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The Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) has renamed its highest research honor the Dr. Mary Lynn Boscardin Excellence in Special Education Research Award, recognizing Boscardin’s decades-long impact on leadership, scholarship, mentorship and national influence on policy and practice in special education.

Boscardin, professor and program coordinator of special education leadership and administration at the College of Education, has influenced the field for more than 40 years through her work in special education. Her scholarship and mentorship have helped prepare leaders nationwide to meet the legal, instructional and equity-focused demands of serving students with disabilities.

“This well-deserved honor for Dr. Boscardin recognizes her sustained leadership, scholarship, mentorship, and advocacy that have measurably improved outcomes for students with disabilities,” says Greg Kelly, dean of the College of Education. “Her major contributions to special education administration and leadership through her research and editorial work have earned her national esteem and exemplify our college’s ethos of furthering education for a socially just world.”

At UMass Amherst, Boscardin’s leadership has extended beyond the classroom. She has directed multiple initiatives funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) Office of Special Education Programs, supporting the preparation of highly qualified special education administrators across the country. In 2021, she received a NextGen five-year, $1.25 million grant to prepare special education administrators to be culturally responsive leaders and obtain licensure in Massachusetts.

In 2012, Boscardin co-authored the first edition of the “Handbook of Leadership and Administration for Special Education” with colleagues Bonnie Billingsley and Jean Crockett. Proceeds from the publication were donated to CASE and later used to establish the organization’s research award, which honors established scholars whose careers have strengthened special education leadership.

Boscardin has also served 25 years as editor of the Journal of Special Education Leadership and CASE president from 2014–16.

The first Dr. Mary Lynn Boscardin Excellence in Special Education Research Award was presented to University Professor Emeritus of Education and Law Perry Zirkel of Lehigh University last November during the annual CASE conference in Oklahoma City.