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

The CT Mirror

To End Gun Violence, We Need to Address Poverty

Community health workers assist patients as they gather their medications and supplements to discuss them during remote visits with pharmacists.

How Pharmacists and Community Health Workers Build Trust with Cambodian Genocide Survivors

With training in trauma-informed care, health workers help survivors improve their mental and physical health

Crosses bearing the names of the victims of a mass shooting in front of Robb Elementary School on May 26, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. The rural Texas community is in mourning following a shooting at Robb Elementary School which killed 21 people including 19 children.

Standing Against Despair

UConn researchers offer tools and perspectives to reduce gun violence in the US

Close up of a UConn-decorated mortarboard

2022 Commencement at a Glance

Students in full regalia gathered with their classmates and processed together to hear their names called as they join the great community of graduates stretching all the way back to 1883.

Hartford Courant

Graduation Ceremonies at Connecticut Colleges Were Limited for 2 Years. 2022 Looks Different

A group of graduating students toss their caps into the air while standing in front of the UConn gateway sign on April 28, 2020.

Why You Went to College

'You came here to learn to question beliefs, to think independently, to recognize injustice and to have the tools that you need to change the world'

Two women stand on a dirt road, one carrying a wooden cross. They are waiting to bury a relative killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

How Burying the Dead Keeps the Living Human

Funerary rites are ostensibly about the dead. But their importance lies in the roles they play for the living

Wilbur Cross on a fall day on Oct. 15, 2019.

Celebrating UConn’s Class of 2022

A class full of dynamism, innovation, and passion

Herald pipers announce the arrival of the faculty during the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources commencement ceremony at Gampel Pavilion on May 11, 2019. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

2022 Commencement Speakers and Honorary Degree Recipients

Speakers from a broad range of fields and backgrounds will share their wisdom with UConn's Class of 2022

Spoon with pills isolated on white background.

The Dietary Supplement You’re Taking Could be Tainted with Prescription Medications and Dangerous Hidden Ingredients, According to a New Study

Many over-the-counter products – particularly those used for sexual enhancement and weight loss – are tainted with undisclosed pharmaceutical ingredients