Last week, the 25th New England Education Research Organization (NEERO) Conference focusing on “Equity, Justice, and Renewal in Education: Bridging Gaps through Research and Innovation” was held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. University of Hartford faculty and students participated at all levels of the conference. Previous Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Hartford and current Associate Dean of Faculty at CT State Community College at Tunxis, Dr. Jessica York McKinney, is the 2025 NEERO organization president and served as a host of the conference.
Associate Dean Barb Haines presented a paper entitled, Transforming Engagement in Asynchronous Online Learning: The Role of Social Feeds in Building a Community of Inquiry. CETA Associate Professor, Dr. Theodore Sawruk, presented two papers: Building Green: An Interdisciplinary High School Arts Curriculum; focused on K-12 architecture curriculum development and Women Students of Color in Architecture: Navigating Studio Culture and The Pursuit of Inclusion continuing his ongoing scholarship into DEIB in architecture education. Hamidreza Niknampour, a graduate student pursuing his PhD in music education, investigated generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in his paper Exploring Anxiety Among Undergraduate Music Students: Gender, Instrument, and Program Year Differences. Alyssa Roush, Associate Director of Civil Rights, Equity & Compliance for RISD and current doctoral student, presented a paper on The Impact of Hegemonic Masculinity on Gender Identity Development in Undergraduate Lgbtq+ Men.
Focusing on innovation in on-line learning, Dr. Carla Adams, Co-Department Chair of Business and Hospitality at Connecticut State Community College and recent graduate ‘24, presented, Experienced Faculty and The Incorporation of Adult Learning Practices That Foster Student Belonging in The Asynchronous Online Classroom: A Community College Perspective. Alumni, Dr. Juan Gonzalez, currently working with Amherst University, presented a peer reviewed paper, Advancing Institutional Safety Nets in Student Affairs: A Phenomenological Study on Foster Care Alumni Resilience in Postsecondary Environments, scholarship related to his recent 2024 doctoral dissertation.
Jacquida Mars, Shilpa Choudhary, Hamidreza Niknampour, and Shilpa Choudhary, Maria Isabel Gariepy served as session moderators.
Six current ENHP doctoral students (Ed.D.) participated in round table presentations that included discussions related to developing and expanding their current scholarship focus. Among these students were, Mark Cassella, Chelsea Rushing Foster, Maria Isabel Gariepy, Jacquida Mars, Sandy Palala and John Young.