The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UNH president Kaplan to assume new CEO role
WEST HAVEN — After 18 years at the helm of the University of New Haven, President Steven Kaplan will assume a new role as the university’s first chancellor and CEO.
The move is part of a two-year transition plan as Kaplan, the sixth president, is seeking to scale back his daily management duties. Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger will assume the role as interim president during this two-year period.
“As all of higher education is facing a time of immense change and mounting competition, the continuity of the University's achievements and momentum is paramount to the Board of Governors,” said Board of Governors Chairman Charles Pompea in a statement to university staff, faculty and students Friday.
Pompea said that, although the university is adding an administrative role, the transitionary plan is “fully budget neutral.”
In his role as chancellor and CEO, Kaplan will “maintain the same level of control of the institution's overall financial results and operational performance, and will direct more time externally on high level fundraising, strategic partnerships, and Board relations,” Pompea said in his statement.
As interim president, Zenger will “serve as the internally-facing and community leader of the University, overseeing many of the day-to-day operations and interfacing with the student community, with areas of responsibility including University branding, meeting and ideally exceeding revenue targets, and the implementation of “A Bold Path Forward: 2026 Strategic Plan.”
Zenger, who joined the university in 2019, has a doctorate in educational policy and leadership and wrote his dissertation on interim college leadership.
Since joining the university, Zenger has been part of the university’s pursuit of athletic conference expansion and has overseen the groundbreaking of a new athletic performance center.
The university has expanded its enrollment under Kaplan, a process that
accelerated with Zenger as athletic director by enrolling over 100 student more student athletes in his first year. According to Pompea, the university’s enrollment
has grown more than 65 percent since Kaplan assumed the role of president in 2004.
“Since 2005, the university has completed $300 million in construction projects, adding or upgrading 600,000 square feet of academic and facility space, and has launched three dozen new academic programs,” Pompea said in his statement.
As the university grew its enrollment, the city of West Haven also began to redevelop the neighborhood around it — most notably by approving a developer to construct three mixed-use developments in the heart of Allingtown.
Under the two-year transitionary plan, the interim president, the provost, and all vice presidents will report to the chancellor and CEO.