As Board of Regents seek new chancellor, some call for bigger reforms for CSCU
As the Board of Regents looks for a new chancellor, some lawmakers say now is the time for dramatic changes to the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system.
The board was slated for a 5 p.m. special meeting on Wednesday, with a discussion on both an interim chancellor and a search for a permanent leader.
The post is vacant because former interim Chancellor O. John Maduko abruptly resigned last month after being confronted with a possible policy violation. Officials with the board and CSCU did not share details about the complaint.
Sources told NBC Connecticut the board expected to narrow its options for an interim, but likely would not vote on a decision Thursday.
Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said he has confidence in the board, which is seeking a new chancellor for the second straight year.
“They’ll have an interim chancellor, I think that will be appointed really soon… and they’ll do a real search, get the right person to take the lead,” Lamont told reporters after an unrelated event in Hebron.
Board chairman Martin Guay was not available for comment ahead of the meeting.
The board is also expected to discuss the status of its search for a permanent chancellor.
Terrence Cheng stepped down from the role in July 2025 after an audit found he had misused a purchase card.
He agreed to stay on as a special advisor, but that contract expired last month.
Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-Minority Leader) does not share Lamont’s confidence in the Board of Regents.
He said the board should have referred Cheng for criminal charges, and the lax response created a culture in which others felt they could evade serious punishment.
“That’s a culture that that board needs to fix; they need to start getting serious with governing that body,” Candelora said.
Sen. Mae Flexer (D-Willimantic), whose district is home to Eastern Connecticut State University, said the revolving door is part of deeper problems with the regents and the CSCU system.
“It’s a great frustration of mine,” she said. “Frankly, I think this experiment with the Board of Regents has been a huge failure.”
Then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy (D) combined the state’s four regional universities and community colleges into the CSCU system in 2011, with the regents overseeing operations.
The move was meant to cut costs, but CSCU budgets – and state contributions – have continued to grow over the last 15 years.
Students have complained that the consolidation has also limited the community colleges’ ability, now collectively branded as CT State, to add unique programs.
Faculty, meanwhile, say much of the increased spending has gone to administrators rather than classroom programming.
Flexer said she wants to see the system abolished and return to the structure before Malloy’s consolidation.
“I think this is an inflated bureaucracy that just doesn’t work, and it isn’t supporting students where they need to be met,” she said.
That was one of many options suggested in a 2024 report, commissioned by Lamont’s budget office, for CSCU.
Other options included a dramatic overhaul and maintaining the status quo.
Candelora also said CSCU and the regents have not produced the intended results. He also welcomes discussion on changes, including possibly undoing the consolidation.
“I think it might be time for us to look at the system and reanalyze it,” he said.
The 2024 report has not yet led to any proposals for major reforms to CSCU. Lamont agreed the system has not produced savings but said he wants the board to hire a new chancellor before considering major changes.
“That’s one of the things you bring in a new chancellor,” Lamont said. “Maybe somebody outside of our system, take a fresh look.”
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