The Neag School of Education honored several faculty and staff on May 1 with its annual awards recognizing research, teaching, and service. In March, the Neag School’s Dean’s Office solicited nominations from current students, faculty, and staff and presented the awards at the end-of-year School Meeting. The 2026 award recipients are:
Dr. Perry A. Zirkel Distinguished Teaching Award – Tutita M. Casa
The Zirkel Distinguished Teaching Award is awarded annually to a full-time faculty member in the Neag School. Alumnus Perry A. Zirkel ’68 MA, ’72 Ph.D., ’76 JD is a university professor emeritus of education and law at Lehigh University, where he formerly was dean of the College of Education and more recently held the Iacocca Chair in Education. The Neag School’s 2026 award recipient is Tutita M. Casa, an associate professor of elementary mathematics education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
A two-time Neag School alumna, Casa is a faculty member for the Neag School’s Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s teacher preparation program. Many people think of mathematics as something that you “do” by following a teacher’s step-by-step guidance about how to solve problems. Casa’s work in mathematical discourse counters this perspective and instead is aimed at supporting teachers to empower students to grapple with the mathematics and engage with the discipline in ways similar to how mathematicians go about their work. Rather than asking whether or not students can learn any given math concept, Casa guides her work by identifying ways in which teachers can get students to think about and ultimately understand it through oral and written discourse.
Casa’s teaching excellence is evident in the learning opportunities she creates for her students. Her yearlong master’s seminar has produced numerous published practitioner articles co-authored with her students. These publications demonstrate how she mentors preservice teachers through authentic research and writing processes, culminating in work that contributes to the field of mathematics education.
A recent former student, now a practicing teacher, emphasized that Casa was “the most impactful professor” of her academic career and credited her with shaping her instructional beliefs, understanding of mathematics teaching, and professional confidence as a new educator. This alum also noted that the resources and habits cultivated in Casa’s courses continue to guide her daily classroom practice and her own mentoring of new Neag School students assigned to her classroom.
Distinguished Researcher Award – Melissa A. Bray
This award is given to a full professor in the Neag School who, over at least the last 10-year period (at least five consecutive completed years at UConn), has made significant research contributions to their field of study. This year’s recipient is Melissa A. Bray, a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and director of the school psychology graduate programs.
Bray is a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society, and is an elected member of the Society for the Study of School Psychology. She is licensed as a psychologist in the State of Connecticut, holds national certification in school psychology, state certification in school psychology, and licensure in speech-language pathology.
Since receiving her doctorate in 1997, she has published or has in press over 225 articles, chapters, and reviews in the professional literature, along with many books. She has also presented over 175 scholarly papers at national and international conferences. In several studies on faculty productivity, it was determined that Bray was the first- or second-most prolific contributor to the five primary journals in school psychology. Further, she serves as associate editor of the International Journal of School and Educational Psychology, has served as an associate editor of School Psychology Quarterly, and is the co-editor of the first Oxford handbook of school psychology. She has also guest edited numerous issues of Psychology in the Schools, including topics on video self-modeling, behavior disorders, positive psychology, statistical reform, childhood obesity, counseling, social emotional disorders, equity-based practice, and autism spectrum disorder.
As co-principle investigator, she has secured over $2 million in student training contracts. Bray was the 2003 recipient of the prestigious American Psychological Association Division 16’s Lightner Witmer Award, the division’s highest honor given to young scholars. She has also been involved in state, national, and international professional associations, including service as Vice-President, Social, Ethical Responsibility, and Ethnic Minority Affairs, and President of APA’s Division 16 Executive Committee. She has also served as Division 16’s convention chair, hospitality suite coordinator, chair of the Division’s publications committee, and as a member of the conversation webinar series. She currently is D16 VP for Membership. Her research interests are in the area of interventions for communication disorders mainly stuttering and selective mutism, mind-body health, integrated behavioral health care, and physical health and wellness, especially in the areas of asthma and cancer.
Outstanding Mid-Career Scholar Award – Saran Stewart
This award is given to an accomplished associate professor who over the course of their career (at least 3 consecutive completed years at UConn) has made significant research contributions to their field of study. This year’s recipient is Saran Stewart, an associate professor of higher education and student affairs in the Department of Educational Leadership.
