The Connecticut State Colleges and University system has picked Terrence Cheng as its next president. The state Board of Regents for Higher Education on Friday unanimously approved Cheng for the post at an annual salary of $360,000.
Speaking in New Haven Friday, Cheng promised to emphasize racial equity in his new post, saying his parents immigrated to the United States from Taiwan so that he could have a better life.
“It is a surreal experience for me to be here right now, to have this charge, to have this responsibility bestowed upon me,” Cheng said. “And it is going to be one of my life’s greatest challenges and one of my life’s greatest honors.”
Cheng will begin the new job on July 2. He has been the director of the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus since 2016 and is also an English professor there.
The Colleges and Universities system serves more than 72,000 students at Connecticut's four state universities, 12 community colleges and Charter Oak State College. It does not include the University of Connecticut.
Mark Ojakian retired as the system’s president in January.