For more than 40 years, Steve Tonelson, Ph.D. (‘76), professor emeritus of special education and early childhood education, shared his wit and wisdom with students and colleagues. Generous with his time and his advice, his door was always open — and more often than not, laughter spilled through it into the hallway. He imbued others with his self-confidence and helped them find the courage to think bigger, which is why his death on September 17 is so keenly felt by those who knew him. Dr. Tonelson is survived by his wife, Lona, and daughters, Claire and Rachel.
Robert “Bob” Gable, Ph.D., witnessed that generous humor up close for more than 40 years. The two met when Dr. Gable interviewed for a faculty position at the University, then built a partnership and deep friendship around different but complementary expertise.
Their work took them to conferences, universities and even Vietnam. On countless drives to Richmond for meetings, they talked the entire way there and back — about their work, their families and nearly everything else.
What Dr. Gable remembers first, however, is Dr. Tonelson’s laughter.
“We were on task, but we would find a way to make it funny,” Dr. Gable said. “I loved him as a brother. We were very honest with each other and protective of one another. I could not have asked for a better friend.”
He also remembers how readily Dr. Tonelson made himself available to other people. Faculty and students knew they could stop by, and he was almost always willing to pause what he was doing to listen.
Their projects shared an ambitious goal: improving the life chances of children with disabilities. For them, each new funding opportunity was not simply a set of instructions to follow. It was a chance to find the distinctive idea — the “hook,” as Dr. Gable called it — that could make each project matter more.
That approach helped produce millions of dollars in external funding and programs that reached educators throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Dr. Tonelson’s love for ϲ and the Darden College was inseparable from his commitment to the people they serve. That commitment extended throughout Virginia and into Norfolk, where he served as a member and later chair of the Norfolk Public Schools Board.
The University was part of Dr. Tonelson’s life long before he joined its faculty. His father, A. Rufus Tonelson, Ph.D., served as dean of the Darden School of Education (now known as the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies), and the Tonelson Garden at the University Webb Center still bears his father’s name. Dr. Steve Tonelson earned his M.S.Ed. in special education from the University in 1976 and returned as a faculty member in 1980. Over more than four decades, he added his own chapter to the Tonelson family history — one his colleagues see most clearly in the people he mentored.
Dr. Tonelson was always looking forward, but he saw the future most clearly through students. The first cohort of special education doctoral students — Jonna Bobzien, Ph.D. (‘96, ‘03, ‘09), Ann Maydosz, Ph.D. (‘98, ‘00, ‘09), Sabra Lynch, Ph.D. (‘06, ‘10), and the late Kimberly Hughes (‘00, ‘03) — formed a close bond under the guidance of Drs. Tonelson and Gable. Dr. Tonelson’s mentorship continued to shape their work throughout their careers. The department continues to honor Hughes through an award established in her memory, while Drs. Bobzien, Maydosz and Lynch remain on the University’s faculty, mentoring another generation of educators.
Dr. Tonelson taught doctoral students in his program and across the College more than how to research and teach; he taught them how to become colleagues. He included doctoral students in faculty meetings and searches and invited them to contribute to decision-making before they necessarily saw themselves as professionals who belonged in those spaces.
Dr. Bobzien remembers that Tonelson’s mentorship was also deeply personal. He noticed when junior faculty were struggling, checked on them and asked what he could do to help.
“Steve was a supportive and enthusiastic mentor to many of us, always encouraging us and lifting us up,” she said. “I truly wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for his mentorship.”
Today, Dr. Bobzien leads the University’s Center for the Implementation and Evaluation of Education Systems (CIEES). Drs. Tonelson, Gable and Maydosz established the center in 2019 to bring their growing portfolio of state and federal education projects together. Its external funding grew from more than $50 million at Dr. Tonelson’s retirement in 2022 to approximately $96 million today.
Dr. Maydosz first encountered Dr. Tonelson in a one-credit undergraduate course after returning to college in her 40s. When she questioned the practices she saw in her practicum placement, Dr. Tonelson did not dismiss her concerns or prescribe an answer. He listened and affirmed. That collegial conversation helped set her on a path through undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in education and special education — and eventually into the work that became CIEES.
“He was an education visionary who never failed to draw attention to the big ideas first,” Dr. Maydosz said. “He always wanted to provide more than what was being asked for in our grant proposals. His driving focus was maximizing the good that could come from the award.”
Dr. Tonelson’s ambition was guided by a clear sense of purpose. Although he was trained in early childhood education, teaching third grade showed him what happened when children who needed specialized support received less, or less-skilled, attention. He decided to do something about it.
One result was the Commonwealth Special Education Endorsement Program (CSEEP), which helps provisionally licensed special education teachers complete full certification while they are already serving students with disabilities. By providing financial and administrative support without sacrificing rigor, CSEEP has helped prepare more than 2,000 special education teachers to date, and their influence extends to thousands more children across Virginia.
As Dr. Tonelson’s graduate teaching assistant, Dr. Lynch experienced firsthand how deeply he invested in the people he mentored.
She entered the doctoral program interested in research and nervous about teaching adults. Dr. Tonelson had his own brand of constructive criticism. “His feedback was the sort that allowed someone to laugh at a mistake, learn and try again,” she said. When a faculty position opened, he encouraged her toward an opportunity she might otherwise have passed by.
Today, even in classes of more than 100, Dr. Lynch makes a point of getting to know each of her students and letting them know she’s there for whatever they need.
“They’re more than just a student filling a seat in my class,” she said. “They all deserve care and support. That’s the way Dr. Tonelson taught, and so that’s how I teach.”
She still remembers a question he posed in the program’s human growth and development course: What is wisdom, and where does it come from? Dr. Tonelson wanted future educators to leave with more than a command of the material. He wanted them to understand how knowledge should be used to serve others.
While Dr. Tonelson made a tremendous impact on his program and department, he was also instrumental in shaping many throughout the Darden College. Tammi Dice, Ph.D. (‘96, ‘00), Dean of the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies, said, “Although we were in different departments, Dr. Tonelson supported me as a junior faculty member, offering thoughtful guidance on research, service and community engagement. Years later, when I became dean, he continued to offer sage advice. I will carry the lessons I learned from him throughout the rest of my career.”
For the colleagues and students he encouraged, challenged and made laugh, his influence remains tangible — and so does his absence