Sorely Missed, but Fondly Remembered

Editor’s Note: Ann Robinson made her Annual Fund donation this year in recognition of Abe Tannenbaum, a Columbia University Teachers College Professor Emeritus and social psychologist who pioneered a ground-breaking model to measure potential giftedness in children and adolescents. Dr. Tannenbuam, who passed away in June 2014, was a mentor who had an indelible influence on Ann’s career and aspirations. In 2012, Ann was privileged to present Dr. Tannenbaum with the Ann Fabe Isaacs Founders Award at NAGC’s annual convention in Atlanta. Ann, an NAGC past president, generously shared a few inspiring reflections on this important mentor who helped to fashion her future:

Abe's careful scholarship, his vision for the emergence and development of talents, and his genuine gifts of sharing, modeling, and mentoring SHAPED me.

I first met Abe Tannenbaum when I was a doctoral student at Purdue University. He was the principle investigator or director of a U.S. Department of Education grant, the Graduate Leadership in Education Project (GLEP). Dr. Tannenbaum’s vision was to bring together young academics-in-training in gifted education from seven universities each summer in order to build a cohort of colleagues over a period of years. I was fortunate to be among that cohort and the experience enriched both my professional and personal life immensely.

Dr. Tannenbaum’s work on the history of ideas in our conceptualizations of giftedness was encyclopedic. He well understood that a field moves forward more insightfully if its adherents know and appreciate their own intellectual roots. His careful scholarship, his vision for the emergence and development of talents, and his genuine gifts of sharing, modeling, and mentoring shaped me. He is sorely missed, but fondly remembered.

Abe was precise, but unfailingly gracious. No question was too irrelevant or ill conceived. He patiently answered all of my inquiries thoughtfully and eloquently. Over the years, even after GLEP was officially over, we kept in touch.

Decades after I met him that first summer at the Teachers College gathering, Dr. Tannenbaum never failed to take an interest in my current enthusiasms. In fact, in the final year of his life, he graciously agreed to write a foreword to my book A Century of Contributions to Gifted Education: Illuminating Lives. His gesture was a precious gift of time and energy. I’m honored and pleased to recognize his memory through a gift to NAGC’s Annual Fund.

Please consider giving in YOUR mentor’s name.