The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees has unanimously voted to make Andrew Agwunobi, UConn Health”™s CEO, its interim president, starting July 1.
The board also granted him authority to immediately begin taking on the position’s day-to-day responsibilities.
Agwunobi replaces Thomas Katsouleas, who submitted a resignation letter to the board on March 13 and will step down June 30. Katsouleas, who spent less than two years on the job, reportedly squabbled with the board over a number of issues, including tuition; nevertheless, he is expected to remain at the university as a professor, earning $330,000 a year.
A pediatrician by training, Agwunobi will be the first physician and the first person of color to lead UConn. As interim president, he also will continue in his role as UConn Health”™s CEO, a position he has held since 2014.
The interim president said that the university”™s most critical near-term priority is successfully reopening at nearly full capacity this fall; while much has been accomplished to achieve that goal, he said, much more work remains.
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.
“UConn also of course plays a vital role in fueling Connecticut”™s economy and its workforce. And we know we are not just graduating workers, we are graduating citizens, leaders, thinkers, and innovators of the future for Connecticut and beyond.
“Given these high stakes, all of us who are fortunate enough to be here are driven ”“ and I certainly am driven — to do all we can to ensure the continued success of this institution as we carry out its mission both in Storrs, in Farmington, and on each of our regional campuses (including in Stamford) and beyond,” Agwunobi added.
The university said it plans to undertake a search for Katsouleas”™ permanent replacement, but will not start that process in the near term; instead, it will decide later about its timing.
Agwunobi 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, research facilities, and other initiatives.
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.
In his time as CEO of UConn Health, Agwunobi has grown its revenue an average of 10% per year; led a comprehensive turnaround that improved operational and financial performance by tens of millions of dollars; and oversaw $800 million in construction that includes the new teaching hospital, Outpatient Pavilion, Research, and other buildings.
He also oversaw the successful implementation of the $100 million Electronic Medical Record installation; partnered with deans in hiring more than 60 new faculty per year for last three years; and led the “One UConn” strategy at UConn Health, centralizing shared functions across campuses.
Prior to UConn Health, he served in several high-profile roles including as president and CEO of the Grady Health System in Atlanta; CEO of Providence Healthcare in Washington state; and Secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, in which he was responsible for Florida”™s $16 billion health care administration budget including Medicaid, as well as regulatory oversight of Managed care programs, home health care and hospitals.
Agwunobi also previously served as a managing director and co-leader of the health care financial and operational performance improvement practice of Berkeley Research Group, the sixth-largest health care consulting firm in the U.S.
He also has served as CEO of the 14-hospital St. Joseph Health System in California, and president and CEO of Tenet South Fulton Hospital in East Point, Georgia. As a pediatrician, he has practiced on both coasts including at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Boston and Palo Alto Medical Foundation in California.
Paul Mounds, chief of staff to Gov. Ned Lamont, said the governor strongly supports Agwunobi”™s appointment to the position and that he is respected at the state”™s executive levels as well as in the university.
