Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Money
  • Election 2020
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Money
    Election 2020
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

UConn’s Hogan resigns unexpectedly; briefest presidency in 80 years

  • by Robert A. Frahm
  • May 12, 2010
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

University of Connecticut President Michael Hogan’s announcement that he will resign to become president of the University of Illinois caught university and state officials by surprise Tuesday.

University trustees reportedly learned of the resignation only hours before it was publicly announced.

Hogan is leaving after just three years in office, the shortest tenure for a UConn president since George A. Works resigned in 1930 after one year.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell issued a statement saying she was “deeply disappointed that he is leaving the university at such a critical time, particularly on the heels of the landmark financial investment we have just made to the UConn Health Center.”

The announcement came only a week after the state legislature approved a $362 million plan to renovate and expand the UConn Health Center.

“We had assumed President Hogan’s commitment to UConn was a long term one; it should have been,” Rell said. “However, we wish him well in his new endeavor and view this as an opportunity to attract a top-tier college president who will commit himself or herself – heart and soul – for many years to our flagship state university, guiding it and shaping it as an institution second to none in the nation.”

In Tuesday’s announcement, UConn said Hogan’s tenure was marked by accomplishments such as an increase in federal grants, better recruitment of minority students, and an increase in the quality of incoming students. Hogan’s presidency, however, also was marked by controversy, including criticism of the cost of renovations of the president’s office.

Attempts to reach UConn Board of Trustees Chairman Lawrence McHugh late Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Hogan came to UConn in 2007 from the University of Iowa, where he was executive vice president and provost. Before that, he was executive dean of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State University.

He will assume duties in July at the University of Illinois, a school of more than 71,000 students – more than twice the size of UConn – on campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield.

In a statement issued by UConn, Hogan said, “UConn is a wonderful university. I’ve made many lifetime friends here, enjoyed working with a top-notch administrative team, and celebrated the many accomplishments of our faculty, students and staff.  It’s with a degree of sadness that I’m leaving, but I can do so knowing that we’ve accomplished many of the goals that the Board of Trustees set out for me when I began my term as UConn’s president three years ago.”

Hogan will step down at UConn on June 30.

“It’s good that he’s going back to the Midwest because it was not a good fit in Connecticut,” said state Sen. Mary Ann Handley, D-Manchester, co-chairman of the legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee. “He’ll be more comfortable there than in the state universities of New England, where the legislature does play a more important role. . . .I had the feeling he grew up in a system where he was not used to being challenged.”

Some students also have been critical of Hogan, contending he has not done enough to protect the quality of the university in a slumping economy.

“Classes are expanding, and the faculty is not increasing,” said Jason Ortiz, a senior from Norwich and a columnist for the Daily Campus student newspaper. “I was a little shocked” by the resignation, he said. “I see it a little bit as running away from a lot of problems.”

At the University of Illinois, interim President Stanley Ikenberry said he was ecstatic about the appointment. “Those of us at Illinois have followed and admired Mike Hogan’s academic career for some time.  I admire all he has been able to accomplish and look forward to his arrival in Illinois,” he said.

University of Illinois Board of Trustees Chair Christopher G. Kennedy added: “President Hogan is an extraordinary leader in American higher education.  The University of Illinois is thrilled with the prospect that he and his wife Virginia will return to their roots in the Midwest.  We look forward to his seasoned leadership talent and extensive experience to strengthen the excellence of our university.”

U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut issued a statement saying Hogan “has continued the University of Connecticut’s long tradition of excellence.

“His leadership at the University and his ability to work with students, alumni, administrators and government officials will be difficult to replace. However, I am confident that the next President of the University will be able to pick up where President Hogan left off and continue to build upon UConn’s reputation as a world class university.”

 

 

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert A. Frahm

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Lamont: ‘I don’t want to build Killingly’ Energy Center
by Jan Ellen Spiegel

The governor hinted at slowing permitting and being able to “play some games there.”

Advocates call for closure of Northern Correctional, reinvestment in community supports
by Kelan Lyons

The coalition says the $19 million spent annually to run the prison can help provide housing services and employment.

Miguel Cardona’s ideas about education were forged in Meriden, CT. Now he will bring them to Washington, D.C.
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas and Adria Watson

Miguel Cardona's experiences in Meriden will likely be front-of-mind as he coordinates policy as U.S. Secretary of Education.

State Rep. Scanlon launches tax fairness debate with proposed $450M break for poor, middle class families
by Keith M. Phaneuf

A new proposal Tuesday would give middle class families with children their largest state income tax break in a decade.

Treason is in the air
by David Holahan

Abraham Lincoln had been elected but had yet to assume the presidency when southern states started seceding from the Union in the months before his March 4, 1961 inauguration. Four others would follow that spring. American soldiers —like Robert E. Lee, who had taken an oath of loyalty to the nation that he had served since 1825— defected to the Confederacy. By joining the rebellion Lee and fellow travellers became, in effect, traitors.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The change in leadership must not lead to complacency
by Jenna Van Donselaar

We are beginning 2021, and most people are far done with election talk. Sure, the polls are closed, and the results are in, and it is time to move on. I am weary from the hours I spent texting voters this fall, and I’d like to think all my efforts were worth it. But the work is far from done.

Opinion Treason is in the air
by David Holahan

Abraham Lincoln had been elected but had yet to assume the presidency when southern states started seceding from the Union in the months before his March 4, 1961 inauguration. Four others would follow that spring. American soldiers —like Robert E. Lee, who had taken an oath of loyalty to the nation that he had served since 1825— defected to the Confederacy. By joining the rebellion Lee and fellow travellers became, in effect, traitors.

Opinion Trump’s reaction to defeat further confirms urgency for school focus on social emotional skills 
by Sandra M. Chafouleas 

Imagine what would happen if a preschooler didn’t “use their words” when they got upset about sharing, instead stomping around yelling while adults simply observed in silence. Think about what the school climate would feel like if a student punched another during recess while others watched without seeking help.  Now consider the actions – and inactions – by Trump Jan. 6 as the electoral vote counts occurred at the U.S. Capitol.

Opinion Is Trump leading a cult?
by Elena Sada

My experience as a former cult member and researcher in the field of Social Sciences earned me the ability to identify narcissism and cultish tendencies. Furthermore, as a former  New York City resident who kept abreast of interviews with the city’s apparent “movers and shakers,” I often questioned Trump’s qualifications as a leader, let alone as national presidential leader.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO