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 small green laser beams off a series of receptors.

UConn’s Project Daedalus Focuses on Aerospace Electro-Optics in New $4.7 Million Contract

'This is UConn’s opportunity to define a new field of engineering and technology'

December 9, 2021 | Matt Engelhardt, Office of the Vice President for Research

Alumni Research & Discovery
Laura Sheehan ’85 (SFA) in "The Merry Wives of Windsor."

UConn Magazine: We Are But Players

Thirty years of interpreting the Bard began in a UConn classroom

December 7, 2021 | Grace Merritt for UConn Magazine

Alumni
A group of children and an instructor sharing lunch.

Study: USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program Underused By Connecticut Child Care Centers

Low program awareness and burdensome paperwork cited as common reasons for lack of participation, which costs the state millions in foregone federal fund

December 6, 2021 | Kristin Messina, UConn Rudd Center

Faces of children appear during the projection of #ProjectingChange onto the exterior of SEC Armadillo on November 5, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. #ProjectingChange was an art activation created by world-renowned artists intended to inspire hope around the climate crisis during the 26th United Nations Climate Conference.

The Power of the Green Zone at COP26

'It re-framed climate change, and gave me the chance to reflect instead of continuously looking forward with anxiousness'

December 3, 2021 | Carol Atkinson-Palombo, Professor of Geography and Director of Environmental Studies 

A visitor to Auerfarm in Bloomfield, whose executive director, Erica Hearn '86, says UConn gave her the tools to succeed in her chosen field.

Transforming Agricultural Education with Alumna Erica Fearn

'UConn led me here to Auerfarm. This is a place where I can use all my skills and passions in one place'

November 29, 2021 | Stacey Stearns, UConn Extension

Alumni
Adrienne Bruce ’22 (CLAS) decided to learn Korean during the early weeks of the pandemic.

UConn Magazine: Speaking the Language

What to do when at home during a pandemic? Learn a new language, of course

November 29, 2021 | Amy Sutherland for UConn Magazine

UConn Voices
A deep fryer with a turkey inside burns while a UConn fire truck sits in the background.

Don’t Fry This At Home (Without Watching This First)

UConn firefighters offer tips on avoiding the most common cause of home-cooking fires on Thanksgiving Day.

November 24, 2021 | UConn Fire Department

Companies are Pushing Sweetened Drinks to Children through Ads and Misleading Labels – and Families are Buying

There are dozens of options for children’s drinks in most supermarkets. Choosing the healthy options is difficult

November 23, 2021 | Fran Fleming-Milici, Director of Marketing Initiatives, UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

Connecticut Foodshare CEO Jason Jakubowski '99 (CLAS), '01 MPA.

UConn Magazine: ‘You Change the Way You Live When You’re Hungry’

Connecticut Foodshare CEO Jason Jakubowski '99 (CLAS), '01 MPA talks about the challenges of keeping people fed during a global pandemic

November 23, 2021 | Peter Nelson for UConn Magazine

Alumni Community Impact
Since the early 2000s, more clinical trials have been taking place overseas, where FDA oversight is lax.

The FDA’s Lax Oversight of Research in Developing Countries Can Do Harm to Vulnerable Participants

No on-site inspections, fraudulent data, and patients who didn't know they were participating in a clinical trial

November 19, 2021 | C. Michael White, Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice