Alumni Accolades

UF Special Education alumnus David Allsopp (MEd '90, PhD, '95) has been named the Sam Kirk Educator of the Year by the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA).

The two recipients sharing the College of Education’s Outstanding Young Alumni award for 2016-17 also share a sense of entrepreneurship that is as keen as their love and skill at teaching. Jennifer Coxen, (BAE ‘06, MEd ’07), a master’s graduate in […]

Michelle Cumming (Ph.D. in special education, 2016) found that students with these problems had significantly lower executive functioning abilities and thus tended to act out in ineffective ways when under stress.

The UF Institute of Higher Education (IHE) only selects its Outstanding Graduate Award winners every five years, so it’s a big deal when the recipients are announced. The 2017 recipients, all doctoral graduates, were selected for their effectiveness as community college administrators, in collegewide strategic planning, and their professional activities up to the national level.

Lauren Marlowe, College of Education alumni and a teacher at Oak View Middle School, received Alachua County Public School's top teaching honor, besting 39 other teacher honorees in the running, including 22 UF graduates of the University of Florida.

After conducting a national search, the University of Florida has named a College of Education alumna as the new director of Baby Gator Child Development and Research Centers at UF. Deciding the best candidate was already on staff, the university […]

After four decades working behind the scenes at many Florida school districts, Henry Boekhoff is in the spotlight as the winner of the college's Distinguished Alumni Award.

Maureen Conroy, co-director of the University of Florida Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies, has received the 2016 Outstanding Leadership Award from the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders. CCBD, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children, presents […]

Practitioner Scholars Ross Van Boven received his doctorate in curriculum and instruction, a program designed to prepare practitioner scholars. What is a practitioner scholar? A professional who brings theoretical, pedagogical and research expertise to help identify, frame and study educational […]

A pair of College of Education alumni have been selected for prestigious national honors from the Council for Exceptional Children for their outstanding research. Brian Boyd won the 2016 Distinguished Early Career Research Award and recent graduate Elizabeth Bettini won […]

A UF College of Education Ph.D. candidate is in the national education spotlight for leading a Pinellas County elementary school honored for having the nation’s top U.S. STEM program. Kristy Moody, principal of Jamerson Elementary in Pinellas County, accepted the […]

Xavier J. Monroe, a 2013 UF graduate, belongs on a UFTeach student recruitment poster. And that’s even before he was awarded a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship in STEM education and learning research recently from the National Science Foundation. While Monroe […]

The University of Florida has selected noted teacher education innovator Renee Tipton Clift, a 1972 graduate of the UF College of Education, to receive its 2015 UF Distinguished Alumni Award. Clift, a professor and dean at the University of Arizona […]

David Fields, a 2008 M.Ed. graduate in social studies education, has been named the Clay County (Fla.) School District’s Teacher of the Year. Fields has been teaching advanced placement U.S. history and American government at Orange Park High School for the past […]

College of Education alumna Amber Benedict (PhD ‘14, special education) will head for San Diego this spring to receive the prestigious Student Research Award for Qualitative Design from the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Research. The council is the world’s […]

UF higher education administration alumna Zaria Malcolm (PhD ’11) was recently appointed vice principal of academic affairs and institutional advancement at Excelsior Community College in Kingston, Jamaica. Malcolm, a native of Jamaica, earned her doctorate at UF with a concentration […]

What advice would UF College of Education alumni who graduated exactly a half-century ago–from the class of 1964–give to today’s education students? The COE recently joined colleges across campus in honoring their new 50-year alumni, as members of the class of 1964 were inducted […]

Lyle McKinney, a 2010 UF doctoral graduate in higher education administration, was recently awarded the University of Houston’s 2014 Teaching Excellence Award. McKinney is an assistant professor of higher education and faculty-in-residence at UH. This award isn’t McKinney’s first recognition […]

UF higher education administration alumna Monique Perry was recently appointed dean of enrollment services at York Technical College. York Tech is a two-year community and technical college outside of the Charlotte, North Carolina area. As dean, she oversees student recruitment […]

UF College of Education alumna Jayne Ellspermann (MEd ’84, educational leadership), principal of Ocala West Port High School, was named national principal of the year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. She was one of six finalists for the 2015 […]

Ian Neuhard (Ed.D. ’13) will be the new president of the Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Kent campus beginning July 14. Neuhard, who has served as dean of baccalaureate programs for the past seven years at Indian River State College […]

EduGator alumna Jayne Ellspermann (MEd ’84, education leadership), the principal at West Port High School in Ocala, is Florida’s “Principal of the Year” according to the Florida Association of School Administrators (FASA). FASA singled out Ellspermann based on her rich […]

St. Petersburg College has honored UF College of Education alumna Helen Gilbart with its 2014 Outstanding Alumna Award. Gilbart graduated from St. Petersburg Junior College (renamed SPC in 2001 when it began offering baccalaureate degree programs) in 1964 with her […]

