University of Hartford president retires after five-and-a-half years
HARTFORD — University of Hartford President Gregory Woodward announced his retirement after five-and-a-half years at the school's helm, bringing his 45-year career in education to a close, according to the university.
“It is after deep thought and reflection that I share my decision to retire at the end of my contract in June,” Woodward said in a press release posted on the university's website. “I am extremely proud of the work that I have led here at UHart specifically — and what we have accomplished here.”
In addition to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, Woodward guided the university as it built the 60,000-square-foot Francis X. and Nancy Hursey Center for Advanced Engineering and Heath Professions as part of a $58 million investment that also renovated two existing academic spaces and increased classroom size, the university said in the release.
Under Woodward's guidance, the university launched 16 new undergraduate and graduate academic programs including nursing, aerospace engineering, business analytics, robotics, data science and master's programs in occupational therapy and computer science.
The university also began a new focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice with new staffing and training and expanded student supports with the Center for
Student Success opening in 2019 under Woodward's tenure. The efforts led to increased retention rates for students including a 16 percent increase for students of color, the university said.
Woodward began his term as the university's sixth president in July 2017 after serving as president of Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisc. He also served in several roles at Ithaca College including as dean of the School of Music and the inaugural dean of the Division of Graduate and Professional Studies.
Woodward is also a composer, musician and scholar who earned his Doctor of Music Arts degree from Cornell University. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut.
Woodward lost his wife Penelope “Penny” Woodward to cancer in 2021, creating the Penelope Woodward Memorial Scholarship in her honor.
“If she were here today I am certain she would encourage me to focus on creating new memories with our children and family at this point in my life,” Woodward said. “It is time for me to begin a new chapter — and for the university to continue to change and evolve as well.”
The university, founded in the late 1950s, rests on a 350-acre campus that straddles Hartford, West Hartford and Bloomfield offering more than 100 degree programs to 4,000 undergraduate students and 1,800 graduate students, according to the University of Hartford website.
The university's Board of Regents will be involved in the appointment of the next president.