www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 18, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 3
Newsmakers
EDITORIAL
Greg Bordonaro Editor, ext. 139, gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com
Gregory Seay News Editor, ext. 144, gseay@HartfordBusiness.com
Matt Pilon News Editor, ext. 143, mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com
John Stearns Staff Writer, ext. 145, jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com
Patricia Daddona Web Editor, ext. 127, pdaddona@HartfordBusiness.com
Stephanie Meagher Research Director
Heide Martin Research Assistant
Steve Laschever Photographer
BUSINESS
Joe Zwiebel President and Publisher, ext. 132, jzwiebel@HartfordBusiness.com
Donna Collins Associate Publisher, ext. 121, dcollins@HartfordBusiness.com
Allison Williams Office & Sales Coordinator, ext. 122, awilliams@HartfordBusiness.com
Amy Orsini Events Manager, ext. 134, aorsini@HartfordBusiness.com
Kaleigh Hickey Events Coordinator, ext. 137, khickey@HartfordBusiness.com
Jaime Rudy Sales Director, ext. 124, jrudy@HartfordBusiness.com
David Hartley Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 130, dhartley@HartfordBusiness.com
Christopher Mazzaia Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 128, cmazzaia@HartfordBusiness.com
Kristen P. Nickerson Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 133, knickerson@HartfordBusiness.com
Karen Spatafora Accounts Manager, ext. 131, kspatafora@HartfordBusiness.com
Raki Zwiebel Credit and Collections Manager
Valerie Clark Accounting Assistant/Office Manager
Kim Vautour HR Director
PRODUCTION
Christopher Wallace Art Director, ext. 147, cwallace@HartfordBusiness.com
Liz Saltzman Graphic Designer, ext. 140, lsaltzman@HartfordBusiness.com
Peter Stanton CEO, pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Joseph Zwiebel President, ext. 132, jzwiebel@HartfordBusiness.com
Mary Rogers COO/CFO, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
Annual subscriptions are $84.95. To subscribe, visit HartfordBusiness.com,
email hartfordbusiness@cambeywest.com, or call (845) 267-3008.
ADVERTISING:
For advertising information, please call (860) 236-9998.Please address all correspondence to:
Hartford Business Journal, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hart ford CT 06103.
NEWS DEPARTMENT:
If you have a news item: Call us at (860) 236-9998, fax us at (860) 570-2493,
or e-mail us at news@HartfordBusiness.com.
Hartford Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts
or materials and in general does not return them to the sender.
Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published weekly, 49x per year — including
three special issues in July, November and December — by new England Business Media, LLC,
15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hartford, CT 06103. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT and at
additional entry points.
Tel: (860) 236-9998 • Fax (860) 570-2493
Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.
Postmaster:
Please send address changes to:
Hartford Business Journal
P.O. Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894
www.copyright.com
HARTFORD
BUSINESS JOURNAL
www.HartfordBusiness.com
(860) 236-9998
Alexion's body blow
"Alexion's announcement that
it's moving its headquarters to
Boston from New Haven is one
more body blow to the state's
image of being unfriendly to
business. In this case, that
reputation is totally undeserved."
David Cadden , professor of
entrepreneurship and strategy emeritus at Quinnipiac
University, in arguing that the state made a considerable
attempt to keep Alexion in Connecticut by providing the
rare disease drugmaker with millions in incentives.
Avoiding bankruptcy
"Bankruptcy should not be an
option for Hartford. No major
capital city has ever filed for
bankruptcy in the United States,
and we will do everything we can
to not be the first."
Hartford City Council President
Thomas "T.J." Clarke II
expressing his desire for the city to avoid filing for
Ch. 9 bankruptcy protection.
Mark Overmyer-Velázquez
Director of UConn Hartford, professor of history and Latino and Latin American studies
The director of UConn's new campus that opened in
downtown Hartford Aug. 28 is a professor and musi-
cian — and he knows what it takes to help conduct an
educational enterprise as an elected member and past
chair of the West Hartford board of education.
There, Mark Overmyer-Velázquez experienced the scale,
complexity and pace of a district with 10,000 students,
1,650 staff and a $160 million budget. After a national
search, UConn chose him to lead UConn Hartford — the
$140 million complex anchored by the refurbished Hart-
ford Times building. With 3,000-plus students, faculty and
staff downtown, UConn has an alpha-dog presence in the
city's economy and culture. Overmyer-Velázquez recently
answered a few questions about his new job.
What has been students' and faculty reaction to the
new campus?
Excitement! The move brought new possibilities for
learning and spending time in neighboring businesses
and cultural institutions. Co-location with the Hartford
Public Library and Wadsworth Atheneum is a particu-
larly exciting opportunity for students.
What's the biggest challenge you face in your new job?
Learning about, negotiating and collaborating with
the multiple constituencies involved and invested in our
new campus. I need to quickly get up to speed on the
needs and demands of students, staff, faculty, university
and wider community. This is an enormous opportunity
because a lot of people and institutions are committed
to the success of UConn Hartford.
What does your director role entail?
My primary job is to clear obstacles and create oppor-
tunities for academic success for our diverse student
body. My work ranges from supporting staff, to working
with our student enrollment and retention team, IT,
facilities, security, space usage, budget and finances,
communication and community engagement.
Are you going to teach at the new campus?
Yes. Eventually, albeit at a reduced level, I hope to part-
ner with my UConn colleagues in units like the Institute
of Latino, Caribbean and Latin American studies to de-
velop courses that involve Hartford's diverse immigrant
community with, perhaps, a focus on Latino residents.
Tell us something about you many people don't know.
Before graduate school, I spent a year studying jazz
piano performance. I've played in bands since then and
play keyboard for the UConn faculty band, Blues with-
out Borders.
VERBATIM
www.kelsercorp.com
43 Western Blvd, Suite 150
Glastonbury, CT 06033
860 610 2200
What if technology were not a problem,
but instead enabled your success?
At Kelser, we help our clients use technology to unlock
their potential and achieve their goals.
www.kelsercorp.com/success
HBJ
PHOTO
|
JOHN
STEARNS
