March 28, 2025 | Mike Enright '88 (CLAS), University Communications

UConn People – April 2, 2025

If you would like to submit a passing, retirement, notable birthday, achievement or a family event of a UConn employee or retiree for consideration, please email to work@uconn.edu.

Achievement

Dr. Cato T. Laurencin, the chief executive officer of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, a cross-university institute at UConn, was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St. Lucia, an order established by Queen Elizabeth II.

Leslie Levin, a UConn Law professor, was recognized for her lifetime of work in legal ethics, media law, and evidence with the Sanford D. Levy Professional Ethics Award. This prestigious award is given annually by the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics to an individual or institution who has most contributed to the understanding and advancement in the field of professional ethics.

Dr. David C. Steffens, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at UConn School of Medicine, was named the 2025 recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. This lifetime achievement award was presented during the annual meeting of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. The AAGP is a national association representing and serving its members and the field of geriatric psychiatry.

Junbo Zhao, the Castleman Term professor in Engineering Innovation, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has received a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program grant. The program is a foundation-wide activity that offers the NSF’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

In Memoriam

Pauline Attardo, 79, of Ashford, Conn., a retired office assistant, on March 24.

Ashis Basu, a current professor in the Department of Chemistry, on March 13.

John Casteen III, 81, of Charlottesville, Va., who served as UConn’s president from 1985-90, on March 18. Casteen’s presidency at UConn focused on undergraduate program reform, expansion of the graduate program, and support for the research of a growing faculty.

Alan Guire, 71, a former employee at UConn Health, on March 14.

Bruce Marshall, 99, a retired assistant clinical professor at UConn Health, on March 17.