University of Connecticut President, Tom Katsouleas to step down by next month
“For reasons we have discussed at length over time, I have made the difficult decision to resign my position as President of the University of Connecticut”, stated UConn President Tom Katsouleas in a letter stated to the University’s trustees. Katsouleas would be stepping down as the President on June 30, after working as one for less than two years but continues to be an active faculty member with the institution as he also stated, “I look forward to contributing further to the continued success of the state’s flagship institution of higher education as a member of our distinguished faculty.”
Even though Katsouleas has not mentioned any specific reason for his resignation, he has cited some provisions of his contract that runs through June 2024. According to it, he would be entitled to many post-presidency benefits as well, such as a tenured position in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and office space.
Among other perks is high pay, with his salary being equal to the highest members in the faculty-this similar benefit was also offered to a former president of UConn, Susan Herbst, who stepped down in 2019 after eight years and is now earning $319,000 a year as a political science professor at UConn’s Stamford campus.
Katsouleas was seen to be frequently frustrated due to the stresses created by the COVID-19 pandemic which began shortly after his term and the subsequent finance hurdles including struggling with budget deficits-with free tuition program for students from low-income families being halted and administrators reaching out to the General Assembly for tens of millions in extra financial help.
At the beginning of his term, he had also proposed to increase the university’s research spending by a significant amount as the high labor costs due to the state’s severe underfunding of healthcare, pension, and other benefits were making the institution lose on research grants.
Now, financial improvement is expected as the budget picture is seen to do better and become balanced for the current fiscal year, officials said. Despite the fact that $110 million were lost in coronavirus-related issues, hope for betterment persists for the university.