap of his talk can be read on the Alma Exley website.

The Office of Teacher Education welcomed participants from around 70 school districts across the state for the annual Education Career Fair at UConn Storrs in late March. In addition to connecting with district recruiters, approximately 350 graduating students had the opportunity to interview with school district representatives for teaching, counseling, and school psychology positions.

Two Noyce CT Math Teacher Leader Fellows were honored at the recent ATOMIC annual conference held in New Haven in March. Jennifer Roggi, an eighth-grade teacher at Vernon Center Middle School, received the Charlene Tate-Nichols award. The award is presented to a K-8 teacher who exemplifies not only high-quality classroom practice but is a valued mentor, colleague, and works to improve the mathematics education in their building, district, and beyond. William McKinney was honored as a state finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, a highly prestigious honor requiring a rigorous application process and review. The award is based on teaching excellence and leadership within mathematics education. Faculty member Tutita Casa received the Robert Rosenbaum award at the same conference, in honor of her outstanding commitment and successful service to the entire mathematics community in Connecticut.

Department of Educational Leadership (EDLR)

UConn Husky Nutrition and Sport graduating students were recognized in a video by the Fred D. Wish Museum School in Hartford.

UCAPP hosted the 14th Annual Change Project Day in April at Maloney High School in Meriden, focusing on the students’ capstone projects. The students came together to discuss school improvement projects, either completed or in progress.

Students from Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts (CREC) High School attended a meeting at the State Capitol in April to present to Representative McCarthy Vahey, member of the Connecticut General Assembly Public Health Committee, to share information about a research project they did as a part of the Early College Experience course EDLR 1162: Health and Education in Urban Communities.

Higher education faculty Kenny Nienhusser, Milagros Castillo-Montoya, Jillian Ives, Adam McCready, and Franklin Tuitt co-authored a blog post titled “What Higher Education Leaders are Doing in Times of Escalating Immigration Enforcement: Study Insights and Directions for Research,” as part of their grant project “Uninterrupted Higher Education: Identifying Approaches to Supporting Students with Precarious Immigration Statuses” through the William T. Grant Foundation.

The Executive Leadership Program recently honored Dr. Steven Adamowski upon his “retirement” from teaching in the program. Adamowski has been an ELP instructor since 2013, teaching EDLR 6303: Data-Driven School Improvement. His career is expansive, and the program has been very fortunate to have had him on the faculty for so many years. The celebration was planned by the students in recognition of all he has given to them and to the program.

Department of Educational Psychology (EPSY)

The UConn Collaboratory on School and Child Health (CSCH) marks its 10th anniversary this year and kicked off the celebrations with an affiliate event in Hartford on March 31. Read more on UConn Today. In addition, CSCH’s Connecticut Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) Partnership Team won a 2026 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship. The WSCC Partnership was recognized in the Faculty Team – Community Impact category for their work helping schools attend to students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and physical needs.

A UConn Today feature story highlights UConn’s Honors program, the curriculum for which was revamped 10 years ago, with substantial help and guidance from Neag School researchers with the National Center for Research on Gifted Education, as well as the Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development. Joseph Renzulli, Sally Reis, and Jaclyn Chancey ’13 Ph.D. are specifically mentioned for their expertise and service on the Honors curriculum committee.

The Department of Educational Psychology hosted the 14th annual Teaching and Learning with Technology Conference 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, the learning-filled day allows educators to share how they use technology to promote student learning.

Hundreds of educators attended the annual Northeast PBIS Network Leadership Forum in Mystic, Connecticut, 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. 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.

Faculty/Staff

Jacqueline Caemmerer and Melissa Bray co-authored “Measuring cognitive ability fairly: Measurement invariance of the KABC-II NU across parent education levels” in Psychological Assessment, along with school psychology students Audrey M. Scudder (first author), Kevin Melecio, Lucas Vander Ploeg, and Natalie R. Charamut.

Tutita Casa’s article “Elementary students’ argumentative and explanatory mathematical writing about fractions” was recognized as a top-cited article in School Science and Mathematics among work published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024.

