Alumni Awards

The School of Education is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2010 Alumni Awards, the highest honor given to graduates of the School.  Receiving Alumni Achievement Awards are Jane Clark (kinesiology: motor development), Daniel Lapsley (educational psychology), and Sharon Gersten Luckman (dance).  Receiving Outstanding Recent Alumni Awards are James Minor (educational leadership and policy analysis) and Tori Rogoski-Rutta (dance). 

Jane Clark, Sharon Gersten Luckman and Tori Rogoski-Rutta were recognized at the Lathrop Hall 100th Anniversary Celebration in April.  Daniel Lapsley and James Minor will be recognized during American Education Week in November 2010.

2010 ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Jane Clark
(PhD ’76 in kinesiology: motor development)

Following is the citation read at the awards ceremony on April 23, 2010:

Jane Clark has the rare ability to think big — to look beyond the details of individual studies and to envision the bigger picture of lifespan development.

Professor Clark chairs the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Maryland, College Park, and is internationally recognized as an expert on how infants develop posture and walking.

She has contributed significantly to the understanding of children’s motor development skills,   and has influenced practitioners working with typical children and with children who have movement problems. Her studies of children with developmental coordination disorder — so-called clumsy children unable to master skills that come naturally to their peers — have been frequently cited.

Clark has written more than 60 articles that have been published in peer-reviewed journals and more than 20 book chapters. She has presented more than 200 research papers at national and international conferences, and has served as an editor of seven books of peer-reviewed articles.

Even though research in motor development traditionally hasn’t received a lot of federal research dollars, Clark has been highly successful.  She has been a principal investigator on nearly $3 million in projects funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation. This has enabled her to train a large number of graduate students at her lab.

She has applied her findings toward efforts to improve children’s physical education by consulting and leading workshops. She is widely recognized, not just in kinesiology, but also in psychology and neuroscience. Her colleagues say that she has received almost every honor that her field can bestow.

She also is known as a strong leader. In addition to chairing a highly ranked department for the last 10 years, she has been elected to several national organizations, including the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance; the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity; and the American Academy for Kinesiology and Physical Education.

For her accomplishments and leadership, we are honored to present the UW-Madison School of Education’s Alumni Achievement Award to Jane Clark.

Sharon Gersten Luckman
(BS '67 in dance)

Following is the citation read at the awards ceremony on April 23, 2010:

Those who know Sharon Gersten Luckman describe her as a star in arts administration, but one who always recognizes the importance of the surrounding constellation. One of her professional peers says, “She understands that success often requires allowing others to have the credit.” 

Her colleagues say Luckman deserves a lot of credit for the amazing things that the Alvin Ailey Dance organization has accomplished since she became its executive director. One member of Ailey’s Board calls her “the gold standard as an arts administrator and director.”

Luckman built her reputation as a skilled leader in arts fundraising, program development and marketing in positions with New York’s 92nd Street YM/WHA Dance Center, Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation, and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. She joined the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation as development director in 1992 and became executive director in 1995.

The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater has performed for an estimated 23 million people around the world, and has been recognized by Congress as a “Cultural Ambassador to the World,” a first for a dance organization.

Ailey’s artistic director credits Luckman for leading the organization to great heights. She notes, “Having studied dance, Sharon has an understanding for the artist and the art form that is unique for a business leader.”

Under Luckman’s leadership, Ailey’s net assets have grown from $300,000 to $119 million. She led the effort to raise funds for Ailey’s new eight-floor, 77,000-square-foot home, which was dedicated in 2004.

Luckman also led initiatives to develop a joint BFA program with Fordham University; to establish the Ailey Extension, a program of dance and fitness classes for the general public (currently serving more than 30,000 people); and to expand AileyCamps for at-risk youth to 10 cities nationwide.

She has been honored with the Arts and Business Council’s Encore Award for Arts Management Excellence, the Arts Management Award for Career Service, and the Signature Award for Community Leadership from the National Association of Women Business Owners.

For her leadership in the arts, we are proud to present the UW-Madison School of Education’s Alumni Achievement Award to Sharon Gersten Luckman.

Daniel Lapsley
(Ph.D. ’82 in educational psychology)

Daniel Lapsley will be presented with the UW-Madison School of Education’s Alumni Achievement Award during American Education Week in November 2010.  His citation will be added to this website at that time. Following is a brief biography:

Daniel Lapsley is an internationally recognized researcher known for his work in adolescent development, especially in the areas of moral reasoning and teen egocentricism.  Currently the ACE collegiate professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame, Lapsley completed his PhD in educational psychology from the UW–Madison School of Education in 1982.

