Through March 15, visitors to the Connecticut State Capitol and Legislative Office Building will see a visual display highlighting the impact of the Connecticut State University System (CSUS) on the state’s workforce, including some unexpected statistics and a focus on 12 graduates of Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Connecticut State Universities who are working in Connecticut in a wide range of fields. The display is located on the Upper Concourse between the Legislative Office Building and the State Capitol.
Nearly 94 percent of students attending the CSUS universities are from Connecticut which is the highest percentage in at least 15 years. Each of the state’s 169 cities and towns have residents attending the universities, and 86 percent of graduating students remain in the state after earning their degree.
Total enrollment, including undergraduate and graduate students, is at 36,629, the highest it has been since 1991, including more students attending on a full-time basis. Today, 82 percent of undergraduate students attend full-time. In 1991, that percentage was 63 percent.
During the past year, the universities have awarded 7,005 degrees and certificates. It is the first time that more than 7,000 were awarded in a single year. In the year 2000, there were 5,270 degrees granted, reflecting an increase of 33 percent during the decade.
Nearly half of the students attending CSUS are the first generation in their families to attend college, and most CSUS students balance commitments to work and family in addition to pursuing their education. Often, students take reduced course loads or stop and re-start their education due to intervening life events or financial considerations.
Full-time student levels have grown steadily for the past eight years, including an increase of nearly 3,000 full-time students in just the past five years. Data also indicate that those attending on a part-time basis are carrying heavier credit loads. This indicates a higher level of student engagement and portends improved student success in the future.
Recent data also reflect that across CSUS, six-year graduation rates are above the national average for similar institutions and have climbed steadily since 2005. The one-year retention rate, from freshman to sophomore year, is 78 percent. That is the highest level since the statistic began to be tracked in 2001.
Previous surveys have also indicated that the number of CSUS graduates pursuing master’s degrees grew from 22 percent to 29 percent, and 60 percent of them are doing so at Central, Eastern, Southern or Western, up from 53 percent the previous year.
Among the Connecticut State University System alumni featured in the State Capitol display are:
Central Connecticut State University
John J. Patrick, Jr., President and CEO, Farmington Savings Bank
Patrick began his banking career at Connecticut Bank & Trust in 1979, while attending Central. He was president and CEO of TD Banknorth Connecticut before joining Farmington Savings Bank, which converted from a mutual to publicly-owned company. He sits on the Business Advisory Council for Central’s School of Business and the CCSU Foundation Board of Directors.
Carly Woodward, Air Management Systems Manufacturing Engineer,
Hamilton Sundstrand, Windsor Locks
Woodward graduated in 2010 from Central with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering degree and is now a manufacturing engineer at Hamilton Sundstrand. There, she is working on electric discharge machine programming for cutting technologies to ensure the process is repeatable and runs at optimum speeds for production. At Central, she was a member of the Engineering Department’s team for NASA’s 17th annual Great Moonbuggy Race, helping the team place seventh nationally.
Danielle Eckert, Art Director, TracyLocke, Wilton
Eckert graduated in 2009 from Central with a degree in graphic design and worked on the design of a historical book commemorating the 25th year of the Connecticut State University System. In 2010, she began her job with TracyLocke and her projects have included an in-store branding project for a new Gatorade product.
Francois, a 2000 Eastern graduate, majored in business administration with a concentration in finance, and minored in information systems. He now works at Gartner Inc., an information technology research and advisory company, providing financial business support as a senior financial analyst.
Michael P. Johnson, DMD, Oral Surgeon
Hamden-Shoreline Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Associates, P.C., in Guilford and Hamden
Johnson, a dentist specializing in oral surgery, graduated from Eastern with a degree in biology and then earned his DMD at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. Connecticut Magazine named him one of the Top Dentists of 2009.
Tim White, Assistant Director for Collections, Yale Peabody Museum, New Haven
White graduated from Eastern in 1981 with an earth science degree, and interned at the University of Kansas Dyche Museum. He began working at the Peabody in 1983 and was an integral part of the planning and construction of the Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center at Yale University. He has served as president of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections.
Southern Connecticut State University
Hamlet M. Hernandez, Superintendent of Schools, Branford Public Schools
While at Southern, Hernandez earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1985, a master of science in reading in 1991, and a sixth-year degree in educational leadership in 2001. A son of Cuban immigrants, he is also a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. Hernandez taught in Hamden and became a principal and assistant superintendent of schools. In 2010, he was named superintendent of Branford Public Schools.
David McHale, Executive Vice President and CFO, Northeast Utilities, Hartford
McHale, a 1982 graduate of Southern, completed several independent studies in his academic career and was recommended for an internship at Northeast Utilities System. He worked
20 hours a week there during his senior year conducting economic research. In 2005, he
was promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer where he oversees
400 technology professionals.
Carol Stiff, Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions, ESPN, Bristol
Stiff graduated from Southern in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and competed in both basketball and field hockey. In 1989, Stiff began her coaching career at Western Connecticut State University as head field hockey coach and assistant women’s basketball coach. She joined ESPN in 1990 as a program planner and became a senior director. Her duties now include the programming, acquisitions and scheduling for sports on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.
Western Connecticut State University
Najah Mahfoud, Registered Nurse, Danbury Hospital
Mahfoud was born in Lebanon, moved to the United States with her family, and then again moved back home. She eventually moved back to the United States as a teenager, became a United States citizen — and with great support at Western — earned her nursing degree. In order to pay for her college tuition, Mahfoud worked as a nurse’s aide at Danbury Hospital. As a floater at the hospital, Mahfoud was exposed to many different areas of nursing and is now a registered nurse at Danbury Hospital.
Jennifer McPadden, Meteorologist, News12 Connecticut, Norwalk
McPadden earned a bachelor of science degree in meteorology from Western. There, she discovered she was comfortable in front of the camera after gaining experience on the university’s weather webcasts. Soon after, she was selected for an internship at WTNH-TV in New Haven. After graduation in 2007, she was hired as a meteorologist by News12 Connecticut where she now appears on the station’s newscasts.
Mark Ryan, Director of Instrumental Music, Stratford High School
Ryan has been a performing musician and a music educator in Connecticut since graduating from Western in 1985 with a achelor of science in music education. He then earned a master’s in music performance from Yale University and a DMA in musical performance from SUNY/ Stony Brook. At Western, he was an adjunct music professor and was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni. In his current position, he directs instrumental ensembles and teaches theory classes.
