Joseph Renzulli 2016 Confratute Keynote Address

The Renzulli Center: A Worldwide Leader in Gifted Education

October 27, 2020

Joseph Renzulli served as founding director of the Neag Center, the Lynn and Ray Neag Endowed Chair for Talent Development, as well as the first director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT), then one of a dozen centers in the U.S. focused on addressing significant issues in the education of gifted and talented students, and enrichment education. Under Renzulli’s guidance, the Neag Center evolved into one of the leading centers in gifted education and talent development in the world.


Empty Classroom.

The Prevalence and the Price of Police in Schools

October 27, 2020

Since the 1900s, U.S. public schools have employed a growing number of school resource officers (SROs) – defined here as sworn law enforcement officials. In 1975, only 1% of schools reported having police officers on site, but by 2018, approximately 58% of schools had at least one sworn law enforcement official present during the school week.



Little girl with face mask gets temp checked.

Q&A: Schooling, Caregiving, and Emotional Support During COVID

October 14, 2020

Editor’s Note: The following piece was originally published in UConn Today. In-person, hybrid, remote, and/or home-school – the options for K-12 schooling during the pandemic are complicated, each with their own pros and cons. UConn Today asked psychologist Sandra Chafouleas, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Neag Endowed Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, […]


Smiling female students.

UConn Women’s Student Leadership Program Receives $1.2M Grant

October 2, 2020

A leadership program for undergraduate women at UConn has proven so successful the funder has donated $1.2 million to extend it for at least three years.

The grant provides scholarships and a transformative experience to several juniors through the BOLD Women’s Leadership Network. The BOLD program cultivates courageous leadership and career success in young women during college and after they complete their studies.


American flag.

Talking to Kids About the Dysfunctional Presidential Debate

October 2, 2020

News headlines seem to suggest consensus about how bad the debate was, some deeming it the worst in presidential history and an embarrassment to society. The theme of many stories covering the event can be summed up in a single word: dysfunction. Dysfunctional debates are characterized by not listening, jumping in and cutting others off, grandstanding, boasting, using sarcastic or biting tones, and not acknowledging others.


Britney Jones

Reducing Racism in Schools: The Promise of Anti-Racist Policies

September 22, 2020

In 2020, the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others led to a resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement across the nation and around the globe. The revitalization of this movement has come with increased public demand for policy change, and specific calls for anti-racist policies in schools. As a result, many educational leaders are grappling with what this means for their respective contexts, and the extent to which their school or district’s current policies measure up to public demand.


UCAPP students sit in meeting.

Info Sessions: UConn Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP)

September 21, 2020

The University of Connecticut Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP) is a school leadership preparation program in the Neag School of Education. UCAPP’s mission is to prepare highly qualified school leaders to promote equity and excellence in schools throughout Connecticut. Join an upcoming information session.


Jeremy Landa

5 Lessons for Navigating Life as a Ph.D. Student: A Reflection

September 14, 2020

Michigan native Jeremy Landa, formerly a high school social studies teacher and swimming coach, arrived at UConn in the fall of 2015 as one of the Neag School’s first-ever Dean’s Doctoral Scholars. Having recently defended his dissertation in education policy, he now reflects on his experience as a doctoral student, sharing some of his learnings about the Ph.D. process, and himself, along the way.