{"id":214972,"date":"2024-06-04T07:30:34","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T11:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=214972"},"modified":"2024-06-03T13:51:50","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T17:51:50","slug":"uconns-renzulli-center-hosts-wallace-research-symposium-on-talent-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2024\/06\/uconns-renzulli-center-hosts-wallace-research-symposium-on-talent-development\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn\u2019s Renzulli Center Hosts Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development"},"content":{"rendered":"

On May 19, the preeminent research conference on gifted education and talent development came to Storrs for the first time. For three days, around 180 researchers, scholars, and educators filled UConn\u2019s McHugh Hall and the third floor of the Student Union for the 2024 Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development.<\/p>\n

Previously hosted solely by the University of Iowa\u2019s Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development<\/a>, the symposium was also co-hosted this year by UConn\u2019s Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development<\/a> and the National Center for Research on Gifted Education<\/a> (NCRGE).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wallace Research Symposium has traditionally taken place every two years but had not been held since the COVID-19 lockdown,\u201d says Del Siegle, UConn Neag School of Education faculty member and director of the Renzulli Center and the NCRGE. \u201cTwo years ago, at the National Association for Gifted Children\u2019s conference, I approached Megan Foley Nicpon, the new director at the Belin-Blank Center, about collaborating to hold the symposium at UConn. She embraced the idea, and we began holding monthly planning meetings online.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

When my colleague Dr. Del Siegle mentioned that our Renzulli Center was looking to collaborate with Iowa\u2019s Belin-Blank Center to host this illustrious gathering, I couldn\u2019t think of a more natural partnership. — Dean Jason G. Irizarry<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Renzulli Center, part of the Neag School, is one of the leading centers in the world in gifted education and talent development. Since 1996, the center has promoted enjoyment, engagement, and enthusiasm for learning in educators and students at all levels through research and professional learning activities. Its affiliated faculty are renowned experts in the field and the center supports graduate students in master\u2019s\/sixth-year, Ph.D., and online certificate programs.<\/p>\n

It was a natural partnership, then, for the Renzulli Center to join with Iowa\u2019s Belin-Blank Center for this year\u2019s Wallace Research Symposium. The Belin-Blank Center aims to create opportunities for equitable talent development through five strategic priorities: outreach, professional learning, psychological services, research, and student programming. Founded in 1988, the center launched the Wallace Research Symposium after a generous endowment from the Wallace Research Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHenry B. (H.B.) Wallace was an exceptionally talented individual who used his abilities to enhance society,\u201d says Foley Nicpon, director of the Belin-Blank Center. \u201cH.B. and his wife, Jocelyn, deeply cared about students and the future of American education and demonstrated this caring by their outstanding support of the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa. H.B. and Jocelyn strongly believed that the future of America rested with its young people and that students of exceptional educational promise should have every opportunity to develop their talents and then use these talents to better society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rebecca<\/a>
Rebecca Lubin<\/div>
Wallace_240520a384.jpg<\/div>
Rebecca Lubin, of American University and D.C. public schools, speaks on unveiling archetypes and aspirations at the Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development at McHugh Hall on May 20. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"Jason<\/a>
Jason G. Irizarry<\/div>
Wallace_240520a010.jpg<\/div>
Jason Irizarry, dean of the Neag School of Education, welcomes attendees to the Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development at McHugh Hall on May 20. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"David<\/a>
David Yun Dai<\/div>
Wallace_240520a328.jpg<\/div>
David Yun Dai, State University of New York at Albany, speaks about talent development research at the Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development at McHugh Hall on May 20. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"D.<\/a>
D. Betsy McCoach<\/div>
Wallace_240520a439.jpg<\/div>
D. Betsy McCoach, UConn professor of educational psychology, speaks on teacher rating at the Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development at McHugh Hall on May 20. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"Nicholas<\/a>
Nicholas Colangelo<\/div>
Wallace_240520a085.jpg<\/div>
Nicholas Colangelo, of the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa, speaks during the Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development at McHugh Hall on May 20. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"Susan<\/a>
Susan Assouline<\/div>
Wallace_240520a113.jpg<\/div>
Susan Assouline, past director of the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa, gives the Julian C. Stanley Distinguished Lecture during the Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development at McHugh Hall on May 20. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>