University of Connecticut officials announced Friday that Interim President and CEO of UConn Health Dr. Andrew Agwunobi is resigning from the university next month.
Agwunobi was appointed interim president in July 2021 following the resignation of former UConn President Thomas C. Katsouleas last March. He is leaving his position as both interim president of the university and CEO of UConn Health effective Feb. 20 for an opportunity with the private sector health care company Humana, according to a statement released by UConn.
“I had no plans to leave UConn, but a unique and unexpected opportunity in the private sector presented itself, and while I am excited about this new chapter, the decision to leave UConn was a difficult one,” Agwunobi said in a statement. “I am immensely grateful for my time at UConn and UConn Health, and I wish the Board of Trustees, the UConn Health Board of Directors, my colleagues, and our faculty, staff and students all the best.”
Agwunobi joined UConn Health as its CEO in 2014. Before that, he served as managing director and co-leader of the health performance improvement practice of Berkeley Research Group and held several other top administrative positions such as CEO of the Grady Health System in Atlanta, CEO of Providence Healthcare in Washington and Secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
The Board of Trustees will meet on Jan. 26 to appoint Radenka Maric, the university’s vice president for research, innovation and entrepreneurship, as UConn’s interim president and Dr. Bruce Liang, dean of the UConn School of Medicine, as interim CEO of UConn Health.
Maric and Liang will serve in their new positions effective Feb. 1 as Agwunobi remains “for a transition period through Feb. 20.” An immediate search will begin for the next UConn president, and the goal is to have someone named by the fall.
“Both [Maric and Liang] are outstanding longtime senior leaders at the university and have played vital roles in helping to make UConn the incredibly vibrant, successful institution it is,” UConn Board of Trustees Chairman Daniel Toscano said in a statement. “We as a board have immense confidence in them, and we will be working very closely together in the next several months. This continues to be a period of transition for UConn, as we knew it would be, and we look ahead to a successful search process at this critical time in UConn’s and Connecticut’s history.”