On a warm July evening during my first summer at ConFraTute as part of my University of Connecticut Master’s degree program—I met Dr. Marcia Gentry. Little did I know how that chance meeting would forever change the trajectory of my life and career.

Anyone who had the opportunity to meet Marcia would immediately notice that she always wore at least one piece of turquoise jewelry. In fact, turquoise was her favorite color and a frequent theme throughout many parts of her life including her choices in home décor. Turquoise has been equated to wisdom; “…the sea-green stone reminds us of the value of every person's experience. When we see rightly within our own selves, neither elevating our strengths nor glossing over our weaknesses, we develop greater compassion and empathy for others” (https://eragem.com/news/turquoise-meaning-symbolism/). I can think of no better description for the way that Marcia lived her life.

Marcia was leading scholar in our field. Her diligent work to advocate for and recognize the gifts and talents of populations that have been traditionally overlooked has moved our field forward. She was a visionary who understood that every gifted student deserves a rigorous learning experience, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual identity or orientation, or socioeconomic status. Her work evolved over the last two decades but always focused on opportunities for a broader group of students. From her early work on enrichment clusters, to cluster grouping, to her passionate work on equity, inclusion, and diversity, Marcia believed that too many talented and gifted students were being denied opportunities and hope.

For those of us who had the honor of being her graduate students, she was a mentor who cared deeply for us and held us to the highest standards. She advised us to ensure our success, not only in our graduate work, but as we moved into our roles within academia. This spirit of servant leadership and mentorship was not reserved only for her graduate students, but extended to many others in whom she recognized the value of their voice and perspective in the field of gifted education.

And for a lucky few, she was so much more. I am honored to have been one of those lucky people. Marcia was so much more than a scholar and mentor; she was my dear friend. I looked forward to our weekly, and often multiple, conversations and text messages. Yes, we would discuss the state of our field, but more often we would just share the ups and downs of our day-to-day lives, the state of politics, and just laugh because of her wicked sense of humor. Very often Marcia would be quick to quote a song lyric that fit perfectly with what was going on in the moment. Every time we got together in person there would be the mandatory game of cards or time spent on a puzzle. Marcia was an avid collector of Native American weavings, bequeathing 43 of her weavings to the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis that will become a part of their permanent collection. Her passion led me to purchase my own weavings at auctions that we attended. On every visit to West Lafayette, we would walk her gardens—she was a licensed Master Gardener—and she would show me her latest plantings. And yes, she would inevitably have us pulling weeds – we used to joke, once a grad student, always a grad student, the job never ends.  I will forever hold these times together close to my heart.

The world saw Dr. Marcia L. Gentry as a leading scholar and mentor to many of the current and up-and-coming voices in our field, whose legacy will live on for many years to come. For me and others, she was simply Marcia – our dear friend who will be forever missed.

Author: Mathew Fugate, Ph.D., is on the faculty at Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue. Dr. Fugate is the Associate Editor of NAGC's Teaching for High Potential and chair of the Special Populations Network. He serves on the Board of the Texas Association for Gifted and Talented and is on the editoral board for the Journal for Education of the Gifted.

Next Steps in NAGC’s Equity and Social Justice Initiative

Earlier this month the NAGC Board of Directors approved and released a statement and expanded vision for advancing equity and social justice for Black students in gifted education. At its meeting on July 21, 2020, the board agreed to the following next steps to begin implementation of this initiative:

• Review and revision of all policies and association procedures to ensure equity is prioritized within all networks, committees, work groups, the annual convention, and other programming efforts.

• Facilitation of virtual town hall discussions on race and gifted and talented education.

• Development of publications centered on the experience of Black gifted students.
  
  
• Expansion of the Javits-Frasier Scholars Program, NAGC’s professional development program for educators working in Title I schools.

Lastly, the board decided that the special issue of Gifted Child Quarterly commemorating the anniversary of Lewis Terman’s study, originally scheduled for publication in early 2021, will not be published. The special issue has been the topic of much debate due to controversies surrounding Terman’s views on race and eugenics. As we move forward, we must think hard about whom we honor, and both the direct and implicit messages sent by our actions. As NAGC strengthens its vision for equity and social justice, the Board believes that publishing a special issue of our academic journal on Terman’s work does not appropriately represent our organizational values.

The Board did not take this step lightly. We are committed to the principles of editorial independence both now and in the future. But in consulting with publishers, association publishing consultants, editors in education and related fields, and other professional associations in the wake of the most recent incidents of racial violence, we believe there is an important distinction between editors’ academic freedom to solicit, evaluate, and make decisions about papers for an academic journal, and decisions about which topics receive the implicit endorsement of the association by being the focus of a special issue. In this particular instance, the Board strongly believes that the proposed special issue topic does not deserve and should not receive that endorsement.

We have made a commitment to our members and the field to be more assertive regarding equity in education, a commitment we intend to fulfill both now and in the future. Please reach out to us to share your ideas of how NAGC can most effectively become a catalyst for solutions to systemic and institutionalized racism as the country strives to become a better version of itself.