UConn will be well represented when the Connecticut NAACP branches play host to a reception to honor the \u201c100 Most Influential Blacks in the State of Connecticut.\u201d The event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino and feature entertainment by rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur Nas.<\/p>\n
The 100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut Award Ceremony will celebrate many renowned influencers, while also recognizing community leaders and industry trailblazers who often go unrecognized for their exceptional work in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am incredibly proud of the fact that so many distinguished members of the UConn family are being honored by the state NAACP,\u201d says UConn President Andrew Agwunobi. \u201cThese leaders make extraordinary contributions to our university and our state every day and are vital to the rich, diverse cultural landscape we have in Connecticut. I extend my warmest congratulations on this well-deserved recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n
UConn trustees, staff, faculty and current students that are among the group of 100 are:<\/p>\n
Michael Bradford \u201998 (BGS)<\/strong>, Vice Provost for Faculty, Staff and Student Development; Professor of Dramatic Arts<\/p>\n Sanford Cloud Jr.,<\/strong> Chairman, UConn Health Board of Directors; UConn Board of Trustees<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9a Comer \u201923 MPA<\/strong>, Deputy Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection<\/p>\n Dr. Cato T. Laurencin<\/strong>, Professor, UConn and UConn Health; CEO, Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering<\/p>\n Eboni S. Nelson<\/strong>, Dean of UConn Law<\/p>\n Charlene Russell-Tucker<\/strong>, UConn Board of Trustees (Commissioner, Department of Education)<\/p>\n UConn alumni among the group of 100 are:<\/p>\n Ayesha Clarke `06 (CLAS), ’18 MSW, <\/strong>Chairman, Hartford Board of Education<\/p>\n Michael T. Conner `14 (ED)<\/strong>, Superintendent, Middletown Public Schools<\/p>\n Veronica L. Delandro `09 MPA<\/strong>, State Coordinator, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.<\/p>\n Vannessa Dorantes `98 MSW<\/strong>, Commissioner, Department of Children and Families<\/p>\n Duncan Harris `92 (CLAS)<\/strong>, CEO, Capital Community College<\/p>\n Michael Jefferson ’95 JD,<\/strong> Civil Rights Attorney<\/p>\n Sibongile Magubane `76 (CLAS)<\/strong>, Commissioner, Department of Motor Vehicles<\/p>\n Melissa McCaw `14 MPA<\/strong>, Secretary, Connecticut Office of Policy and Management<\/p>\n Hon. Richard A. Robinson `79 (CLAS)<\/strong>, Chief Justice, Connecticut State Supreme Court<\/p>\n Emmanuel R. Sanchez, \u201917 (CLAS)<\/strong>, Connecticut State Representative, 24th District<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" UConn will be well represented when the Connecticut NAACP branches play host to a reception to honor the \u201c100 Most Influential Blacks in the State of Connecticut.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":178562,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,2226,2235,2306,2233],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2113],"class_list":["post-178560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-clas","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-voices","category-university-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-29 05:33:06","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\/178560","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=178560"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178694,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178560\/revisions\/178694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/178562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178560"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=178560"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=178560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}