September 11, 2000

Francis G. Brennan, who has been interim director of the Waterbury regional campus since 1998, has been appointed director. His appointment runs until Dec. 31, 2003.

"Fran brings to the position a considerable experience in the field of education and an intimate knowledge of the Waterbury community and the needs of its students," says Fred Maryanski, vice chancellor for academic administration. "We look forward to continued enrollment growth and a smooth transition into the new downtown facility."

Brennan is excited about his appointment. "It comes at a great time, because we're starting the planning and the preliminaries for the new campus in Waterbury," he says. "It's an exciting campus, because it's going to be part of a much larger cultural educational complex in the downtown area. The campus, now on Hillside Avenue, will move to a new 95,000 square-foot, $22 million campus in downtown Waterbury. The move will take two to three years to complete.

"It's going to be tied in with a K-12 magnet school and the restoration of an old theater," Brennan says. "With those three pieces, we have an enormous project that will be a tremendously exciting period for Waterbury."

In addition to moving to a downtown site, the campus is also expanding its academic program. There will be a new bachelor of science degree in business administration, a master of science in technology management and a dual degree program combining the master of business administration and the master of science in accounting.

Brennan says the programs are targeted to begin in January. He says the search process for new faculty will be demanding: "We're looking for the best qualified people in the nation. We will hire faculty members incrementally, semester by semester. This will give us an opportunity to assess our work and the enrollment."

Brennan, of Middlebury, was special assistant to the commissioner of the state Department of Education from 1995-98, where he represented the commissioner in pending legislative matters and consulted on issues about alternative schools and learning centers. He worked for the Waterbury public school system from 1957 until 1994 as a high school social studies teacher, high school principal and administrator.

Brennan has also been a political advisor to former Congressman Ronald A. Sarasin and to John G. Rowland, both as a congressman and governor. Brennan was political director of the Rowland for Governor Committee in 1994-95 and chaired Rowland's gubernatorial inauguration committee. A graduate of Providence College, he has a sixth year diploma and a master's of science degree from Southern Connecticut State University.

Sherry Fisher