Baum, Lawson Davis Receive NAGC Honor

The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Special Populations Network last month honored two pioneers in the field of gifted education. Drs. Susan Baum and Joy Lawson Davis were the 2019 recipients of the Alexinia Baldwin Gifted & Special Populations award. The award honors those who “contributed to the mission of the Special Populations Network (SPN); advanced the recognition of the talents and abilities of specific populations, while recognizing the impact of other factors on the process of talent development; and created change and had an impact among gifted children from special populations,” according to NAGC. Dr. Alexinia Baldwin, a groundbreaker in supporting the needs of black gifted students, was the first recipient of this special populations award, which was renamed for her after her death in 2017. Baldwin started the first gifted program in the nation for African-American students in the then-segregated schools of Alabama. She also was the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate from the University of Connecticut. Baum, who currently serves as director of the Bridges 2e Center for Research and Professional Development and provost of the Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education, was honored for her work in supporting twice-exceptional learners — those who are gifted but also face learning challenges. “I am honored to receive this award,” Baum said. “It has a lot of meaning on so many levels.” Baum, who has researched, presented, and published extensively on the needs of 2e kids, referenced her beginnings in the field when, at her first teaching job in New Jersey, the school asked her to create a class for smart kids who had learning disabilities. “It started with those six kids — I had absolutely no idea that this would become my life’s work,” said Baum, who after two years transferred to the “regular” classroom and more clearly saw the differences in pedagogy and student needs. Baum references a student named Neil, a “poster child” for 2e who showed her that “everything I had learned in my undergraduate and master’s degrees in special ed was wrong,” she said. “Everything I thought was going to work backfired.” This led her to pursue her doctorate with Dr. Joseph Renzulli at the University of Connecticut. Her dissertation explored “why kids like Neil were not being served correctly,” Baum said. Since then, “I just haven’t stopped.” [perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]It started with those six kids [in an L.D.-gifted class]. I had absolutely no idea that this would become my life’s work. — Dr. Susan Baum[/perfectpullquote] “Susan is the pioneer — like Alexinia was for African-American children — in establishing programs for 2e children,” said Renzulli, who was Baum’s doctoral advisor at UConn. “Starting the 2e movement in this country is what she did. Starting her own graduate school in the area of 2e is something very, very remarkable. There’s no award more fitting, because this is a pioneer’s award, and Susan truly is one of those pioneers.” Baum was nominated for the award by Marcia Gentry, director of GERI Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute and professor of educational psychology & research methodology at Purdue University. “Susan was [talking about] 2e before 2e was cool,” said Gentry, who also received her doctorate from UConn. “Susan was [about] 2e before 2e was a thing. “She said, ‘Students with disabilities have strengths and that’s what we should do is focus on their strengths, not their weaknesses.’” Gentry’s doctoral advisor at UConn was Dr. Sally Reis, who was recently inducted into the Bridges 2e Center Hall of Fame. But Gentry notes Baum as an unofficial advisor as well. “She’s absolutely one of the world’s best teachers. She’s a teacher’s teacher. She can take the most interesting concept and turn it into something that everybody can understand,” Gentry said. “Susan is the most welcoming, positive, kind, caring human being I’ve ever had the pleasure of being around.” Baum’s son Jonathan presented her with the award.

Lawson Davis was recognized for her work in diversity and family advocacy — specifically for her “battles against barriers impacting talent development, and [her] uncompromising efforts to create positive change for special populations of gifted individuals.” She was nominated by Dr. Michelle Frazier Trotman Scott, director of graduate affairs and professor of special education at the University of West Georgia. Trotman Scott also serves as chair of the NAGC Special Populations Network. Lawson Davis is “not afraid to use a platform to advocate for students from special populations,” Trotman Scott said. “There is something about her that she pushes through. She shows up every time and she doesn’t waver [regarding] what she needs to do and what needs to take place.” Trotman Scott pointed to Lawson Davis’ three decades of work publishing and editing chapters and books, managing social platforms, keynoting and presenting at conferences, and being highly recruited for consultations by schools nationally and internationally. Lawson Davis has been a leader in spreading knowledge of and advocating for gifted black students, authoring Bright, Talented, & Black: A Guide for Families of African American Gifted Learners. She also co-founded the Dr. Martin Jenkins Scholars Award, which is given to highly gifted black students for recognition of their achievements. Lawson Davis was not able to attend the ceremony in person but participated via live video conference. “Receiving this award named in honor of one of the greatest pioneers in gifted education is so humbling,” Lawson Davis said. [perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]We do the work because it has to be done and we continue to do this work because the answers haven’t been found yet. — Dr. Joy Lawson Davis[/perfectpullquote] Lawson Davis met Baldwin and has used Baldwin’s work in her own efforts to bring equity to gifted programs. “Equity Advocacy is difficult work, so many challenges and barriers, but we press on because we know in the long term what we do will benefit so many,” she said. “Dr. Baldwin knew this, she was strong, outspoken and relentless, she led by example. I am honored to receive an award named after her.” Lawson Davis, who also was awarded the 2019 Lifetime Achievement award from SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted), said she is motivated to do this work for students who are “overlooked, made invisible, denigrated.” “We do the work because it has to be done and we continue to do this work because the answers haven’t been found yet,” she said. “And where there are answers, people [need to be] doing the work.”