Faculty

Laura Donorfio receives two university teaching awards

Laura Donorfio
Laura Donorfio (L), Aynsley Diamond (R)

Associate Professor Laura Donorfio received the 2018-2019 University Teaching Fellows Award from the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Laura will be partnering with CETL over the course of the next academic year on workshops and events through CETL.

Laura is also the recipient of the 2018 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) Excellence in Teaching Award in Behavioral and Life Sciences.

Laura is an exceptional instructor, highly dedicated to the education of our students, particularly in Waterbury, not only through her classroom instruction, but through the many other advising and enrichment opportunities that she provides to students. In the words of one of her colleagues, Laura “engages students that most professors underestimate, and she inspires student learning to a level most teachers never reach.” And in the words of one of her former students, “I look up to Dr. Donorfio for her caring nature, her work ethic, and her contribution to UConn and HDFS. I highly encourage all of my friends and peers at UConn to take her classes because I have learned more from Dr. Donorfio than any syllabus and class description could ever suggest. She taught us how to be responsible, hardworking, free-thinking, and open-minded members of society and individuals.”

UConn Child Development Laboratories achieve NAEYC accreditation

Anne Bladen

The UConn Child Development Laboratories recently achieved a new, five-year term of NAEYC accreditation. They scored very high across all categories, putting them in the top 25% of the already small group of programs that actually get accredited at all. As those involved in the reaccreditation process can attest, the amount of work that goes into the accreditation application is enormous, and so I commend Anne Bladen, and the other staff and teachers in the Child Labs for all of their hard work to make this happen.

Rebecca Puhl’s work published in American Academy of Pediatrics

Rebecca PuhlProfessor Rebecca Puhl recently coauthored a policy statement that was published in the American Academy of Pediatrics, which addresses the social and emotional impact of obesity in youth and encourages pediatricians to improve supportive care for children and families struggling with weight.  Read some of the press coverage in the New York Times, Reuters, and NBC.