Dr. Steven K. Wisensale is a professor of public policy in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. He earned his B.A. in political science and American history at Salem College in 1967, his M.Ed. in social foundations of education from Temple University in 1970, and his graduate diploma in comparative government and social welfare policy from the University of Stockholm, Sweden, in 1973. In addition, he earned his M.A. in liberal studies at Wesleyan University in 1979 and his Ph.D. in social welfare policy from Brandeis University in 1983. Continue reading →

Louis Lombardi is director of the University of Connecticut actuarial program. He has more than 25 years of experience within the insurance industry and is a member of both the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries. Continue reading →

Dr. Lawrence E. Hightower received his B.S. degree summa cum laude in chemistry from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1968. He received his Ph.D. degree from Harvard University in biochemistry. After working for a year as an instructor in microbiology at University of Massachusetts Medical School, he was appointed assistantprofessor of biology at the University of Connecticut in 1975.

In 1997, Dr. Hightower was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for pioneering work on cellular stress responses. In 1998, he was presented the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees Outstanding Achievement Award. He was the founding president of the Cell Stress Society International and founding Editor-in-Chief of Cell Stress and Chaperones, the leading specialty journal in his field.

Dr. Hightower is currently professor and associate head of the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, and he teaches the popular Honors course, “Topics in Modern Biology.” He has helped MCB students with their academic programs as an Honors advisor and has advised several Honors students on their theses.

Dr. Robin L. Chazdon was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1957. She attended Grinnell College and got her first taste of the tropics during her second year there on an off-campus field study program. She received her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University in 1984. After three post-doctoral positions she came to UConn as an assistant professor in 1988. She received tenure in 1994 and was promoted to full professor in 2000. At UConn, Chazdon has advised one master’s and five Ph.D. students to completion; she currently has three doctoral students. She has served on dozens of master’s and doctoral committees and has trained Mary Beth Palomaki, a University Scholar and Honors Scholar, who is graduating this May. Continue reading →

Harry A. Frank is a professor of chemistry and Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley from 1977 to 1980 after earning his Ph.D. from Boston University and B.S. from Memphis State University. He joined the UConn faculty in 1980.