Vargas’ new role becomes clearer
Hartford’s former state rep joining CCSU as its O’neill Endowed Chair
Former state Rep. Edwin Vargas Jr. of Hartford is taking on a new role at Central Connecticut State University.
The school announced in a release that Vargas will become the school’s next Gov. William A. O’neill Endowed Chair in Public Policy and Practical Politics and will begin at the school next week.
He will succeed former state Sen. Donald J. Defronzo, who held the O’neill chair from 2016 to 2022.
Vargas was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 2012 and served the 6th House District for five terms. He was appointed deputy speaker of the House in 2020.
Vargas had announced back in January he was resigning the 6th House District seat he won in November to pursue an academic post in the state university system. Vargas was not sworn in for another term to begin this legislative session.
“As the O’neill chair, Mr. Vargas’s charge is to promote a nonpartisan view of the history, structure, people, and policies of Connecticut government for students and the larger community,” CCSU President Zulma R. Toro said in the release. “We are delighted to welcome him to the Central family.
His experience as an educator and long history of community and public service will certainly result in meaningful collaborations with our faculty and community leaders, as well providing educational opportunities for our students.”
Vargas’ responsibilities will include teaching; organizing and participating in public lectures and campus forums that address issues of public policy and practical politics; facilitating university
collaborations with state governmental leadership on policy initiatives; and mentoring students.
In addition to a career in public service, Vargas was a longtime educator in the Hartford Public Schools system for more than 30 years, where he taught American history at the high school level; supervised the Mathematics Lab; and served as lead teacher at the North End Adult School, which included teaching English to immigrant students before retiring in 2007.
He holds a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Hartford.
He also has served on many state and local boards and commissions, including the Hartford Hospital Corporation, Connecticut United Way of the Capitol Region and the Hartford Planning and Zoning Commission, among others.