Incidents of bullying and harassment taking place nationwide illustrate the dangerous effects of hate being modeled and reinforced on a national stage, according to a team of UConn school climate and behavior experts. Now spilling into classrooms and schools across the nation, these developments are presenting educators, parents, and communities with significant, immediate challenges as they seek to support students, while faced with their own feelings of stress, confusion, and lack of preparedness.

The Neag School of Education and its Alumni Board are proud to announce the 2017 Neag School Alumni Award honorees. Six outstanding Neag School graduates will be recognized at the School’s 19th annual Alumni Awards Celebration in Storrs, Conn., on Saturday, March 18, 2017.

Fake news and questions about its role in the outcome of the 2016 election have thrust concerns about internet literacy to the forefront. It’s an issue Neag School of Education professor Donald Leu has been studying for years; and the findings of a 10-year-old study he led demonstrating the inadequacies of classroom instruction in “new literacies” has been getting renewed attention.

Professor Del Siegle has been named Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs for the Neag School. Siegle, a professor of gifted education in the Neag School’s Department of Educational Psychology, where he has served as department head since 2011, will officially join the Dean’s Office leadership team on Jan. 3, 2017.

With increasing shifts in racial and ethnic demographics in the United States, the national conversation on diversity and inclusion is ever evolving. Several terms have become commonplace in identifying racial and ethnic groups that are disadvantaged by interlocking, oppressive systems, such as White supremacy, patriarchy, and neoliberal capitalism. Among the most popular phrases currently used to describe groups that have been historically underserved based on their race is “People of Color.” Another common term used to describe these groups is “minorities.” One intention behind using these terms is to emphasize the overlapping or shared experiences with discrimination, marginalization, and oppression on the basis of racial, ethnic, and/or cultural identities.

Social justice and equity remains an area of focus for Neag School researchers, particularly given that the achievement gap between Connecticut’s low-income and minority students and their peers is among the largest in the United States. Here, the Neag School highlights several key avenues of research work in this area.

The following piece originally appeared on the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)’s Ed Prep Matters blog, authored by Neag School Professor and Director of Research Sandra Chafouleas.

Working alongside fellow UConn faculty and administrators, Neag School assistant professor Blanca Rincón will serve as co-principal investigator and researcher on a new five-year, $3.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant dedicated to expanding diversity in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

For Ph.D. candidate Thomas “TJ” McKenna, a love for science may not be enough; his mission, it seems, has become focused just as much on sharing his love for making science accessible to the masses.

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