Dec 29, 2011
Board Elects Yvette Meléndez as Vice-Chair
The Board of Regents of Higher Education elected Yvette Meléndez, of South Glastonbury, as Vice-Chair.
“Yvette brings with her to the board a vast amount of higher education institutional knowledge and a true commitment to helping this new system succeed,” said Board of Regents Chairman Lew Robinson. “Yvette is well respected by her peers and well known for the work she’s done to improve the lives of others – both inside of state government and outside, as well. I look forward to working with her as we chart the course for this new system, and help improve the educational attainment of our state’s adult population.”
“I’m honored to accept this position on the Board of Regents, and look forward to working with my fellow Regents in this capacity,” said Meléndez. “It’s critical that we achieve savings within the system and direct those savings back to the campuses to hire more faculty, improve the odds of student success and increase the access to higher education. This won’t be quick, and it won’t be easy, but Connecticut’s tomorrow depends upon our best efforts today.”
In addition to her current work at Hartford Healthcare and Hartford Hospital, Ms. Meléndez has over 30 years of experience developing public policy in education, human services, and public health at the state level. Prior to her current position, Ms. Meléndez served in the roles of Chief of Staff and Chief Administrative Officer for the Connecticut State University System. Her experience also includes roles at the State Department of Education, where she led Connecticut’s entry into the charter school movement; as Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Public Health and Addiction Services (now the Department of Public Health); and as Chief of Staff for the Department of Income Maintenance (now the Department of Social Services), where she was part of the state’s initial efforts to desegregate Connecticut schools. Ms. Meléndez holds a master’s degree in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.