Sandra Chafouleas has been awarded the 2026 Division 16 Senior Scientist Award by the American Psychological Association. She will be honored at the Division 16 Business Meeting and Award Ceremony on Aug. 8, in Washington, D.C.

Casey Cobb was invited to serve on Gov. Lamont’s Blue-Ribbon Commission on K-12 Education Funding and Accountability, which is charged with reevaluating how public schools are funded and recommending a plan by early next year to better support students and districts.

Preston Green recently co-authored “Tension Between States’ Rights and Religious Rights” in the Howard Law Journal. He also co-authored a policy brief titled “Avoiding the Supreme Court’s Religious Charter School Trap: Governance Change for a New Legal Era” for the National Education Policy Center. The brief explains how the Supreme Court may soon greenlight religious charter schools and shield them from anti-discrimination and other laws that apply to public schools.

Douglas Kaufman, along with alumna Tracey Lafayette ’15 (CLAS), ’15 (ED), ’16 MA, ’22 6th Year, was featured on the Two Writing Teachers podcast in an episode about “Activism in Writing.”

Kathleen Lynch was featured in Afterschool Alliance’s spring 2026 edition of the Afterschool STEM Quarterly Research Review (ASQRR) newsletter in a “Researcher Spotlight.”

Del Siegle was invited to give the Julian C. Stanley Distinguished Lecture at the annual Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development, held this year in Iowa City, Iowa. This is a prestigious invitation in the field of gifted education.

Tracy Sinclair won the UConn AAUP Teaching Excellence – Early Career Award, which is a prestigious University-wide recognition that honors outstanding teaching among early-career faculty.

Saran Stewart and Frank Tuitt are new members of the Scholars Strategy Network, which is “a one-stop resource that connects journalists, policymakers, and civic leaders to America’s top scholars and their research.” Scholars volunteer their research, time, and energy to help improve policy and strengthen democracy.

Alumni

Ryan Broderick ’06 (ED), ’07 MA, ’14 6th Year, ’24 Ed.D., ’25 ELP recently co-authored with Jennie Weiner “From urgency to agency: urban principals and the work of learning-centered leadership” in School Leadership and Management.

Jeremy Crouse ’13 (ED), ’14 MA was named Teacher of the Year for East Hartford High School.

Roszena Haskins ’17 Ed.D. has been named the next superintendent of Niles Township High School District 219 in Skokie, Illinois.

Talbot Hook ’25 Ph.D. recently started a position at the University of Georgia, where he is a clinical assistant professor of educational psychology teaching in the Gifted and Creative Education program. He also recently published three articles: “Cultivating Creativity in Language and Writing for Grade 6 Students in Minority Areas of Northwest China” with James Kaufman in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts; “Developing Student Potential: Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices” along with Catherine Little in Journal of Advanced Academics; and “Stress Management in Honors Students: Findings From a Biofeedback Study” alongside Del Siegle in Gifted Child Quarterly.

Adam Lynch ’20 (ED), ’21 MA was named the 2026 Teacher of the Year for Hartford Public Schools.

Matthew Piros ’18 6th Year has been named the next president of the Connecticut Music Educators Association, effective July 1. Piros is the Director of Instrumental Music and Unified Arts Team Leader at Sage Park Middle School in Windsor, Connecticut, and was most recently the Northern Region Director for CMEA for three years.

Jerreica Pitre ’26 MA, a TCPCG and Sueños Scholar alum, was selected by the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies as the recipient of the Thomas Weinland Award for Pre-Service Excellence in Social Studies Education. This recognition highlights her exceptional contributions to social studies teaching and dedication to student success. This award is given to a student who has demonstrated excellence in work with students, standards-based lesson planning promoting social studies inquiry/discourse, leadership in professional activities, and scholastic perseverance and excellence.

Jocelyn Tamborello-Noble ’03, ’04 MA, ’09 6th Year delivered the 2026 Neag School of Education commencement address on May 10. Tamborello-Noble is the principal of Conard High School in West Hartford, Connecticut, which was recently selected by the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) as the CAS High School of the Year.

Congratulations to our Neag School alumni, faculty, staff, and students on their continued accomplishments. If you have an accolade to share, we want to hear from you! Please email neag-communications@uconn.edu with any news items.