Graduate Trustee Candidates

Asha Bhandary

I wish to serve as a student Trustee to represent the interests and values of UConn students. I think that a core purpose of a great public university is to reflect on current values and institutions and consider how we can improve our common human projects. I believe the corresponding values of inquiry and innovation are central to the student population.

As a Trustee, I will contribute my knowledge of Connecticut, student needs, and non-profit organizations. I grew up in Shelton, CT, and attended Shelton High School. I then attended Stanford University, where I received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, with Honors in Ethics in Society. Prior to beginning a Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, I worked as a strategy consultant for national and state non-profit organizations, where I worked closely with Boards and CEOs. I currently serve in the Graduate Student Senate. If elected, I will bring a penchant for listening and thinking through policy implications. I hope to have the opportunity to serve the students of UConn.

Elissa Glucksman

My name is Elissa Glucksman and I am running for the Graduate Student Trustee position. I am a second-year student at the School of Law and a first-year student at the School of Social Work. As a dual degree student, I have a unique firsthand perspective of how two different graduate schools operate within the University of Connecticut system. I am aware of the strengths and challenges facing both schools, as well as their students.

After graduation I plan to advocate for children throughout Connecticut. I hope to take the advocacy skills I have developed at UConn to the Board of Trustees in order to represent the graduate student population’s interests (all graduate students, not just those from a single campus or degree).

I was born and raised in Connecticut and have always considered the University of Connecticut to be the public university that all others should aspire to emulate. I want to do my part to ensure that this vision continues, and I want to do it as your Graduate Student Trustee.

Joseph Sweet

I am a JD/MBA student at the University of Connecticut. I was previously a dual degree undergraduate at UConn, and during that time I helped improve the University community by sitting on the University Senate and Student Fee Advisory Committee and being the comptroller of the Undergraduate Student Government. I feel uniquely qualified not only because I am aware of the issues surrounding UConn, but also because I would be more geographically available to students and have developed a strong relationship with several administrators.

Keeping UConn affordable and increasing the value of all our degrees would be my top priority. However, I enter with the understanding that these goals require improving the diversity of our schools, ensuring that oversight is effective, spending funds where it is most beneficial and needed, and making UConn a pleasant experience for masters, professional, or Ph.D. students and investing in the community. I will work hard to hear all the voices of the UConn community and earn the respect of fellow board members so that the student voice is heard.