UConn 360: The UConn Podcast

Episode 154: Starting 2026 With Women’s Ice Hockey

Happy New Year to all of our UConn 360 Podcast listeners. Women’s ice hockey coach Chris MacKenzie is our guest on this episode and his team is currently ranked fifth in the country. He is in his 13^th year in charge of the Huskies and has led UConn to the Hockey East regular season championship in each of the past two years. Chris was the national coach of the year in 2024 as he led UConn to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. He talks about this year’s team, what he looks for when recruiting a student-athlete, and how the new Toscano Family Ice Forum has changed the program. Chris also gives us an Olympic preview and a look into his family life. Check out a UConn game this season!

Episode 153: Healthy Rounds Moves to Podcast Format

Our guest on the final UConn 360 podcast of the year is a familiar one to listeners of the Healthy Rounds radio show. Dr. Anthony Alessi of UConn Health is a neurologist specializing in general neurology, neuromuscular diseases, EMG and sports neurology and the long-time host of the show. It is moving to a podcast format in January and listeners can reach out to Dr. Alessi with questions at info@alessimd.com . Dr. Alessi also talks about his experience working in athletics with UConn teams, the New York Yankees, boxers, and Professional Bull Riding. In addition, co-host Izzy Harris shares how she and her University Communications co-workers finished in first place the annual UConn Gingerbread House Decorating Contest. Happy Holidays to all from UConn 360!

Episode 152: Thanksgiving with UConn Dining Services

Rob Landolphi is the Director of Culinary Development for UConn Dining Services. In his role, he and his team develop the menus to the over 200,000 meals served to students each week in Storrs. Rob joins us on his episode to talk about how student tastes have changed over the years and how everything from social media to the Cultural Centers on campus affects what is served in dining halls. For those of you that are getting ready to prepare Thanksgiving dinner, Rob provides some great tips on cooking turkey and getting sides dishes done in advance. We also discuss the 25^th Annual UConn Culinary Olympics, which takes place on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, and the public is invited to attend!

Episode 151: Are Students Bouncing Back from the Pandemic?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, over half a million K-12 students in Connecticut had to rapidly pivot to remote and hybrid learning. Now, after five years, schools have reestablished their regular rhythms, and it’s easy to imagine that the pandemic’s effects on learning have subsided along with social-distancing and mask mandates. But unfortunately, this isn’t the case for many students. Our guest on this episode of the UConn 360 podcast is Morgaen Donaldson, the Associate Dean for Research and Philip E. Austin Endowed Chair of the UConn Neag School of Education.  She has worked to investigate and address the pandemic’s effects on student performance and well-being. Donaldson works to identify the issues currently faced by schools, develop research studies to analyze them, and ultimately design solutions. 

Episode 150: The Lucky Husky

Bethany O’Brien is the author of a new UConn children’s book and is a proud UConn graduate. She met her husband in the first month of college in the West Campus residence halls and lives with her family in nearby Tolland, as they share their love of UConn with their two children. Bethany has integrated her passion for UConn by writing a children’s book that celebrates UConn’s success in men’s and women’s basketball – “The Lucky Husky”. The book has just been published, and a share of the proceeds will benefit the care and upkeep of our beloved mascot Jonathan! She joins us on the UConn 360 podcast to talk about her background and how she decided to write this book. The book is available on Amazon and information on appearances and book signings can be found on Instagram.

Episode 149: It’s Halloween Time, Let’s Study Horror Films!

It’s October here at UConn (and everywhere else!), which means it is almost Halloween and horror film season. Our guest on this episode of the UConn 360 podcast is professor of English Greg Semenza, who has been a member of the UConn faculty since 2001 and teaches a class called “The Horror Film” that has 100 students enrolled in each of the last several semesters. He also is the faculty advisor of the Husky Horror Club, which has 500 undergraduate members. Greg is a horror movie aficionado, and we ask him about some of his personal favorites, what exactly qualifies as a horror movie and why they are so popular today. He earned his undergraduate degree from Rutgers and his graduate and doctoral degree from Penn State.

Episode 148: A Community Program for Literacy and Nutrition

Husky Reads is one of the longest-running community impact programs for UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport out of the Neag School of Education here at UConn. Husky Reads is designed to promote nutrition and literacy among preschool children. The curriculum includes a series of 10 weekly lessons that introduce the preschool-age children to MyPlate while improving fruit and vegetable literacy. Our guest on this podcast is Sarah Larocque, who is the lead coordinator for Husky Reads, who explains the program to us. More than 800 preschoolers across Connecticut engage with Husky Reads each year at 15 early childhood education centers. Such sustained community partnerships are a hallmark of UConn Husky Nutrition & Sport as well as the University’s mission, values, and areas of focus in its current Strategic Plan.

Episode 147: Caring For Family Members With Dementia

Amanda Cooper is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and her research focuses on the ways in which individuals and families navigate difficult transitions across the lifespan, particularly at the end of life. She has recently published a study in the Journal of Family Communication about what family members can do to maintain the personhood of their family members who have dementia. The topic is particularly timely as September is World Alzheimer’s Month and Sept. 21 is World Alzheimer’s Day. The study has specific tips, like maintaining a connection with the person by saying phrases like “I love you.”  Amanda is a relatively new member of the UConn community and talks about how much she enjoys being part of the institution and the welcoming environment it provides to researchers and educators.

Episode 146: Happy Birthday School of Pharmacy!

It’s a special year for the UConn School of Pharmacy in 2025-26 as it celebrates its centennial year. Dean Phil Hritcko joins us on the UConn 360 podcast to tell us about all the festivities that are planned, including the Centennial Celebrationon Oct. 18. Dean Hritcko also gives us an update on what is new in the School of Pharmacy and explains the academic programs the school offers. There are a lot of different career options for pharmacy graduates than the traditional retail outlets and working behind a counter. Research has become a big part of the pharmacy field. He also talks about what is new in the global field of pharmacy, including how tariffs are affecting the production of medications.

Episode 145: A Special Summit Comes to UConn

The Dodd Center for Human Rights will be presenting its Second Human Rights Summit from October 22 and 24 and this year’s event will focus on Sport and Human Rights. The opening keynote event of the summit will feature a conversation with two pivotal figures in the history of sports and activism—Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the 1968 Olympians whose raised-fist salute became an iconic global symbol of the struggle for human rights. The summit is open to the public and all are welcome to attend. Our guest on this episode of the podcast is Jim Waller, the Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice, Director of Dodd Human Rights Impact Programs, and the coordinator of the summit. He has an impressive background, which includes holding responsibilities with the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.