Lapsley’s scholarly achievements are stellar.  His 1996 book, Moral Psychology, has become a modern classic in the field.  He is the author and/or editor of seven books, three monographs and more than 100 articles, chapters and other papers.  He has served on numerous editorial boards and currently serves in this capacity for four journals, including the Journal of Educational Psychology and the Journal of Early Adolescence.

Described as a teacher extraordinaire, Lapsley in his early years at Notre Dame, regularly attracted 400 to 700 students to his class on adolescent psychology, with some having spent the night in sleeping bags outside the registrar’s office in order to get into the coveted class.  He’s also widely respected for mentoring his students.  Writes a colleague, “. . . his lab at Notre Dame has so many projects underway that he supervises up to 10 undergraduate students each semester, and they typically generate 17-20 studies a year.” 

In addition to chairing the Department of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame, Lapsley also serves as coordinator of the Academic Programs Alliance for Catholic Education.  Noting Lapsley’s administrative service to the university, a colleague writes, “He has been selfless, visionary, and nothing less than brilliant in his leadership of our academic programs in the field of education.”

Lapsley will be presented with the UW-Madison School of Education’s Alumni Achievement Award during American Education Week in November 2010.

2010 OUTSTANDING RECENT GRADUATE AWARDS

Tori Rogoski-Rutta
(B.S. ’00 in dance and dance education)

Following is the citation read at the awards ceremony on April 23, 2010:

Tori Rogoski-Rutta has a slogan: “Never surrender your dreams.”

After receiving her BFA in dance in 2000, Rogoski-Rutta pursued her own dreams by opening the Dance Education Center in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.  The center has been so successful that she has been able to hire other UW-Madison graduates to teach there.

Rogoski-Rutta shares her success with the community by donating proceeds from the Dance Education Center’s annual concerts to local charities. This effort has raised more than $50,000 for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association, Operation Boot Strap, the Children’s Museum of Portage County, Meals on Wheels, Ministry Dental, and the Red Cross.

When a fire destroyed the Dance Education Center in 2007, Rogoski-Rutta wasn’t deterred. Within two weeks, she found a temporary home and resumed classes. And she used the reconstruction of the building as an opportunity to create a state-of-the-art space for teaching dance.

Her involvement in dance education extends well beyond Stevens Point.  She has written articles for the Journal of Dance Education, Dance Magazine, and Dance Teacher Magazine. She currently serves as vice president of the Wisconsin Dance Council and has served on the board for four years.

A jury of dance professionals decided that Rogoski-Rutta not only was worthy of membership in the National Registry of Dance Educators, but chose her as its 2009 Outstanding National Registered Dance Educator. Even within an exceptional group, she stands out.

As a dance educator, Rogoski-Rutta creates an environment that promotes individual growth and teaches skills — such as setting goals and making healthy lifestyle choices — that serve students beyond dance.

It’s no surprise that students and their parents see her as a role model.  One mother, for instance, describes Rogoski-Rutta as “exactly the kind of person I want my daughter to grow up to be.”

For her accomplishments and the example she sets, we are pleased to present the UW-Madison School of Education’s Outstanding Recent Graduate Award to Tori Rogoski-Rutta.

James Minor
(PhD ’01 in educational leadership and policy analysis)

James Minor will be presented with his alumni award during American Education Week in November 2010.  His citation will be added to this website at that time. Following is a brief biography:

James Minor received his PhD in educational leadership and policy analysis from the UW–Madison School of Education in 2001.  Currently an assistant professor of higher education at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Minor is quickly becoming recognized as one of the major up-and-coming stars in the field of higher education. 

His research focuses on institutional governance and decision making in higher education, with a special interest in historically Black colleges and universities.  He is currently engaged in a three-year funded project examining the role of these institutions in terms of African American degree attainment – a project that is aimed at informing federal and state policymaking.

Minor’s research productivity is impressive: two funded research projects, 14 refereed journal articles, two book chapters, two national reports, six published essays/reviews, and more than 30 national presentations.  In addition to his first-rate scholarship, Minor has long been actively involved in educational reform, working with many school, community and civic organizations to encourage students to embrace social and educational advancement.  Writes one of his colleagues, “What impresses me most is that I believe James is motivated by a true sense of purpose . . . . his commitment to improve the lives of people through the transformative power of higher education is what distinguishes him from others.”

Minor will be presented with the UW–Madison School of Education’s Outstanding Recent Graduate Award during American Education Week in November 2010.