{"id":155041,"date":"2019-10-04T18:57:43","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T22:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=155041"},"modified":"2020-10-28T11:23:03","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T15:23:03","slug":"university-celebrates-inauguration-sixteenth-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2019\/10\/university-celebrates-inauguration-sixteenth-president\/","title":{"rendered":"University Celebrates the Inauguration of the Sixteenth President"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Editor\u2019s Note: Effective October 28, 2020, the University has made the difficult decision to pause the Connecticut Commitment<\/a>, as a result of financial fallout from the global COVID-19 pandemic. First-year and transfer students currently receiving funding through the Connecticut Commitment will continue to do so, unless financial circumstances indicate they no longer qualify. UConn will continue to ensure existing aid programs are sustained to ensure ongoing financial aid support for Connecticut students who need it most.]<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Thomas C. Katsouleas was formally inaugurated as the 16th president of the University of Connecticut on Friday afternoon at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n

With all the traditional trappings of an academic ceremony, Katsouleas clearly laid out his bold vision for the future of university including announcing a new program that will provide greater access and affordability to Connecticut families.<\/p>\n

Under the program known as the Connecticut Commitment<\/a>, lower-income residents admitted to UConn as undergraduates will receive free tuition starting with the fall 2020 entering class, news that was greeted by a standing ovation from the audience.<\/p>\n

In his remarks, Katsouleas addressed the ever-changing makeup of the traditional liberal arts education.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must also work to enhance and even redefine the value proposition of a liberal arts education,\u201d he said. \u201cThe traditional 20th century role of liberal arts education of imparting knowledge and instilling identity is not enough. The liberal arts education of the 21st century must also increase agency and purpose. When I speak to legislators, they see the role of the public universities and colleges as work force development, while the faculty I speak to see it as human development. Fortunately, there is no inconsistency between these two views.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katsouleas expressed the need for UConn to provide a mentor to each and every student and for students to have the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to authentic real-world problems while still enrolled.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo do so at the scale of 24,000 undergraduates is the grand challenge before us,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe that the university that takes on that challenge will not only benefit their own students, but will lead higher education and the nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you may wonder why should Connecticut be the place to lead such a transformation? There are lots of leading institutions that people might expect to point the future directions of higher ed. But UConn is well poised. It has already been a leader in the frontier of the past decade – improving completion rates and time to degree. It has a culture of excellent teaching and renowned programs such as its honors program to build upon. And perhaps as important, it has a culture of exceeding expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Herald trumpeters play at the opening of inauguration ceremony for President Thomas Katsouleas held at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Del Siegle, professor and associate dean of education, carries the mace during the entrance procession for the inauguration of President Thomas Katsouleas at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
President Thomas Katsouleas , center, during the entrance procession of his inauguration ceremony held at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Former presidents Susan Herbst, left, Harry Hartley and Phil Austin at the inauguration ceremony for Thomas Katsouleas held at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
A view of the inauguration of President Thomas Katsouleas at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Master of Ceremonies Andrea Dennis-LaVigne, vice chair of the Board of Trustees, speaks during the inauguration ceremony of President Thomas Katsouleas, left. At right is Trustees chair Dan Tuscano '85 (BUS), not facing camera is Andre Raphel, director of the UConn Symphony Orchestra. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Sean Frederick Forbes, assistant professor in residence of english, reads a poem during the inauguration of President Thomas Katsouleas at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
President Thomas Katsoueas, left, and Gov. Ned Lamont onstage during the inauguration ceremony at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Richard Brodhead, president emeritus of Duke University, gives the address during the inauguration of President Thomas Katsouleas at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Andre Raphel conducts the University Symphony Orchestra during the inauguration of President Thomas Katsouleas at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
President Thomas Katsouleas, Dan Toscano '85 (BUS), chair of the board of trustees, and Andrea Dennis-LaVigne, trustee, during the inauguration ceremony held at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
President Thomas Katsouleas speaks during his inauguration ceremony held at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
President Thomas Katsouleas, left, Gov Ned Lamont and Dan Toscano '85 (BUS), chair of the board of trustees, during the inauguration ceremony held at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
President Thomas Katsouleas greets audience members following his inauguration ceremony held at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 4, 2019. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Katsouleas, who began his presidency on Aug. 1, was formally installed by Gov. Ned Lamont and Board of Trustees Chairman Dan Toscano \u201987 (BUS).<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has the skills, the science, the knowledge you need to get ahead in life, but also understands the magic of arts and music,\u201d said Lamont. \u201cThere\u2019s no contradiction in that and that is why he is going to be an amazing president for UConn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Toscano, \u201cI think it would be a massive disservice to label President Katsouleas as a scientist or a researcher\u2026although he is both of those. He is so much more than a label can do justice to. So, I prefer to label him simply as \u2018Our President\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duke University President Emeritus Richard Brodhead, a native of Fairfield, Connecticut, and a former colleague of Katsouleas, offered the ceremony’s keynote address. Katsouleas served as dean of the Duke University School of Engineering for seven years during Brodhead\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom is an articulate communicator and he will excel in representing the public\u2019s needs to the university and the university\u2019s values to the public,\u201d said Brodhead. \u201cDoesn\u2019t he sound like a great choice? I think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audience also included three former UConn presidents \u2013 Susan Herbst (2011-19), Philip Austin (1996-2007) and Harry Hartley (1990-96) \u2013 and visiting delegates representing more than two dozen other higher education institutions.<\/p>\n

A large contingent from the Greek community was in attendance including Katsouleas\u2019 father, Steven, who made the trip from Greece for the event.<\/p>\n

With all the members of the Greek community in attendance, the new president said he would need to call it \u201cMy Big Fat Greek Inauguration\u201d — a nod to the hit movie of nearly the same name.<\/p>\n

Performances were woven throughout. The UConn Symphony Orchestra performed \u201cDiscover the Wild\u201d by Professor Kenneth Fuchs, UConn’s Grammy-winning composer. And, Sean Frederick Forbes, assistant professor-in-residence of the Department of English, offered a poetry reading.<\/p>\n

After a rousing rendition of the alma mater by the UConn Chamber Singers, Andrea Dennis-LaVigne, master of ceremonies and vice chair of the UConn Board of Trustees, closed the event with an invitation.<\/p>\n

It was time to address the new president with the Greek word \u201caxios,\u201d she said, meaning “worthy of.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a large contingent from the Greek community in attendance, the new president joked that he would need to call the ceremony \u201cMy Big Fat Greek Inauguration\u201d — a nod to the hit movie of nearly the same name.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":155074,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1715,173,92,174,2225,90,2233],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2113],"class_list":["post-155041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-impact","category-uconn-avery-point","category-uconn-hartford","category-uconn-stamford","category-uconn-storrs","category-uconn-waterbury","category-university-news","post_format-post-format-video"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 02:01:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155041"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165758,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155041\/revisions\/165758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/155074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155041"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=155041"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=155041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}