The Foundation is thrilled to announce the Presidential Scholars award named in honor of Dr. Felice Kaufmann, and presented to her in its first year, 2017.  Kaufmann, who has conducted a longitudinal study on U.S. Presidential Scholars, is a leading consultant in gifted education.  She is currently serving as a research assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the New York University-Langone School of Medicine.

After earning a master's degree from Columbia Teachers College, Kaufmann studied with the legendary creativity expert E. Paul Torrance at the University of Georgia, where she wrote her dissertation on the first five classes of Presidential Scholars (1964-68). She has continued that longitudinal study throughout her career, as well as serving as "housemother" during National Recognition Week in the 1970s.  Kaufmann has been a teacher and counselor of gifted children; a professor at Auburn University, the University of New Orleans, and the University of Kentucky; a keynote speaker across North America, Europe, and Australia; and a member of the boards of directors of the National Association for Gifted Children and the Association for the Gifted. She gave two presentations--one of them by popular demand--at the 50th Anniversary Summit of alumni in Washington, DC, in 2014.

In future years, the Kaufmann Award will be given in recognition of individuals outside the ranks of Presidential Scholar alumni in recognition of their efforts to support and understand Presidential Scholars or to support the U. S. Presidential Scholars Program, Foundation, or Alumni Association.