UConn President Susan Herbst has announced she will step down after the 2018-19 academic year.
Herbst, 55, has led the state's flagship university since 2011. She did not give a reason for her decision in a message to the university community, only saying she felt it was the "right time for a change."
Herbst is the first woman to hold the job since the school was founded in 1881.
Her tenure has included major investment in capital improvements at the school, including the $1.5 billion Next Generation UConn and $864 million Bioscience Connecticut initiatives, which funded major construction on the school's campuses and at UConn Health.
In a letter to the UConn community, Herbst praised Connecticut and the "positive energy" at the university:
Speaking as someone who has lived all over the country: Connecticut is a wonderful state and a great place to live. Since I arrived here, by and large, I have found people in Connecticut to be positive, compassionate, enlightened, and progressive in their thinking. They believe deeply in the mission of public higher education.
One of the things I admire most about UConn is the positive energy among the whole community – all of UConn Nation. Whether students, faculty and staff, parents, alumni, donors, patients, or fans who simply came to see a game, the positive spirit I saw throughout my time here defines this place, which means so much to so many people. That is part of what makes it so special, including to me.
In a statement, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy praised Herbst's tenure, noting her role in bringing a UConn campus to downtown Hartford.
Herbst said she plans to return to the classroom as a professor of political science at UConn's Stamford campus.
This report includes information from The Associated Press.
