Governor Rell: Larry McHugh

Will Be New Chair of UConn Board of Trustees

Karl Krapek to Chair CSU Board

            Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced she has selected Lawrence D. McHugh of Middletown to be the new Chairman of the University Of Connecticut Board Of Trustees.  He is the longtime President of the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce and had been serving as the Chairman of the Connecticut State University System Board of Trustees.

            Governor Rell also announced that she is naming Karl J. Krapek of Avon to serve as Chairman of the Connecticut State University System Board of Trustees.  Krapek had been Vice Chair of the CSU Board.

            “Larry McHugh has been a legendary – and legendarily successful – educator, business leader and community leader in our state for decades,” Governor Rell said. “I am thrilled that he is willing to take on this new challenge. I know he shares my vision of the University – a top-flight research university that remains affordable for the families of Connecticut. The university has undergone a remarkable transformation in the last few years and it continues to grow as it gains a great reputation for academic excellence.

            “In more than a quarter of a century with the CSU system, Larry has helped to bring about a true renaissance in a four-campus network that serves tens of thousands of students every year – almost all of them from Connecticut,” the Governor said. “These same students go on to work in Connecticut and live in Connecticut, becoming the work force and the economy of our future. In a very real sense, Larry McHugh has been helping to build this state’s future since he was first appointed to the board 26 years ago. I know he will bring that same drive and energy to UConn and its satellite campuses.

            “As fortunate as we are to have someone like Larry to move to the UConn system, we are equally blessed to have a candidate like Karl Krapek to replace him at the helm of the CSU Board,” Governor Rell said. “Karl’s many years of tremendous success as a business leader and his dedication to the community speak to the values that make him such an ideal candidate for this role. I am confident his leadership skills and business sense mean our state university system is again in very good hands.”

            McHugh, 69, of Middletown, is President of the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce, a position he has held since 1983. A 1962 graduate of Southern Connecticut State College (now Southern Connecticut State University), McHugh was a high school teacher and highly successful track and football coach for more than two decades, most of them at Xavier High School in Middletown. From 1975 to 1983 he served as Executive Director of M-X Development Corp., the fund-raising office for Mercy and Xavier high schools.

            Governor O’Neill first appointed him to the CSU Board of Directors in 1982. He has been reappointed by successive Governors, including Governor Rell in 2005. He also serves on a number of other state panels and commissions, including the Connecticut Employment and Training Commission and the Connecticut Commission on Arts, Tourism, Culture, History and Film.

            McHugh and his wife, Patricia, have three sons and two granddaughters.

            “I am very honored by the confidence Governor Rell has shown in me,” McHugh said. “The years I have spent on the CSU Board have been deeply rewarding and I look forward to the new challenges that are ahead. Like Governor Rell, I believe that the future of UConn – and of higher education in Connecticut – is very bright. We must continue to attract the best and brightest students from our state and from all over the world while providing them an education that is unparalleled. Working with Governor Rell, President Michael Hogan, the members of the Board and the UConn community, I know we will do great things.”

            Krapek, of Avon, has held top executive jobs at three of United Technologies Corp.’s business units – Otis Elevator, Carrier and Pratt & Whitney – as well as serving as President and Chief Operating Officer of UTC itself. He joined UTC as Vice President of Operations at Otis Elevator and became President in 1989. He was named Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Carrier in 1990 and became President and CEO of Pratt & Whitney in 1992. He retired as President and COO of UTC in 2002.

            He obtained a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) and a master’s in industrial administration from Purdue University. Prior to joining UTC he was an executive with GM, serving as Manager of Car Assembly Operations for the Pontiac division.

            “I thank Governor Rell and I look forward to continuing to work with her Administration, my colleagues on the Board and CSU Chancellor David Carter as well as the leadership of our faculties, staff and students,” Krapek said.  “I am committed to advancing the work of the universities, enabling CSU to continue doing what it does best – making a difference in the lives of Connecticut students and helping them build a better future for their families and our state.”