Director of News and Editorial Communications

Tom Breen

Tom Breen has been at UConn since 2012, serving as a news writer, deputy spokesperson, manager for special projects, UConn Today editor, and, as of January 2021, director of news and editorial communications. Prior to UConn, he worked as a reporter for The Associated Press, covering health care, religion, and state government in West Virginia and North Carolina, and before the AP, he worked at newspapers in Connecticut and Massachusetts. He is the author of two books about Christianity and contemporary culture, and has published short fiction in many periodicals and anthologies. A second-generation Husky, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2000. He is the co-founder of the award-winning UConn 360 podcast and has given presentations on UConn history to community groups throughout Connecticut. He lives in Manchester, is active in volunteer organizations, and recommends that you try the coconut flavor at the Dairy Bar.


Author Archive

A doctor in a white lab coat speaks with a patient in her office.

Rudd Center Launches ‘Supportive Obesity Care’ Website

Resource is designed to help clinicians provide supportive care to patients of all body sizes

Four bottles of a dietary supplement containing the potentially dangerous ingredient tianeptine.

Known as ‘Gas Station Heroin,’ Tianeptine is Being Sold as a Dietary Supplement – with Deadly Outcomes

The synthetic drug has been linked to addiction, seizures, kidney damage, and death

Back view of older student raising his hand to answer teacher's question during class.

7 Strategies to Help Gifted Students with Autism Succeed in College

Nationally, only 39% of students with autism who start college finish; here are strategies to get that number higher

CT Mirror

For Progress, Get CT Lawmakers and Researchers in the Same Room

New York Times

Why I Welcome New York City’s Congestion Pricing Plan

Mark and Betsy (Reddington) Vergnano at the UConn Foundation Board Social at the Alumni Center Great Hall in Storrs.

Vergnano Endowed Chair for Inclusion Established at the College of Engineering

The Chair, which will contribute to the impact of the Vergnano Institute for Inclusion, is supported by the latest philanthropic contribution from UConn Alumni Mark and Betsy (Reddington) Vergnano

A stone wall along RT 195 near the Jacobson Barn.

New England Stone Walls Deserve a Science of Their Own

Region's ubiquitous stone walls - long enough to circle the globe 10 times - have fallen through disciplinary cracks for too long

Hartford Courant

How a Treatment Made a CT Man’s Cancerous Tumor Disappear

The Conversation

CRISPR and Other Technologies Open Doors for Drug Development, But Which Diseases Get Prioritized?

Rebecca Puhl of the UConn Rudd Center (center) participates in a panel discussion on weight stigma and the media in New York along with Deborah Roberts, Al Roker, David Sloan, and Holly Lofton. (contributed photo).

Taking On Stigmatization and Body-Shaming in the Media

Rebecca Puhl of the UConn Rudd Center was a panelist along with national media figures to discuss the ways in which body weight and obesity are covered and portrayed in the press