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 Interim CSCU Chancellor Natalie Braswell recently joined NBC Connecticut’s “Face More Facts” for a wide-ranging conversation about the opportunities facing Connecticut’s public colleges and universities. Braswell discussed her decision to take on the interim leadership role and the importance of creating a strong foundation for CSCU’s future. The conversation also addressed enrollment and affordability, workforce development, workplace culture, and her vision for ensuring CSCU continues to meet the needs of Connecticut’s students and communities.
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 Connecticut State Community College and Northwell Health’s Norwalk Hospital held a signing ceremony to formalize a partnership designed to expand healthcare career pathways for students, provide educational and workforce development opportunities for Northwell employees, and help meet Connecticut’s growing healthcare workforce needs. The partnership will expand healthcare education and workforce development opportunities, strengthen talent pipelines into healthcare careers, and support the training and advancement of current healthcare employees. By aligning academic programs with workforce needs, Northwell Health and CT State are helping build a stronger healthcare workforce for Connecticut.
Photo Caption: Michelle Robertson (left), Market President (Northeast Region) for Northwell Health, and CT State College Interim President Christina Royal (right) at the signing ceremony.
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 More than 35 Connecticut high school students got an inside look at the nursing profession this summer during Southern Connecticut State University’s annual Summer Nursing Symposium in July. Hosted by Southern’s School of Nursing in partnership with Yale New Haven Health, the weeklong program introduces rising high school freshmen and sophomores to nursing through hands-on activities, simulation exercises, conversations with faculty and current nursing students, and a behind-the-scenes look at healthcare careers.
Photo caption: High school students practice nursing skills in a simulated hospital room during Southern’s annual Summer Nursing Symposium, a weeklong program designed to introduce students to careers in healthcare.
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 Central Connecticut State University alum Rashad Frett ’09 recently spoke with CT Mirror reporter Laura Tillman about his journey from Central film student to the Sundance Film Festival’s Best Director for 2025. Frett’s film, “Ricky,” which had a national theatrical release in April and is now available for streaming won Best Directing at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Frett’s film “Ricky” follows a character who has spent his life incarcerated since being convicted of a crime as a teenager.
Photo caption: Filmmaker Rashad Frett poses for a portrait on the Pequot Street pedestrian overpass in Hartford.
Photo credit: Sarah Gordon, CT Mirror
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 Western Connecticut State University Music graduates Charlie Widmer, Tom Polizzi, Austin Scelzo, and Matt Curley are members of the New England-based bluegrass band, On the Trail. This summer, three of the four band members headed to Germany to engage in cultural outreach through high-profile performances and traditional music workshops in Berlin and Hamburg. The band’s visit included a Bluegrass music and history workshop with high school-aged students at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and a U.S. Embassy Concert for exchange alumni and transatlantic relations works with opening remarks from Chief of Mission Alan Meltzer.
Photo caption: On the Trail with guest artist David Chernack performs at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. Photo credit: Mark Straus
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 Eastern Connecticut State University’s behavior analysis concentration in the psychology major has received accreditation from the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI). One of only eight such bachelor’s programs in the world accredited by ABAI, Eastern is the only accredited bachelor’s degree program in New England. Eastern’s behavior analysis program was the first in Connecticut to be approved by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board. Graduates of the program go on to graduate school to earn a master’s degree in behavior analysis.
Photo caption: Psychology Professor James Diller, coordinator of Eastern's behavior analysis program.
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 Charter Oak State College recently announced its BSW Program received full accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Board of Accreditation (BOA). Accreditation of a social work program by the BOA indicates that it meets or exceeds standards of program quality evaluated through a peer review accreditation process. The Charter Oak State College Bachelor of Social Work program is an online program combined with a practicum experience component. The program addresses the need for baccalaureate prepared social workers nationwide. Its core social work courses were developed to prepare students for the broad field of social work advocating for individuals, families, organizations, or whole communities across an array of settings. Two hundred eighteen students are currently enrolled in the program. The program has graduated thirty-three students.
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 High school students got a firsthand look at what it takes to turn a promising idea into a viable business during the Central Connecticut State University’s School of Business's Venture Development Summer Camp. The weeklong program challenged 17 students to work collaboratively in teams to develop original business ventures from concept to pitch.
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 The Connecticut Social Equity Council has partnered with Southern Connecticut State University to expand workforce development opportunities by providing scholarships for a cannabis industry education program designed to prepare eligible participants for careers in the state’s regulated adult-use cannabis industry. The program delivers a fully online, 16-week certificate program where participants will gain industry-relevant knowledge and practical skills for careers in compliance, cultivation, medical cannabis, product development and retail operations. Participants will also receive post-completion career center support. The partnership reflects the Council’s continued commitment to expanding economic opportunity through education, workforce development and strategic partnerships that prepare Connecticut residents for careers in emerging industries.
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 Eastern Connecticut State University welcomed 40 educators and administrators from the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System to campus for the 2026 AI Summer Institute, a professional development program focused on the responsible use and implementation of generative artificial intelligence in education. The institute explored topics like AI-powered learning activities, unit planning, lesson design, and individualization of classroom materials. Through panel discussions, workshops, and hands-on activities, participants expanded their knowledge of practical applications of AI in the classroom while promoting ethical, equitable, and intellectually rigorous classroom practices.
Photo caption: AI Summer Institute participants display their completion certificates.
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 Deno Macricostas, founder of Photronics, Inc., and a member of the WCSU Foundation, Inc., has established the Joe Fiorita Milestones to Success Scholarship to honor Joseph “Joe” Fiorita, a Danbury native, CPA, and early mentor to Deno in founding Photronics. The scholarship, which is held at the WCSU Foundation, Inc., reflects Fiorita’s generosity, creativity, and commitment to helping others succeed.
Photo caption: Joseph Fiorita, graduate of Danbury High School, founder of Fiorita, Kornhaas, and Company, located on Deer Hill Avenue in Danbury.
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 Connecticut State Community College (CT State) is launching a new associate degree in public health and two stackable certificates designed to strengthen the state's public health workforce in response to growing workforce shortages. The program is supported by a $4.2 million grant from the Connecticut Department of Public Health and will be offered at CT State Capital, Gateway, Housatonic, and Three Rivers. The program is designed to expand access to public health careers and build a more diverse and well-prepared workforce by emphasizing applied, workforce-aligned training in areas including community health, environmental health, health education, and policy. Students will complete hands-on fieldwork, allowing them to apply classroom learning to real-world public health challenges.
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CSCU Library Consortium Announces the 2026 Recipients of the Dr. Clara Ogbaa Award |
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 The CSCU Library Consortium has recognized colleagues at CT State Community College Manchester’s Raymond F. Damato Library with its 2026 Dr. Clara Ogbaa Award. This award celebrates people who have significantly advanced library services in the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system. This year’s recipients are: Christi Geisinger, Library Associate; Marilyn Haney, Secretary II; Debbie Herman, Director of Library and Educational Technology; Yoli Bergstrom-Lynch, Research and Instruction Librarian; Melissa Rivera, Library Associate; and David Tang, Educational Technology Assistant. Together, they collaborated to develop the Raymond F. Damato Library Makerspace, which opened in September 2024.
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