“The 45th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is particularly meaningful to me and to students with disabilities,” says George Sugai, a Neag School professor emeritus.

On December 15, the Brown Center for Education Policy at Brookings and the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH) will cohost a webinar that examines the changing landscape for U.S. schools and education policy.

Jesse Mala is an assistant visiting professor in the UConn Department of Educational Leadership sports management program. He studies how sport can be used to promote positive development among Black and Latinx youth in poverty. Mala himself grew up in poverty, in the housing projects in New Britain, Connecticut but still had access to some sports through the Police Athletic League in his neighborhood. There he learned crucial life skills and lessons that he feels contributed to his overall development and eventual academic success.

As a part of the Provost’s Distinguished Speaker Series, Professor Sandra M. Chafouleas gave a talk titled “Well-Being in School, Child, and Community: Advancing the Whole, Not the Sum of Its Parts” on Thursday afternoon. The Provost’s Distinguished Speaker Series is an annual series where distinguished professors are invited to discuss their research and scholarship with the greater community.

“We’re living in an era of this kind of vicious Russian nesting doll of crises,” Glenn Mitoma, director of Dodd Human Rights Impact, said, drawing attention to the concerns toward the pandemic, racial inequality, political environment and climate running parallel to one another. “Interconnection, interdependence, and indivisible human rights are all really at the forefront of each and every one of these choices…what I learned in this kind of framework is a strategy for how universities and companies can respond.”

Diversity, equity, and inclusion have become the elements that define sport in the 2020s. This special collection assembled by sportanddev on including persons with disabilities in sport brings that third element – inclusion – into focus.

As a former UConn women’s basketball player, Batouly Camara is no stranger to success. However, the 24-year old graduate is beginning to rack up awards and honors at a staggering pace as well. Camara was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 sports list, which highlights young people who are making a difference in their field. Camara was part of three Final Four teams with the Huskies, but made the list because of her work empowering women around the globe

Teachers and professors can play a huge role in supporting students at this time said Sandra Chafouleas, distinguished professor in the Neag School of Education at UConn. Just checking in can be very impactful.

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 send any news items and story ideas to neag-communications@uconn.edu.

Jamelle Elliott figured she was done with coaching. At least for the foreseeable future. She’d spent more than two decades in the industry — first as an assistant with her alma mater UConn (1997-2009) and then as the head coach at Cincinnati (2009-18) — before deciding that, at age 43, it was time to change paths and pursue another passion of hers. Then came an opportunity to get back into basketball.