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JUNE 27, 2016
Volume 24, Number 30
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Index
■ Week in Review: PG. 6
■ Focus: PG. 8
■ The Lists: PGS. 10, 12
■ Deal Watch: PG. 16
■ Movers & Shakers: PG. 24
■ Town Profile: PG. 26
■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 28
Stage 2
A new free consulting service overseen by the
MetroHartford Alliance and funded by CTNext aims to
help later-stage companies in Greater Hartford mature
into larger, more profitable businesses. PG. 3
EXECUTIVE PROFILE
Change Agent
Charter Oak State College President Ed Klonoski's
decision to exploit the Internet and pursue a career
in online learning was prescient. Find out why.
PG. 5
Companies offer student loan repayment
to attract Millennials, others
By John Stearns
jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com
R
obert Syc said he's never had a job
where his employer offered to help pay
off his student loan debt. Until now.
Syc works at Foley, a Hartford company
that recently announced it will pay $1,000
a year toward an employee's student debt
for as long as the employee works there.
There's no payment cap.
"It's an incredible opportunity," said Syc,
27, who works in drug and alcohol testing
compliance at Foley, which provides compli-
ance, financial and insurance services for the
transportation and employment industries.
Companies for decades have offered
tuition-reimbursement programs to employ-
ees seeking higher-level degrees that groom
them for future management positions. But
paying employees' old student loan debt is a
much rarer benefit.
In fact, only about 4 percent of compa-
nies offer a student loan repayment pro-
gram, according to a Society for Human
Resource Management (SHRM) survey, up
from 3 percent last year.
But that's a number SHRM expects to rise.
Continued on page 8
Wooing
TALENT
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CT deals seen
as linchpin
for 'Access
Northeast'
By Matt Pilon
mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com
C
onnecticut's energy regulator is in the
midst of a major power procurement that
could determine the fate of New England's
largest proposed natural gas expansion project.
On July 1, the Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection (DEEP) will accept
responses to a recent request for proposals to
expand natural gas capacity and storage in
the state.
Among the expected bidders will be the $3
billion Access Northeast project, a proposed
Continued on page 20
A post marking a section of Spectra Energy's Algonquin
natural gas pipeline, which transports gas to Connecticut.
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Robert Syc, 27, said
Foley's college debt
repayment program
shows the company
cares about its
employees.
