OHIO PROFESSOR PRESENTED WITH MENSA FOUNDATION’S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Contact: Hilary Moore
817/607-0060 

ARLINGTON, TEXAS  (8/23/07) -The Mensa Education & Research Foundation has presented Dr. Jane M. Piirto of Ashland, Ohio, with its Lifetime Achievement Award for research in the area of human intelligence, especially giftedness. The award was presented at the Ashland University annual faculty meeting by Greg Timmers, president of the Foundation. With this award, Dr. Piirto received a $1,000 honorarium and a commemorative plaque and medal. The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented every other year.

“When deciding who should be honored with the Mensa Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, we look for someone who has had an incredible impact on the intellectual community through his or her work in research, theory or other scholarly areas,” said Greg Timmers, Mensa Education & Research Foundation President. “Over the years, Dr. Piirto has educated the public through a long list of publications related to the gifted. Her dedication has extended beyond teaching to investigating how talented individuals learn, and placing such individuals with appropriate experts, effectively translating research into practical benefits for society. We are honored to present Dr. Piirto with this award.”

A faculty member at Ashland University since 1988, Dr. Piirto directs AU's Talent Development Education (TDE) program. She teaches graduate courses in the Masters of Education (M.Ed.) course of study, teaches qualitative research in the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) course of study, and teaches undergraduates in educational psychology and creativity. She is a consultant, teacher, and speaker throughout the United States and abroad, and has been a teacher and school administrator in Michigan, South Dakota, Ohio, and in New York City, where she was the principal of the Hunter College Campus Schools. Dr. Piirto has written more than a hundred publications of scholarly articles, poems, short stories, and essays.

The Mensa Lifetime Achievement Award was created in 1999 to honor an individual’s lifetime of contributions to the field of intelligence, giftedness or creativity. To win this award, an individual must have published an exceptional body of work in research, theory or other scholarly areas over a period of not less than 15 years. Winners may be educators and/or practitioners in the fields of giftedness, brain function, human intelligence, creativity or intelligence testing. To learn more about this award, visit www.mensafoundation.org.

For more than thirty years, the Mensa Education & Research Foundation has been a strong voice in supporting intelligence. The Foundation fosters the best and brightest through scholarships and awards, and encourages research and intellectual inquiry through the Mensa Research Journal and various Colloquiums. Governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees, the Mensa Foundation is a 501c(3) organization and is funded by support from American Mensa, Mensa members and other charitable donations. To learn more about the Foundation, log on to www.mensafoundation.org.

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