Joseph Renzulli, PhD is a professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut (UCONN) where he also has served as the director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented for the past 20 years. Renzulli's research has targeted the identification and development of creativity and giftedness in young people, and on curricular and organizational models for differentiated learning environments that contribute to total school improvement. A focus of his work has also been on applying the pedagogy of gifted education to the improvement of learning for all students.
Renzulli is a University of Connecticut Distinguished Professor and holds an honorary doctor of laws degree from McGill University. The American Psychological Association named him among the 25 most influential psychologists in the world in 2009. He received the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Award for Innovation In Education and lists as his proudest contribution the annual summer Confratute program at UCONN, which began in 1978, and has served over 35,000 educators from around the world.
His most recent work is a computer-based assessment of student strengths integrated with an Internet based search engine that matches highly challenging enrichment activities and resources to individual student profiles. He is co-author of the laminated reference guide, Gifted Education Strategies for All (Dude Publishing) and presenter on the classic DVD, Developing The Gifts and Talents of ALL Students: The Schoolwide Enrichment Model, both by National Professional Resources, Inc./Dude Publishing.
