Gov. Ned Lamont said Nov. 13 he is naming West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor chair of the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, effective immediately, succeeding Dan Toscano, who stepped down from the role this week.
Cantor has served on the board since 2014, according to the governor's office. She graduated magna cum laude from UConn in 1981 with a degree in accounting. Her selection takes effect immediately, the release says.
Lamont said he wanted a chair with extensive UConn experience and strong connections to the state's business community who would work to strengthen ties between the university and Connecticut employers. "Shari bleeds Husky blue," the governor said.
Cantor succeeds Toscano, who has chaired the board since 2019 and stepped down from the role this week, the release says. It does not say whether he remains a trustee or why he stepped down. Cantor thanked Lamont and Toscano "for his many years of dedicated leadership, service, and commitment to UConn's success."
Cantor said she looks forward to working with UConn President Radenka Maric, fellow trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni.
Her professional background is in accounting. After graduation she worked as a certified public accountant, first at PwC and then at Cigna. She won election to the West Hartford Town Council in 2004, became deputy mayor in 2012 and has been mayor since 2016. The release describes the mayor's post as an unpaid, volunteer role.
Cantor and her husband, Michael, have worked with the UConn Foundation to create Build Hartford, a course that places undergraduate and graduate students with Hartford-area start-ups, businesses and community organizations. They also support the university's Students First program, which provides emergency financial assistance to students facing unexpected hardships, according to the release. Michael Cantor graduated from UConn in 1980 and from its School of Law in 1983, and taught at the law school for more than 20 years. Two of the couple's four sons also attended UConn.
The UConn Business Hall of Fame inducted Cantor in 2017, the release said.
