Meriden is where Miguel Cardona — President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to become the next U.S. education secretary — grew up and spent 21 years of his 23-year career as an educator. And his experiences there — his battles and the district’s successes — will likely be front-of-mind as he coordinates policy for all the public schools in the country.

What Miguel Cardona, 45, lacks in years of leadership, Robert Villanova and others said he makes up for in his ability to work with teachers on often-contentious issues, from evaluation to lengthening the school day. During the vetting process for U.S. education secretary, Cardona “must have been able to tell a dozen stories about how he was able to connect conflicting points of view and come out with a better solution,” Villanova said.

Congratulations to our Neag School alumni, faculty, staff, and students on their continued accomplishments inside and outside the classroom. 

Lauren Dougher ’19 MA, a doctoral student in cognition, instruction, and learning technology; Jordane Virgo ’19 (CANHR), a master’s student in school counseling; and Elizabeth Canavan, a master’s student in the Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s Program, have been named the recipients of the Neag School of Education Alumni Board Scholarship for 2021.

Education Week (Neag School alumnus and the U.S. Secretary of Education nominee Miguel Cardona is profiled)

Under the guidance of Mansfield teacher and Neag School alumna Madison Corlett, grade four students who are learning remotely this year have engaged in a series of “passion” projects, including the gift card fundraiser. With a goal to raise $5,000, this group of students, representing all three Mansfield elementary schools, launched a Go Fund Me page, setting a goal to help local businesses who they had heard were struggling as a result of COVID-19

The Neag School of Education and its Alumni Board are delighted to announce the 2021 Neag School Alumni Awards honorees. Six outstanding graduates will be formally recognized at the School’s 23rd annual Alumni Awards Celebration on Saturday, March 13, 2021.

Having always practiced what he preached as a professor, advisor, and coach, William “Bill” Servedio is someone who walks the walk. Perhaps more accurately, the Neag School Professor Emeritus runs the run; he appears to have spent most every day of his 78 years moving at full tilt. And in recently establishing a scholarship fund for Neag School sport management students in addition to taking part in virtual discussions with alumni from the program, he clearly has no intention of slowing down.                                                                            

To learn more about the man now poised to lead the nation’s schools, Connecticut Public Radio’s Diane Orson spoke with Robert Villanova, director of the Executive Leadership Program at UConn’s Neag School of Education. He said he and Cardona first met when Cardona was principal at Hanover Elementary School in his hometown of Meriden.

Connecticut education commissioner Miguel Cardona and Neag School alumnus, a Meriden native who rose through the ranks in the city’s public schools from teacher to principal to administrator, has been selected by President-elect Joe Biden to be the next U.S. education secretary.