Director of UNT Child Development Laboratory earns national award

Friday, April 5, 2013 - 15:43
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DENTON (UNT), Texas – Dr. Carol Hagen, director of the University of North Texas Child Development Laboratory and senior lecturer in UNT’s College of Education, has been named Director of the Year by the National Coalition for Campus Children’s Centers.

“Dr. Hagen is especially noted for combining her academic responsibilities with the demanding but satisfying job of administering your campus laboratory school,” the coalition stated in announcing her award. “Her graduate students, staff and families provided documentation of the impact she has had on their lives and the lives of children who attend the center. In particular, Dr. Hagen has had long-standing success in securing grants to support student parents’ needs for child care.”

Hagen was honored at the organization’s national conference March 13 – 16 in Williamsburg, Va.

“I am delighted to be receiving this award from the National Coalition for Campus Children’s  Centers, and am very grateful to all those who helped to bring this about,” Hagen said. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to work at UNT all these years, and I can’t think of a more rewarding line of work to be in than to spend my days working with young children and the undergraduate and graduate students who will help to shape their lives.”

Hagen served as a master early childhood teacher in the Child Development Lab from 1984 to 1987 and has served as director since 1988. Hagen also was recently named 2012 Teacher Educator of the Year by the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children.

UNT’s Child Development Laboratory provides a high-quality preschool program and serves as a research center and training site for students in the fields of early childhood education, child development and play therapy, and also supports the work of students in other College of Education courses as well as programs outside the college. About 55 children are enrolled in the Child Development Laboratory, which has a waiting list for enrollment. About 1,000 UNT students visit the Child Development Laboratory each semester to further their studies.

The National Coalition for Campus Children’s Centers consists of more than 500 professionals who work closely with campus-based programs in the United States.

 

About UNT’s College of Education

UNT’s College of Education prepares students to contribute to the advancement of education, health and human development. Founded in 1890 as a teacher’s training college, UNT now enrolls more than 4,000 students in the College of Education, which consists of four departments — counseling and higher education; educational psychology; kinesiology, health promotion and recreation; and teacher education and administration. UNT’s College of Education certifies about 1,000 teachers a year — making it the largest producer of new teachers in the north Texas region. Students are also prepared for careers as researchers, counselors, leaders, physical activity and health promotion specialists, child development and family studies specialists and more.

 

 

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