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

Dean’s Office

The Neag School welcomed Matthew Hancock as its new assistant dean and chief operating officer in late June. Hancock is responsible for managing the administration of the Neag School and acting as the chief agent for all administrative matters, including overseeing the areas of fiscal administration, facilities, information technology, human resources, and Dean’s Office operations.

Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, was named the new head of the department in August. A member of the Neag School faculty since 2013, Montrosse-Moorhead previously served as coordinator of the department’s research methods, measurement, and evaluation programs.

The Neag School announced the current members of its Alumni Board on UConn Today. Members of the board volunteer to engage and connect with Neag School alumni throughout the year.

Three Neag School graduate students were awarded Neag School Alumni Board Scholarships. The awardees include Yasmin Elgoharry, a doctoral student in learning, leadership, and education policy; Marcus Harris, a doctoral student in research methods, measurement, and evaluation; and Jeongeun Lee, a doctoral student in curriculum and instruction, mathematics education.

The Neag School’s academic journal has published its fourth issue, thanks to the hard work and dedication of graduate students. Read more on UConn Today.

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

In August, Todd Campbell hosted Japanese scholars from Ehime University and their collaborating high school students at the Gentry Building. Campbell shared his work, including copies of his “Model-Based Inquiry” book.

Rachael Gabriel co-authored a book with two literacy fellows titled “7 Big Challenges in Early Literacy Instruction,” a book for K-5 reading teachers and specialists.

Megan Staples co-authored a blog post with Jennifer Michalek, Education Consultant, Connecticut State Department of Education, which was published in July on the AAAS-ARISE network. The blog post highlights the CT Noyce Math Teacher Leaders Program, of which Staples serves as principal investigator.

Department of Educational Leadership (EDLR)

Adam McCready published his research on cellphone policy in a final report via the Center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration (CCERC) in July. Morgaen Donaldson co-leads CCERC with the Connecticut State Department of Education. McCready and colleagues also received the Association of Fraternity & Sorority Advisors Eberly Award for the article, “A Quantitative Analysis of Organizational Conformity in Sororities and Fraternities: Analyses on ‘Fitting In’.” The award honors authors of one Journal of Sorority and Fraternity Life Research and Practice article each year for their outstanding contributions to the field.

The Neag School of Education is now a member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED). The membership provides a network of resources to the Ed.D. program.

Department of Educational Psychology (EPSY)

The Neag School’s annual Teaching and Learning with Technology Conference at UConn Storrs in May offered insights into AI’s promise and challenges in the classroom, along with other technological advances educators may find useful in their work. Over 130 educators attended the day-long professional development. View photos from the conference.

The Neag School hosted the 36th Annual Postsecondary Disability Training Institute (PTI) in Portland, Maine, in June. Sponsored by the Neag School’s Collaborative on Postsecondary Education and Disability (CPED), PTI is an intensive training opportunity for professionals working with students with disabilities in higher education.

The Neag School’s 48th annual Confratute conference was held in July, welcoming hundreds of educators to Storrs. The program consisted of 5 keynote presentations, 23 “strands” (three-day courses), and 23 Special Topic Sessions and Evening forums.

The annual Northeast PBIS Network (NEPBIS) Network Leadership Forum was held in Mystic, Connecticut, in May. The conference is 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 schools’ effectiveness, efficiency, and equity.

The Feel Your Best Self Podcast officially launched in July. Season 1 of The FYBS Playbook is available through the Feel Your Best Self Facilitator YouTube channel and on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and other podcast-playing platforms. Visit UConn Today for more details.

In July, Nicholas Bell and Zachary Collier gave a keynote at the Council of Great City Schools Conference in Atlanta, titled “Educational Redlining in Special Education: Establishing New Civil Rights Protections for Students of Color With/out Disabilities.”

Nicholas Bell joined the roster of editors for the Review of Educational Research as an associate editor. He is also on the editorial board for the Exceptional Children journal.

Sandra Chafouleas published a piece on Psychology Today in June titled “The Escalation Cycle: Your Roadmap Through a Meltdown.” Chafouleas, along with co-authors Jessica Koslouski, Jackie Caemmerer, and Kimmia Lyon, also recently published a study titled “Investigating the potential for treatment utility and usability of the ESSY Whole Child Screener” in School Mental Health.

Gov. Ned Lamont and Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker announced on Aug. 24 that Connecticut will receive a $10 million grant to strengthen early literacy supports. Michael Coyne and Brandi Simonsen helped write the grant, which will expand evidence-aligned reading intervention for students in kindergarten through grade three. The Neag School will receive a subaward for $4 million.

Faculty/Staff

The Neag School welcomed new faculty and staff members this fall at the start of the new academic year.

Kathleen M. Williamson ’13 MA, ’16 6th Year, ’17 Ph.D.  is an assistant clinical professor in the school psychology program. She earned her doctoral and master’s degrees in School Psychology from UConn and completed her postdoctoral training with UConn’s Collaboratory on School and Child Health. Williamson is a nationally certified school psychologist whose teaching and mentorship are informed by diverse experiences as a practicing school psychologist, researcher, and program leader.

Alexandra Ghiz joined the Neag School Office of Communications this fall as its publicity/marketing coordinator. Before joining the team at the Neag School, Ghiz served on the marketing and communications teams at The Winsor School in Boston and, most recently, at The Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts. Prior to that, Ghiz served in an operations role in the dean’s office for the School of Engineering at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. She earned a master’s in strategic marketing communications from Fordham University and a bachelor’s degree in music and Italian from Smith College.

Students

School Psychology student Lucas Vander Ploeg recently co-authored an article with former faculty member Steve Hoff in the September issue of the National Association of School Psychologists’ publication “Communiqué.” Please see pages 23 to 25.

Alumni

Claudia Bachmann-Bouchard ’19 MA, the Neag School Alumni Board’s 2024 Outstanding Early Career Professional award recipient, was selected as the Leadership in Hispanic Educational and Community Relationships award recipient, sponsored by the Connecticut Education Association’s Human and Civil Rights Commission. The award recognizes educators who have shown exemplary dedication to advancing civil rights, empowering the Hispanic community, and fostering inclusive educational environments.

UConn Athletics named Neag School alum Jack Hayes ’92 MA as Senior Associate Director for Development on Aug. 31. Read the full announcement.

Scott Hurwitz ’06 ED, ’07 MA, ’19 Ed.D., ’21 ELP was named superintendent of Glastonbury Public Schools, taking over the role on July 1. Read the full announcement.

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.