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

UVALDE, TEXAS - JUNE 03: A memorial dedicated to the victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on June 3, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. 19 students and two teachers were killed on May 24 after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire inside the school. Wakes and funerals for the 21 victims are scheduled throughout the week.

Demolishing Schools After a Mass Shooting Reflects Our Deep-Rooted Desire for Purification Rituals

Symbolic gestures often speak to our psyche in ways no rational action could ever speak to our intellect

July 1, 2022 | Dimitris Xygalatas, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Psychological Sciences

Research & Discovery UConn Voices
Journal Inquirer

Southeast Asian Students Get Lessons in Running Nonprofits

June 27, 2022 | Tom Breen - UConn Communications

An overhead view of a school cafeteria table, where students are eating lunch.

Changes are Coming to School Meals Nationwide

The federal government is scheduled to end changes adopted in the early months of the pandemic that expanded access to school meals for children

June 10, 2022 | Marlene B. Schwartz, Director, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health and Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences

Depressed young student with face mask sitting on floor back at college or university.

School Mental Health Resources Are Critical to Ensuring Safe School Environments

Even before the pandemic schools were struggling to provide enough mental health support to students, and the problem has only gotten worse

June 9, 2022 | Amy Briesch, Associate Professor of School Psychology, Northeastern University and Sandra M. Chafouleas, Professor of Educational Psychology at UConn

Business pharmacy online with pills in shopping cart on laptop on abstract background.

Dangerous Counterfeit Drugs are Putting Millions at Risk, a New Study Says

Many counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs are sold online, and the bulk of them are being obtained without a prescription

June 3, 2022 | C. Michael White, Professor of Pharmacy Practice

Research & Discovery
The CT Mirror

To End Gun Violence, We Need to Address Poverty

June 1, 2022 | Tom Breen - UConn Communications

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

June 1, 2022 | Christina Polomoff, Assistant Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice

Community Impact UConn Voices
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

May 26, 2022 | Tom Breen, Jaclyn Severance, and Kimberly Phillips

Community Impact Research & Discovery UConn Voices
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.

May 9, 2022 | Tom Breen - UConn Communications

Hartford Courant

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

May 6, 2022 | Tom Breen - UConn Communications