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Dr. Lynette Chandler: “We were at an IDEC meeting and we knew that Jeanette was going to be retiring and so we wanted to kind of honor Jeanette. So we thought about developing an award in her name and this was an award that was going to be given to someone in the state of Illinois who has both made a difference in the lives of children with disabilities and their families. That could be someone who is working directly with children and their families or it could be someone who has impacted at a state level or is teaching at a university. So it’s really open to anyone that kind of honors the vision that Jeanette had for our state.”
Dr. Mary-alayne Hughes: “When I think of Jeanette I always think of someone who is very scholarly. On the other hand she is also very pragmatic and practical and she does a really great job of taking information, the research that is out there and translating it into practice. I think she’s very passionate about wanting the actual research and evidence to be out in the world in such a way that practitioners can use it.”
Dr. Susan Fowler: “The part that I enjoyed most with Jeanette was when I was actually a participant in the PIWI program- parents interacting with infants, with my son Chris, around 18 months. I joined a group and the care and compassion and humor that Jeanette displayed in working with really a diverse group of families, from very young moms to pretty old moms was just amazing.”
Dr. Bernadette Laumann: “I was very excited when I received the Jeanette McCollum Service to the Field award because I was actually quite surprised, but I think what was most meaningful to me was that I’ve always admired Jeanette as a mentor and as a friend and as someone who has really dedicated her career to making things in our field accessible to all children and to families.”
Dr. Sallee Beneke: “Jeanette is such an excellent example to the rest of us. She has led the field of early childhood in her research on personnel preparation, on parent child interactions and policy. Her work has influenced not only her students at the University of Illinois, but also early childhood special education students across the country. We are proud to share the field of early childhood education with Jeanette McCollum.”
This video was created by the Illinois Division for Early Childhood. For more information about the Jeanette A. McCollum award please visit: Illinois-dec.org
Return to the Jeanette A. McCollum Award for Service to the Field main page.