WKU News & Events

November 18, 2001

Director Of WKU'S Center For Gifted Studies
Receives National Recognition For Advocacy
For Gifted Children

Bowling Green, Ky. - Dr. Julia Roberts, director of The Center for Gifted Studies at Western Kentucky

University, has been nationally recognized for her lifetime devotion to advocacy for gifted children.

Dr. Roberts is the first recipient of the National Association for Gifted

Children's David W. Belin Advocacy Award. The award is named for the late David W. Belen, who served on the NAGC Board of Directors and the NAGC National Advisory Board.

The NAGC says the award is intended to honor "an individual or group that has successfully advocated at the state or federal level to incorporate gifted education, in a significant and meaningful way, into state or federal education policy."

"What an honor it was to be nominated for the first David W. Belin Advocacy Award," Dr. Roberts said. "I was overwhelmed to learn that I was the one selected to receive the award. I want to thank the family of David Belin for making this award possible and for their ongoing support of services for gifted children. The $500 will undoubtedly go to the WKU Foundation for The Center for Gifted Studies."

Dr. Frances A. Karnes, director of Frances A. Karnes Center for Gifted Education, nominated Dr. Roberts for the award. The nomination called for two letters of recommendation plus other evidence of advocacy.

In her letter of recommendation, NAGC President Sally Reis called Dr. Roberts’ nomination for the award a "perfect match."

"Julia Roberts is one of the most dedicated and hardworking individuals in the area of gifted education in the country," Reis said. "She works tirelessly to advocate for the needs of gifted and talented students in a quiet humble way that been enormously effective in the past. She is an expert on areas related to the needs of academically talented students and is an outstanding storehouse of knowledge in the area of legislation."

Longtime gifted advocate Dan Reeder of Montgomery County Schools also recommended Dr. Roberts. "Julia simply glows with excitement at the chance to share the opportunities for gifted and talented students. In short, she personifies the ideal," he said. "Her personal direction and commitment to excellence is a ‘shining star’ that lights the way for so many."

In 1998 Dr. Roberts, a professor of teacher education, was named one of two Western Kentucky University Distinguished Professors and was named Outstanding Educator by NAGC.

She serves on the NAGC’s Board of Directors and chairs its Legislative Task Force; has been the political action coordinator and treasurer for The Association for the Gifted, a division of The Council for Exceptional Children; presented the keynote address at The International Conference for the Gifted in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, in 1999; and has addressed groups in Istanbul, Turkey, and Barcelona, Spain.

Dr. Roberts, who received her doctorate from Oklahoma State University, also has published numerous articles in professional journals and has been awarded more than $2 million in federal and state grants.

For more information, contact the Center for Gifted Studies at (270) 745-6323. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.