UConn Names First Woman President

Susan Herbst, an experienced and highly regarded educator, will lead the state's flagship university for the foreseeable future.

Moments ago, the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees appointed Herbst, the executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer for the University System of Georgia, as president of UConn.

This is the first time in the school's history that a woman has been chosen to lead the University.

Herbst, a professor of public policy at Georgia Tech, will succeed former UConn President Michael J. Hogan, who stepped down on June 30, to accept the presidency at the University of Illinois.

UConn has been led by interim president Philip E. Austin since June 11. Austin previously served as the University's president from 1996 to 2007, and will continue to act as president until Herbst begins her tenure.