The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) presented Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Professor Emerita of Education and founding director of the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary, with the 2017 Ann F. Isaacs Founder’s Memorial Award during the general session at the NAGC 64th Annual Convention in Charlotte, NC.

“Dr. VanTassel-Baska’s contributions to the field of gifted education are numerous,” said Sally Krisel, NAGC Board President. “She is a past president of NAGC, during which time she oversaw the adoption of the new teacher standards for gifted education, as well as organized, chaired and edited the proceedings from the National Leadership Conference on Promising Low-Income Learners.”

The Ann F. Isaacs Founder’s Memorial Award recognizes distinct service.

Dr. VanTassel-Baska developed a graduate program and a research and development center in gifted educatio at The College of William and Mary. She also initiated and directed the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University. Prior to her work in higher education, Dr. VanTassel-Baska served as the state director of gifted programs for Illinois, as a regional director of a gifted service center in the Chicago area, as coordinator of gifted programs for the Toledo, Ohio public school system, and as a teacher of gifted high school students in English and Latin.

Dr. VanTassel-Baska published more than 28 books and over 550 journal articles, book chapters, and scholarly reports throughout her distinguished career.

###

The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) is a membership organization whose mission is to support those who enhance the growth and development of gifted and talented children through education, advocacy, community building, and research. 

CONTACT:  Cathleen Healy, chealy@nagc.org/202-365-4636

Follow NAGC on Twitter and Facebook.