UF College of Education graduate Willis Holcombe, who has provided a lifetime of illustrious service to his country and to Florida’s higher education systen, received the 2014 UF Distinguished Alumnus Award during the COE’s annual Recognition Banquet held April 11 […]

UF College of Education alumnus Brian Dassler (MEd ‘02, English Education) has been named the Florida Department of Education’s deputy chancellor of education quality for the Division of K 12 Public Schools. Dassler received the college’s Young Alumni Award two […]

James May, a “double EduGator” with two advanced degrees from UF’s College of Education, was named one of this year’s Top 40 Innovators in Education by the national Center for Digital Education.  The center is a national research and advisory […]

The University of Florida is honoring Arthur M. (Andy) Horne, a 1967 College of Education master’s graduate, with a 2013 UF Distinguished Alumnus Award  Horne, who earned his M.Ed. degree at UF in counselor education, was feted at the college’s […]

Angel Rodriguez, a UF doctoral student in higher education leadership, recently received the R. Irene Craney Fischley Endowed Teaching Chair at Broward College in South Florida.  Rodriguez has been teaching science, including anatomy and physiology, biology, environmental science, and oceanography […]

The UF College of Education has honored school psychology doctoral graduate Michael Sulkowski with its 2013 Outstanding Young Alumni Award. Sulkowski, currently an assistant professor of school psychology at the University of Arizona, received his M.Ed. degree in 2007 and […]

University of Florida College of Education alumnus Jason Gallant was recently appointed the chief psychologist at Boys Town Central Florida’s new Behavioral Health Clinic. Boys Town is a national nonprofit child-care agency that provides treatment through a continuum of services […]

UF College of Education alumna Kassie Erenstoft was named the Dr. Theron Trimble Teacher of the Year among elementary school teachers by the Florida Council for the Social Studies. The council is a professional organization of social studies educators aimed […]

Only America’s most exceptional teachers find themselves strolling through the White House discussing education policy with Vice President Joe Biden. COE alumnus Eric Grunden (MEd ’94, science education) recently got the VIP treatment from Biden and the White House staff […]

Christopher M. Mullin (PhD ’08, higher education) has received the 2012 Barbara K. Townsend Emerging Scholar Award from the Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC). The annual award recognizes a scholar for writing an outstanding research publication that […]

After submitting a top-rated research article, recent College of Education doctoral graduate Stephanie Dodman (PhD ’11, curriculum and instruction) has been awarded a Special Interest Group Scholarly Award by the American Educational Research Association, a national interdisciplinary research association with […]

The Council for Exceptional Children, the world’s largest international organization of special education professionals,  recently awarded University of Florida alumnus Fred Spooner (PhD ’80, special education) its prestigious 2012 TED/Merrill Award for Excellence in Teacher Education. The honor recognizes Spooner […]

UF’s new Innovation Academy, one of the nation’s most forward-looking undergraduate enrollment programs, didn’t have to look far for its inaugural director—hiring Jeffrey Citty (EdD ’11), a recent doctoral graduate in higher education from UF’s College of Education. Citty, whose […]

One is a former Florida College Student of the Year and a rising star among thought leaders in American education. The other is making a national impact in the political arena as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate. They […]

Delores Lastinger, a leading civic leader, philanthropist and former Jacksonville high school teacher known for her tremendous contributions to the Northeast Florida community and the University of Florida, has been chosen to receive the 2012 University of Florida Distinguished Alumna […]

UF’s higher education administration program only selects its Outstanding Graduates every five years, so it’s a big deal when the winners are announced. That’s why officials at the UF Institute of Higher Education announced this year’s 11 recipients at a […]

ST. PETERSBURG TIMES 10-26-11 Brian Dassler (COE 2002 graduate) COE graduate Brian Dassler (MEd “02, English Education) and David Colburn of UF’s Reubin Askew Institute co-authored a guest opinion column in the St. Petersburg Times urging policymakers not to embrace […]

Todd Haydon, a 2008 UF doctoral graduate in special education, is one of two recipients of the second annual Ted Carr Initial Research Award, presented by the international Association for Positive Behavior Support. Haydon is an assistant professor in the School […]

Michelle (Thompson) Donice (Higher Ed Admin ‘05), a 2005 Ph.D. graduate in higher education administration and a former Holmes Partnership Scholar, published her debut novel, The Other Side of Through, in June.  The author explores one woman’s painful search for […]

Melissa Miller (BAE ’93, MEd ’03, PhD ’07), a Triple EduGator with three UF degrees in education, received the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s 2011 Distinguished Teaching Award for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction and Mentoring. She is an assistant professor of special […]

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Entrepreneur Anita Zucker, a 1972 education graduate of the University of Florida, last year challenged fellow alumni who had never contributed to make an annual donation to the College of Education. Zucker, a 2010 recipient of UF’s […]

An athlete-turned-educator and a rising star in an award-winning master-teacher training program at the University of Florida have been named the UF College of Education’s 2011 Outstanding Young Alumni. The recipients are David Horton (PhD ’09), a former college baseball […]