Susan Assouline (BA ‘75, EDS ‘84, PhD ‘88), who stepped down as director of the Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development on Aug. 1, 2022, recently received the 2024 NAGC Ann F. Issacs Founder’s Memorial Award from the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC).
Assouline, who is the director emerita of the Belin-Blank Center, was selected due to her distinguished service to NAGC and gifted children. She receievd the award at NAGC’s annual convention, which was held November 21-24 in Seattle, Washington.
The following excerpt is from NAGC’s press release:
“The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) is pleased to announce that Dr. Susan Assouline will receive the 2024 NAGC Ann F. Isaacs Founder’s Memorial Award for her distinguished service to NAGC and gifted children.
Assouline recently retired as a distinguished faculty member and school psychology professor at the University of Iowa’s College of Education, where she served as director of the internationally renowned Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development. While at Iowa, she also became the first woman in the College of Education to be designated as the Myron and Jacquelin N. Blank Endowed Chair in Gifted Education.
In making the announcement, NAGC President Shelagh Gallagher described Assouline as a lifelong contributor to the field of gifted and talented research and professional development.
‘For over three decades, Dr. Assouline has served as a leader in the gifted education field, authoring innumerable books, reports, research articles, and book chapters. She led one of the field's most influential centers. Her work on the seminal reports A Nation Deceived and A Nation Empowered, which present the evidence supporting academic acceleration, helped shift education policies around the nation,’ Gallagher noted. ‘Coupled with the countless hours she has served in support of NAGC’s mission, Dr. Assouline clearly serves as an exceptional example of commitment to the field. I will be honored to present her with the Ann Isaacs Founder’s Award in November.’”
