NEWS

August 1, 2007

Hogan Named President of the University of Connecticut

The board of trustees of the University of Connecticut (UConn) has selected University of Iowa Executive Vice President and Provost Michael J. Hogan as UConn’s 14th president.

Hogan has been provost and F. Wendell Miller Professor of History at the UI since May 2004. Among the many accomplishments of his three-plus years in office, Hogan:

• coordinated the writing of the University’s new strategic plan, The Iowa Promise;
• reallocated $10.9 million over two years to improve faculty salary competitiveness, resulting in an average faculty salary increase of over 17% during the period, which moved The University of Iowa from the bottom of its peer group in faculty salaries to near the mid-point;
• implemented a variety of diversity initiatives that led to some record numbers: In fall 2006 the UI saw the largest total number of minority students ever on campus, and more minority faculty began their appointments than in any previous year, thanks in part to a 63% increase in funding over FY04 levels for the Faculty Diversity Opportunity Program, which supports minority hiring;
• generated over $1.5-million in new funding for scholarships and financial aid through tuition and enrollment management policies, and revamped scholarship programs to expand access, enhance diversity, and increase the preparedness of entering students;
• established the “2 Plus 2 Guaranteed Graduation Plan” program, a partnership with community colleges to increase accessibility and likelihood of success for community college students who transfer to the UI;
• improved start-up funding for faculty in social sciences, humanities, and the arts, and infused new funds into the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to support faculty professional travel;
• established the Dual Academic Career Initiative to support spouse/partner faculty appointments; and
• implemented a major overhaul of academic budgeting, moving it toward a model designed to reward performance and contribution while advancing the University’s highest academic priorities and strategic initiatives.

During Hogan’s tenure, undergraduate enrollments at the UI increased (fall 2006 saw the largest ever first-year class), as did enrollment of nonresident, minority, and honors students-—all at a time when enrollments were flat or declining elsewhere in the state.

“The University of Iowa, and especially my many dear friends and colleagues here, will always hold a special place in my heart,” Hogan says. “After all, this was my home institution long before I became provost here, and it always will be. I worked hard for my Ph.D. here, and met my wife and started my family here. I’ve been blessed to be part of this community.”

Hogan came to the UI from The Ohio State University, where he was executive dean of the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences, an organization of five colleges and forty-one departments. Prior to joining the faculty at Ohio State in 1986, Hogan was a faculty member at Miami University in Ohio for nine years; before that, he served on the faculty at Stony Brook University in New York and at the University of Texas, Austin.

Born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, Hogan earned his B.A. degree at the University of Northern Iowa, where he majored in English with minors in history and classics; his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees were conferred by The University of Iowa.

A specialist in the history of American diplomacy, Hogan is the author or editor of nine books and a host of scholarly articles and essays. His book The Marshall Plan: America, Britain, and the Reconstruction of Western Europe, 1947-1952 (Cambridge, 1987) received the Stuart L. Bernath Book Award of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, the George Louis Beer Prize of the American Historical Association, and the Quincy Wright Prize of the International Studies Association. Ohio State University in 1990 presented him with its Distinguished Scholar Award, the highest award for scholarly distinction conferred on members of the faculty.

Hogan’s brief bio and links to his speeches and selected essays can be found at http://provost.uiowa.edu/about/mike.htm.

“The UI is entering a new era, with a new president, who I know is up to the task of moving this great University forward,” Hogan says. “I’m excited and humbled that I have the opportunity to do the same for the University of Connecticut.”

"I am truly happy that Mike Hogan has been offered this wonderful opportunity. He has earned it. I know that he will be a highly successful leader for the University of Connecticut,” says new UI President Sally Mason. “Mike leaves a significant legacy at Iowa. He led the effort to create our current strategic plan, The Iowa Promise. He has also led the efforts to increase opportunities for our students through new scholarships, and he has led the efforts to keep us competitive for retaining and recruiting the best faculty. He has done well by The University of Iowa, and on behalf of the entire University, I wish him only the best.”

The University of Connecticut is the flagship university in the state, and for the past eight years has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the top public university in New England. A total of 28,481 students were enrolled at UConn in fall 2006, 20,784 of whom were undergraduates. With one main campus (in Storrs, CT) and five regional campuses, the University has 14 schools and colleges, including Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture, Business, Dental Medicine, the Neag School of Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, the Graduate School, Law, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Social Work.

Hogan is sending the following e-mail to faculty, staff, and students at The University of Iowa today:

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

I’m writing to let you know that I have accepted the presidency at the University of Connecticut, and will start there within the next several weeks.

I’m excited about this new opportunity, and pleased and proud that the University of Connecticut has entrusted me with this most important and challenging role. As you might expect, though, it’s not easy for me to leave Iowa—neither the state that has always been my home, nor the University that I love so dearly.

In my annual spring speech this past year, I talked about how proud and grateful we should all be that we get to share in the pursuit of excellence, here in this wonderful place—a place built on tradition, community, fairness, and a sense of shared responsibility for the future. I do indeed take great pride in the long list of remarkable things we’ve been able to accomplish together over the past three years. I will forever feel pride and gratitude for having been a part of this community of people “reaching for the stars,” as I put it in that speech. And I will watch with undiminished pride as you continue to reach for the stars.

Best Wishes,

Mike Hogan

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Visit the University of Connecticut's web site to view their press release about Hogan's appointment.