July 30, 2001

Three new members of UConn's Board of Trustees started their terms in July. David W. O'Leary and Denis J. Nayden were appointed by Gov. John G. Rowland, and Christopher Hattayer was elected by the student body.

They replace John Downey, Irving Saslow, and James Donich, respectively

O'Leary has had a long association with the governor. He served as finance director in Rowland's 1990 campaign, was campaign manager in the 1994 campaign, and, after serving as director of the transition team, became the governor's chief of staff. He held that post for three years until resigning to manage Rowland's successful re-election bid in 1998. Since then, O'Leary has been working in government relations for the Hartford-based law firm Robinson & Cole.

O'Leary played a major role in the passage of Rowland's initiatives while he was chief of staff. These included two biennial budgets and the crime package. He was supportive of the UConn 2000 proposal, and was instrumental in seeing it through the legislative process. He also served as the governor's representative to the Board of Trustees from 1995 to 1997.

In addition to experience in electoral politics at the city, state, and federal levels, he has worked with focus groups and advertising campaigns.

O'Leary has represented a number of interests at the Capitol, including health care, finance, construction, engineering, water and gas utilities, and start-up entrepreneurial ventures.

He also has served as a member of the City of Waterbury's Charter Revision Commission.

O'Leary received a bachelor's degree in finance from Fairfield University and an MBA from the University of New Haven.

Nayden is senior vice president, General Electric Co., and chairman and chief executive officer of GE Capital Corp. in Stamford. One of the youngest top executives in GE's history, Nayden, has been with GE Capital for 24 years. His management career has spanned GE Capital's activities, from real estate and corporate finance to transportation and industrial finance, aviation services, and portfolio and risk management.

Nayden received two degrees from UConn: a BA in English in 1976 and an MBA in finance in 1977. Since then, he has continued to be actively involved with the University. In 1999, he received the UConn Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of his service to the University and the community.

Nayden is vice chair of the University of Connecticut's School of Business Board of Overseers and has been a member of the Foundation Board of Directors since 1996, currently serving on the development and executive committees. He has been inducted into the business school's hall of fame and is UConn's capital campaign chair. He is also the past chair of the University's Downstate Initiative capital campaign and helped establish the Connecticut Information Technology Institute Endowment.

In addition, he serves on the board of SACIA (the southwestern Connecticut business council) and the United Way of Stamford/Greenwich.

Hattayer was elected to a two-year term as a student trustee. He has a dual major: international relations (an individualized major) and political science.

"I'm the students' perspective for the Board," says Hattayer, who will be a senior this fall. "My role is to reach out to student groups, students from regional campuses, student leaders, and students in general, to bring their perspective to Board decisions."

Hattayer, one of two students on the Board, believes that students should take an active part in their university, including its governance. "It's easier for students to accept decisions if they were made part of the process."

Hattayer was also elected president of the Undergraduate Student Government in May, and has been involved in USG since his freshman year. He was an at-large representative for two years, and worked on issues including general education reform. He was last year's comptroller. For the last two years, he has been one of the student members of the University Senate.

He helped develop and is active in the UConn Model United Nations Conference that is held each year for high school students.

After he graduates in 2002, Hattayer hopes to pursue a career in the foreign service and to attend graduate school to study international relations.

Sherry Fisher