Lee Hay, Ph.D. - President Emeritus
Lee Hay is a retired educator who was a high school teacher of English and former district assistant superintendent and superintendent of schools. Upon retirement, he became the director of the CT Alternate Route to Teacher Certification for the CT Department of Higher Education, and then a staff associate for the Connecticut Association of School Administrators. He has also served as an adjunct instructor for UConn, Boston College, and Sacred Heart University.
Among his many honors was being named the National Teacher of the Year in 1983, the second Connecticut teacher to be so honored. He was appointed to numerous state and national committees including NASA’s Teacher in Space selection committee, the Presidential Scholar’s Commission, and Connecticut’s original Common Core of Learning Commission. He has also been honored as a distinguished alumnus by his high school, SUNY Cortland, and UConn.
Lee earned his B.A. in English at SUNY Cortland and his M.A. in Theatre and Ph.D. in Curriculum at UConn. He has presented keynote speeches and workshops for educators in 44 states and several countries. Among the highlights of his career was being elected President of ASCD, an international education organization of over 150,000 members in over 100 countries.
Currently, Lee is the volunteer manager of the Cornerstone Food Cupboard in Rockville, CT. He and his wife of over 50 years live in Vernon. His son and family live in Hudson, MA and his daughter and family live in Clifton Park, NY.
The many vital services that CCGC provides for children and their families is especially important to Lee because his daughter is a Special Education teacher and his wife was a paraprofessional in Special Education. He also has a grandson who has been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.