On the \u201cRate My Professors\u201d website, where students across the US rate and comment on their professors \u2013 both good and bad \u2013 Dr. Thomas H\u00e9bert has three 5.0 ratings on a 5.0 scale for overall quality, helpfulness and clarity. While his rating on easiness is a 1.5 out of 5.0, he would probably be okay with that, since he is an outstanding educator and strives for excellence. Although the website does not provide scientific data or compare to the academic research that\u2019s conducted by Neag School students, alumni and faculty, it does provide a glimpse to what H\u00e9bert represents to excellence in education.<\/p>\n
As the\u00a0Neag School of Education\u2019s Outstanding Alumnus of the Year<\/strong>, H\u00e9bert has a long history of excellence, and his students at the University of Georgia, where he\u2019s currently a professor of educational psychology, agree: \u201cHe is so passionate about gifted students and his work and definitely relays that to his class. He\u2019s a great professor and it does require work, but it\u2019s worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n Another student thinks he\u2019s a \u201cwonderful professor, passionate about the subject. Incredibly useful if you are\/will be a teacher. Definitely assignment-rigorous, but he does everything he can to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n His students recognize his expertise, but he\u2019s also a nationally recognized leader in gifted education. H\u00e9bert teaches graduate courses in gifted and creative education, as well as qualitative research methods. His research focuses on social and emotional development of gifted students, underachievement in high-ability students, culturally diverse gifted students and problems faced by gifted young men.<\/p>\n H\u00e9bert has more than a decade of classroom experience working with K-12 gifted students and almost 20 years in higher education training graduate students and educators.<\/p>\n Neag\u2019s own Dr. Joseph Renzulli, who has known H\u00e9bert for all of those 20 years, provided the nomination along with the introduction during the awards ceremony.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was an outstanding teacher in a gifted program in Connecticut and in the Department of Defense Schools, is a national expert in gifted education and the social\/emotional needs of gifted and talented children,\u201d said Dr. Renzulli in the nomination. \u201cTom is an outstanding teacher, has exceled in research, and has served in many capacities for the (National Association for Gifted Children), including being a member of the Board of Directors.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Renzulli recalled, \u201cFrom the time he graduated from our doctoral program, he has focused on the identification and development of programs for the gifted and the social and emotional needs of gifted students, gifted males, and culturally diverse students.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is clear from the extensive number of publications and invitations to contribute chapters on these topics in books edited by leading scholars in the field,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n Dr. Renzulli mentioned how Dr. H\u00e9bert is a fine teacher, having won multiple teaching accolades and awards including, most recently, the Ira Aaron Award for Teaching Excellence and Collegiality at the University of Georgia.<\/p>\n The key word Dr. Renzulli highlighted is \u201ccollegiality.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTom has a keen ability to collaborate with a variety of individuals at his university and in the field at large. His personal skills, his thoughtful and sensitive way of working with colleagues and his graduate students, and his all around \u2018nice guy\u2019 demeanor have made him a pleasure to work with over the years,\u201d continued Dr. Renzulli.<\/p>\n \u201cI would unequivocally rank him as one of the top two or three doctoral graduates from our program at the University of Connecticut and a major influence among the current generation of leaders in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n Coming from Renzulli, the national gifted and talented guru, that\u2019s a tremendous compliment.<\/p>\n \u201cThis evening was memorable as faculty and alumni gathered to formally recognize the achievements of some of our outstanding graduates,\u201d said Dr. Thomas DeFranco, dean of the Neag School of Education. \u201cOur award recipients are educators who have made significant contributions across all levels of education. We know that you will agree with our outstanding selection of alumni to honor.\u201d<\/p>\n Other honorees during the Awards Dinner included the following:<\/p>\n The\u00a0Outstanding Higher Education Professional<\/strong>\u00a0is Dr. Marcia Gentry, Sixth Year Diploma in Special Education \u201992, Ph.D \u201996, professor of educational studies and executive director of the Gifted Education Resource Institute at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Outstanding School Administrator<\/strong>\u00a0is Claudia Norman, Sixth Year Diploma in Educational Administration \u201998, co-principal of Lewin G. Joel Elementary School in Clinton, CT.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Outstanding School Educator<\/strong>\u00a0is Kimberly Ruiz, BS \u201999, MA \u201900, fourth grade teacher at Dorothy C. Goodwin Elementary School in Mansfield, CT.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Outstanding Kinesiology Professional<\/strong>\u00a0is Dr. Avron Abraham, MA \u201982, Ph.D \u201990, director of the Center for Academic Success and University Studies and associate professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Outstanding Physical Therapy Professional\u00a0<\/strong>is Mary Duffy Zupkus, PT \u201973, president and clinical director of Physical Therapy Associates of Concord, in Concord MA.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Outstanding Professional<\/strong>\u00a0is Dr. Les Sternberg, \u201968 BA, \u201970 MA, \u201973 Ph.D, special advisor to the provost of the University of South Carolina (USC), and previously served as dean of the College of Education at USC in Columbia, SC.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Outstanding Young Professional<\/strong>\u00a0is Dr. Anthony R. Artino, Jr., \u201908 Ph.D, associate professor with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and commander in the Medical Service Corps of the US Navy, both in Bethesda, MD.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Outstanding School Superintendent<\/strong>\u00a0is Dr. Mary P. Conway, \u00a0Sixth Year Diploma in Educational Administration \u201995, Ed.D. \u201905, superintendent of schools in Vernon, CT.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Alumni Distinguished Research Award<\/strong>\u00a0was given to two individuals:<\/p>\n\n