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

President Albert Jorgensen, left, and university librarian Paul Alcorn provided hands-on help with moving books into the new library in 1940. The building was named for former Connecticut governor Wilbur Cross in 1942. (University Library Archives & Special Collections)

Before Homer Babbidge, There Was Wilbur Cross Library

For nearly 40 years until Babbidge Library opened, the Wilbur Cross Building was the academic heart of the University of Connecticut.

American boxer Rocky Marciano, left, beat Roland La Starza to retain the world heavyweight title in 1953. (Keystone/Getty Images)

The All-American: Boxer’s Life Set Against Turbulent 20th Century

Journalism professor Mike Stanton discusses his new book, a biography of Rocky Marciano, with Tom Breen of the UConn 360 podcast.

The UConn Marching Band paid tribute to Alex Schachter, a Husky fan who played in his school marching band, by spelling out his name and performing his favorite song at halftime. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

School Shooting Victim Honored at Football Opener

The UConn Marching Band paid tribute to Alex Schachter, a Husky fan who played in his school marching band, by spelling out his name and performing his favorite song at halftime.

A row of plaster cast heads is among 27 campus treasures and oddities for you to identify. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Hidden UConn

Test Your Storrs Savvy: 27 treasures and oddities for you to identify.

UConn President Homer Babbidge holds up a copy of the Daily Campus. It was one of the photos included in a picture essay titled 'The Odyssey of Homer' in the Nutmeg Yearbook of 1972, the year Babbidge stepped down. (Nutmeg Yearbook Photo)

The Babbidge Decade: Transformation and Turbulence

Tom Breen of the UConn360 podcast discusses the legacy of Homer Babbidge, who presided over the University during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In a podcast interview, Barry Berman ’72 details how Bill X. Carlson, UConn’s most famous non-existent student, came to be. (University Library Archives & Special Collections)

UConn’s Fictional Student Body President

In a podcast interview, Barry Berman ’72 details how Bill X. Carlson, UConn’s most famous non-existent student, came to be.

UConn wordmark.

UConnAlert: A User’s Guide

Public safety officials urge you to become familiar with the Alert website, and know ahead of time how to respond to an emergency if one occurs.

The first One Ton Sundae in Feb. 1979. (Archives & Special Collections, UConn Library)

Tom’s Trivia Challenge

What is the only activity that has survived from UConn’s first Winter Weekend in 1979? See if you know as much as King of UConn Trivia Tom Breen ’00 (CLAS), the University's deputy spokesperson.

The prevailing rosy view of earlier generations of immigrants is all hindsight, argues UConn's Tom Breen. His own great-grandfather, John Evangelist Breen, is a case in point.

An Immigrant’s Legacy

The prevailing rosy view of earlier generations of immigrants is all hindsight, argues UConn's Tom Breen. His own great-grandfather, John Evangelist Breen, is a case in point.

Refugees fleeing Cambodia in 1989. The Khmer Rouge genocide and Vietnamese occupation from 1979 to 1989 forced many Cambodians to flee to neighboring countries.(Peter Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

Resilience in the Face of Evil

Social work professor Megan Berthold says people who survive human rights violations and trauma often have enormous strength and resilience.