Ph.D. Students
 |
Khalilah Arrington Advisor: James Kaufman |
 |
Emma Bloomfield received her BA in Mathematics from Smith College (2003) and her MS in Educational Leadership from Central Connecticut State University (2007). For the past 12 years she has been teaching high school mathematics in Connecticut, first at New Britain High School for 2 years and then 10 years at Windsor High School. Emma is now working with the Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development to pursue her interests in underachievement.
Advisor: Del Siegle |
 |
Stacy Hayden, M.A., is a doctoral student in the Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent Development program. Stacy received her B.S. in Elementary Education (2012) from Radford University. She is a graduate of the UConn Three Summers Program where she received her M.A. in Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent Development (2016). Prior to coming to UConn, Stacy taught gifted students and coordinated the Young Scholars Program in Alexandria City Public Schools, Virginia. Stacy was recognized as a Javits-Fraiser Scholar in 2014 by the National Association of Gifted Children and was named Outstanding Teacher of the Gifted for Region IV-E by the Virginia Association of the Gifted in 2017. Stacy serves as a Graduate Research Assistant for Thinking Like Mathematicians: Challenging All Grade 3 Students, a research study funded by the funded by the Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act. Her research interests include equity, pre-identification programs, and college honors programs.
Advisor: E. Jean Gubbins |
 |
Molly Holinger is a Ph.D. student in Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut under the advisement of Dr. James C. Kaufman and a graduate research assistant for Project SPARK (Supporting and Promoting Advanced Readiness in Kids), a research study funded by the Javits grant program. She received her M.S. in Creative Studies from the International Center for Studies in Creativity, SUNY Buffalo State. Her current research focuses on the positive outcomes of creativity such as positive emotions, engagement, and meaning.
Advisor: James Kaufman |
 |
Susan Dulong Langley is a PhD student working as a graduate research assistant in the National Center for Research on Gifted Education. She is a former teacher of the gifted in Massachusetts. She served as president of the Massachusetts Association for Gifted Education, and as parent representative and governance secretary for the National Association for Gifted Children. Susan’s research interests include identification, services, and program retention for culturally and linguistically diverse gifted learners.
Advisor: Del Siegle |
 |
Sarah Luria earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Smith College in Middle East Anthropology (2006), and graduate degrees in Gifted Education (Duke University, 2012) and Special Education (University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, 2014). She taught secondary mathematics, science, and human rights in North Carolina from 2006 until she began her studies in Giftedness and Creativity in 2014. Sarah began the PhD program with the goal of becoming a professor of teaching practice. Her research interests include creativity and social justice, equity in gifted programming, and human rights education.
Advisor: James Kaufman |
 |
Pam Peters is a third-year doctoral student. She is interested in issues of equity in both general and gifted education, including issues of equity in measurement. Pam’s current research projects include work with the National Center for Research on Gifted Education and Project LIFT as well as the development of the Assessment of Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Twice-Exceptionality (ATATE). Pam is active with the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Parent and Community Network and serves on the Northeast Educational Research Association (NERA) Graduate Student Issues Committee. She also serves as on-site coordinator for the Renzulli Center’s annual Confratute summer institute.
Advisor: E. Jean Gubbins |
 |
Anne Roberts, M.Ed., received her B.A. in Linguistics (2010), and her M.Ed. (2015) from the University of Mary Washington. She also attended the University of Virginia to study Speech-Language Pathology (2011). She is certified to teach English, as well as Gifted Education, in Virginia. She worked as a gifted education specialist and Advanced English teacher in Spotsylvania County Public Schools, Virginia. While teaching, she implemented a MakerSpace in her school system, started the county’s Destination Imagination program and served as the county coordinator. Anne has taught multiple summer enrichment programs in Robotics and Programming. She has also presented at local, regional, and national conferences on STEM, gifted, and literacy topics. Her research interests include underachievement, creativity in problem solving, and women in STEM.
Advisor: Catherine Little |
 |
Lihong Xie obtained her M.A. in Social Studies Education from UConn. She was a high school history teacher in China for over ten years. She is currently a first-year doctoral student and works as a graduate assistant in the Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent Development program. Her research interest lies in teaching creativity in the classroom, gifted women and creativity in cross-cultural settings.
Advisor: James Kaufman |