UConn Health CEO Named Interim University President

FARMINGTON, CT — UConn Health Chief Executive Officer Dr. Andrew Agwunobi has been selected to serve as the University of Connecticut's interim president.

The UConn Board of Trustees made the appointment Wednesday. He will assume the dual role for an indefinite period of time, UConn officials said. Agwunobi takes over for Thomas Katsouleas, who resigned to concentrate on a faculty position.

Agwunobi is a pediatrician by training, but he also holds a master's of business education degree. He will be the first physician and the first person of color to lead the University.

As interim president, he also will continue in his role as UConn Health’s CEO, a position in which he has served since 2014.

The UConn Board of Trustees called Agwunobi "a highly effective, methodical, and level-headed leader who inspires trust and confidence with a determined yet compassionate approach to meeting challenges."

Although Agwunobi’s term officially starts at the beginning of the fiscal year — July 1 — the UConn Board of Trustees granted him the authority to take on the position’s day-to-day responsibilities immediately. Katsouleas will be involved in the transition, UConn officials said.

Agwunobi said Wednesday that UConn's most critical near-term priority is "successfully reopening at nearly full capacity this fall, and that while much has been accomplished to achieve that goal, much more work is ahead."

He also pledged that other critical missions under way at UConn will continue unabated, such as updating the long-term academic strategic plan; growing research and innovation; expanding student access to mental health care and affordability; partnering with various constituencies on and off campus; promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion; and many others.

"Having been here in Connecticut at UConn Health for several years, I know how much UConn means to the people of this state and our faculty, staff, students, and alumni everywhere," he said. "For many, I know UConn is more than just an educational institution or an employer, but an important part of their lives and their personal histories. It is fundamentally part of our identity as a state."

UConn officials said the search for a permanent president will not start "in the near term."
Agwunobi, known to many as "Dr. Andy," has been responsible for UConn’s $1.2 billion academic health system in his role as CEO of UConn Health, which includes a teaching hospital, medical and dental schools and research facilities.

As UConn’s interim president, he will also oversee the $1.4 billion academic and research initiative at UConn Storrs and its regional campuses in Hartford, Stamford, Avery Point and Waterbury, officials said.