Stewart’s scholarly work focuses on issues in comparative education, decolonizing methodologies, critical/ inclusive pedagogy, and problems of access and equity in higher education. She also serves as UConn Hartford’s director of academic affairs. In that role, she is the primary faculty partner in the campus director’s office to support and guide academic matters.
Stewart’s research doesn’t simply identify and describe inequity in higher education, it generates new knowledge, methodology, and policy frameworks to dismantle it. Her work focuses on three domains: transforming curriculum and pedagogy in higher education, advancing intersectional research for Black women and racially minoritized communities, and developing Caribbean decolonial and Black liberatory research methodologies. Across these domains, she challenges current knowledge, uplifts voices, and reimagines academia as a more inclusive space.
To date, Stewart has published or had accepted 29 peer-reviewed articles, 21 book chapters, and 6 books. She has also delivered 70 academic conference papers across the globe, and another 60 invited keynotes and presentations. She has been the principal investigator on 10 grant projects totaling over $5 million U.S. dollars and nearly $5 million in Jamaican dollars, and was co-PI on another six grant projects, totaling $394,000 (U.S. dollars). The reach of her work extends across borders, not only informing institutional reform in global higher education but actively transforming how equity is conceptualized and enacted in the Caribbean, where legacies of colonialism are acutely felt. She has significantly advanced scholarship on equity, pedagogy, and decolonial knowledge production in higher education, creating more just and inclusive educational systems.
Outstanding Early-Career Scholar Award – Jacqueline M. Caemmerer
This award is given to a pre-tenured faculty member in the Neag School who has completed at least two consecutive years at UConn. The 2026 recipient is Jacqueline M. Caemmerer, an assistant professor of school psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology.
Caemmerer joined the Neag School in 2020. Prior to UConn, she taught in Howard University’s school psychology program for three years. Her research interests are in psychological assessment and validity issues. She is interested in better understanding what frequently-used tests measure, the predictive validity of cognitive abilities on children’s math, reading, and writing skills, and developmental and cultural considerations of tests. Caemmerer is also interested in the influence of social variables, such as social skills and families, on children’s academic achievement. She often uses latent variable and longitudinal modeling to study large-scale datasets.
Caemmerer teaches or has taught courses in cognitive assessment, academic assessment, social-emotional-behavioral assessment, advanced practicum, and educational tests and measures. She is a licensed psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist. Her clinical experiences have spanned public and charter schools, juvenile detention centers, and private practice.
Outstanding Student Researcher Award – Taylor Strickland
This award is given to a student whose research during study with the Neag School of Education demonstrates a pattern of excellence and represents potential to make an impact in their field of study. The 2026 recipient is Taylor Strickland, a Ph.D. candidate in leadership and education policy in the Department of Educational Leadership.
Since starting her doctoral program, Strickland has worked on more than 10 research projects with Neag School professor Jennie Weiner, while also supporting projects for other faculty. In just her collaborations with Weiner, she has yielded four reports, four peer-reviewed journal articles, and a current revise and resubmit at the Review of the Educational Research. She has also collaborated with the state through work with the Center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration and on ARP-ESSER evaluations. She has also made more than ten conference presentations at the University Council for Educational Administration, the American Educational Research Association, and the Association for Education Finance and Policy – all leading organizations in education. AERA’s Educational Change special interest group named her their Outstanding Graduate Researcher in 2025 as well.
Valerie J. Pichette Outstanding Staff Award – Li He
Named in honor of the late Valerie J. Pichette, this award recognizes an individual or individuals who have gone above and beyond in their work at the Neag School over the past academic year. Pichette had a 30-year history of service to the state of Connecticut, including having served as executive assistant to the Neag School dean for nearly two decades. This year’s recipient is Li He, a financial analyst and Certified Research Administrator in the Neag School’s Business and Grant Services.
He has a deep understanding of UConn processes, procedures, and organizational structures. She consistently makes the post-award process smooth and clear, often catching issues before they become problems. The financial world of grants can often be daunting, but He makes the work a pleasure due to her diligence and professionalism. She manages budgets, reporting, and grant processes with impressive skill, often helping colleagues outside her immediate area. She consistently provides rapid and detailed responses to questions related to contracts, budgets, payroll requests, and purchasing requests, among others. She is extremely detail-oriented and proactively notices minor errors or points that could create future issues. He is a pillar of knowledge for post-award grant support and shares this knowledge widely with those that she works with, always willing to teach, support, and train colleagues on the many different intricacies of grant procedures.
