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

Where We Live (WNPR)

Hot Soups and Warm Teas from Medicinal Food Gardens

The Hartford Courant

From UConn to TCU and Back: Visiting Professor Hopes to Finish in the Top Five at the Eversource Hartford Marathon

Caption: Prof. Bazzi from UConn (left) with Mr. Aslanidis from Ward Leonard (right) along with the first prototype of the converter that is subject of their collaboration.

UConn is Teaming Up with a Key US Navy Supplier

Professor Ali Bazzi and the Center for Clean Energy Engineering are aiming to develop self-healing electronics for Naval vessels

CT Insider

UConn Social Work Professor Achieves Two Firsts as a Latina

The iron lung on display at the Carolyn Ladd Widmer Wing of Storrs hall on April 3, 2018. These mechanical respirators were familiar sights in the US before the development of the polio vaccine.

Polio Vaccination Rates in Some Areas of the US Hover Dangerously Close to the Threshold Required for Herd Immunity – Here’s Why that Matters

The US recently recorded its first case of polio in nearly a decade

A "Burning Man" participant holds up his arms as t

Burning Man Highlights the Primordial Human Need for Ritual

Since its inception in 1986, attendance has increased from a few dozen to over 70,000 — and hundreds of thousands in regional versions around the world

NPR

Rituals Are Important to Human Life – Even When They Seem Meaningless

Hearst Connecticut Media

UConn Stamford, Hartford to Offer ‘Fintech’ Certificate: ‘Looking to Be the Global Leader’

Man and women whispering a secret latest gossip to a happy young man who covers ears and ignoring all surrounding noise.

Cognitive Biases and Brain Biology Help Explain Why Facts Don’t Change Minds

For many people, a challenge to their worldview feels like an attack on their personal identity and can cause them to harden their position

The Conversation

Cognitive Biases and Brain Biology Help Explain Why Facts Don’t Change Minds