Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 18, 2021 By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com T errence Cheng has work to do. In July, Cheng started his tenure as president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system as its four universities and 12 community colleges undergo a period marked by change and challenges. As head of CSCU, Cheng, 49, will oversee consolidation of its community colleges, a move that's been controversial among some faculty who have expressed misgivings about merging a dozen institutions into a single entity. Meanwhile, enrollment numbers for fall 2021 reflect a continuing downward trend, despite expectations of a post-COVID bounce back. Add to that, pressure from state government and private industry to provide more training in Connecticut industries facing worker shortages. "It's going to take a significant all-hands-on-deck effort to really start to reconstitute the DNA of the institutions in our system to establish that 21st-century value proposition that resonates with students," Cheng said. "We don't have an option except to embrace that." For Cheng, that means maintaining and growing ties to Connecticut's business community in designing new or expanding successful workforce training programs, and using community college consolidation to increase connectivity between CSCU's campuses. A 10-year veteran of the City University of New York system who most recently ran UConn's Stamford campus, Cheng says he's a believer in public higher education, and sees community colleges as an important workforce development engine. Under Cheng, UConn Stamford secured a $1 million grant from quasi-public venture fund Connecticut Innovations for internship and workforce development programs. And since starting at CSCU in July, he's been working closely with the Governor's Workforce Council, the state Office of Workforce Strategy and the business community on initiatives to expand workforce development efforts at the community college level, he said. Deficits, declining enrollment Since Cheng's predecessor, Mark Ojakian, spearheaded CSCU's consolidation plan, the idea has been controversial — with some faculty vocally opposing it. Cheng said he understands concerns that the move could cause institutions in the system to lose their individual identities. But he also said the current situation is untenable. Between consistent declining enrollments and budget deficits something needs to change. "If we don't make a big move, then we're going to be facing greater danger than we are now, and I think that's something that we have to be brutally honest about," Cheng said. "The risk of doing nothing is that we die a little bit more every day." When Ojakian in 2017 first proposed the consolidation plan to cut out each institution's president, budget staff and other administrative positions and form an integrated staff for all community colleges, CSCU had posted consistent budget deficits and falling enrollment numbers for Cheng leads CT's state colleges through consolidation, greater focus on job-training programs TERRENCE CHENG President Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Education: Master of Fine Arts: Fiction, University of Miami Previous Jobs: Campus Director: University of Connecticut at Stamford; Associate Provost/Assistant Vice President, Academic Programs: Brooklyn College; Associate Dean, School of Arts and Humanities: Lehman College Age: 49 Early in his tenure as president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, Terrence Cheng said he's focused on community college consolidation and expanding workforce training programs. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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