The Executive Committee reviewed nominations for President of the WCGTC, and one nominee met all requirements as outlined in the Bylaws. That nominee is Julia Link Roberts from the United States. With only one nominee, no election is required. Julia has accepted the nomination and will begin her term at the conclusion of the World Conference in Sydney.
Julia Link Roberts is the Mahurin Professor of Gifted Studies at Western Kentucky University. She is the Executive Director of The Center for Gifted Studies at WKU and The Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky. In her role at The Center for Gifted Studies, she directs summer and Saturday programs as well as travels internationally with young people. Dr. Roberts has been a member of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children since 1986 when she participated in her first World Conference in Salt Lake City. Since that time, she has attended 13 World Conferences sponsored by the WCGTC. Dr. Roberts was elected to the Executive Committee in 2009 and has served as treasurer of the organization since that time. She was chair of the committee that hosted the World Conference in Louisville in 2013. Dr. Roberts has been honored with the Acorn Award (2011) by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education as the outstanding professor at a Kentucky four-year university, the Distinguished Educator Award by the Kentucky Association of Teacher Educators (2015), and the National Association for Gifted Children Service Award (2012). Dr. Roberts has published seven books as well as numerous chapters and journal articles. Her scholarship has focused on curriculum and strategies for gifted students, advocacy, schools with a focus on mathematics and science, and policies that support gifted education.
Nominations for Executive Committee members are now open. Margaret Sutherland (Scotland) and Umit Davasligil (Turkey) will have two more years remaining in their term. Thus, nominees may not be from Scotland, Turkey, or the United States. Nominations can be submitted before March 24 at https://www.world-gifted.org/wcgtc-nomination-form-executive-committee-members/.