UConn People – January 22, 2025

If you would like to submit a passing, retirement, notable birthday, achievement or a family event of a UConn employee or retiree for consideration, please email to work@uconn.edu.

Achievement

Dr. Linda Barry has been recognized by with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. It is the nation’s highest honor that mentors can receive. Barry is a professor in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Public Health Sciences at UConn School of Medicine and serves as associate director of the UConn Health Disparities Institute and associate dean of the Office of Multicultural and Community Affairs. These awards honor the vital role that America’s teachers and mentors play in shaping the next generation of technical leaders, including scientists, engineers, explorers, and innovators.

Zachary K. Collier, an assistant professor in the Neag School of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology, has bene honored by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine, as a scholar who is changing academia through teaching, research, and service.

Dr. George Kuchel, Professor of Medicine, Director of the UConn Center on Aging and the NIA UConn Older Americans Independence Pepper Center at UConn Health, has been invited to serve on the National Advisory Council on Aging for a three-year term. The council advises the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Director of NIH and the Director of the National Institute on Aging on its mission.

Mark Overmyer-Velázquez, Dean and Chief Administrative Officer of UConn Hartford, has been elected to serve as chair of the Board of Directors of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving – the community foundation for the 29-town Greater Hartford region that’s celebrating its 100th year in 2025.

In Memoriam

Teri Atwood, 65, of Eastford, Conn., a former secretary for Dining Services,  on Dec. 8.

Mark Roy, 72, who worked in University Communication from 1981 until retiring in 2009, on Jan. 10. Roy was considered the University’s historian and authored a photographic history of the University.

Zigmund Stanowski, 91, of Southington, Conn., a former UConn Health employee, on Jan. 12.