UConn Foundation Board Names New Chairman

Corporate leader John Malfettone was gaveled in as chairman of the UConn Foundation’s board of directors Oct. 25 and is poised to build on the Foundation’s record-breaking fundraising effort, which raised $82 million in FY18, the largest in the Foundation’s history.

Malfettone, a highly engaged alum who has served on the board for eight years, is looking forward to leading the critical work of fundraising for student scholarships, research, and professorships for the state’s flagship university.

Last year, the Foundation had a banner year, raising 15 percent more than in FY17 and increasing its donor count to 22,260. A full $22.3 million was raised for scholarships alone.

“We need to build on this tremendous momentum”

“We need to build on this tremendous momentum,” Malfettone said. He said his goal is to increase the level of principal giving overall to UConn and hopes to further engage residents in the Fairfield County region.

“The generosity of our donors is absolutely vital to UConn and our ability to build and maintain excellence in the future,” UConn President Susan Herbst said. “John is an outstanding leader and I look forward to working closely with him in the months ahead.”

Malfettone replaces Dan Toscano ’87, a financial executive at Morgan Stanley who led the board for three years.

“We can’t thank Dan enough for his leadership. He has presided over the best three-year period in the Foundation’s history,” said John Fodor ’85, interim president and CEO of the UConn Foundation. “And we are so lucky to have John. His business acumen along with his love of UConn and institutional knowledge will be great assets.”

Malfettone is currently senior managing director and chief compliance officer at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a private equity company in New York City, and is retiring at the end of the year. He previously was a partner at KPMG and served in senior management roles at Oak Hill Capital Partners and GE Capital.

Malfettone currently serves on the board’s finance and audit committees and has hosted several fundraisers for the University at his home. He has also been a generous donor, supporting athletics and the business school and establishing the Malfettone Family Scholarship. He and his wife, Rina Malfettone ’78, live in Trumbull and have five adult children and two grandchildren.

In addition to ushering in a new chairman, the board welcomed Steven M. Greenspan, of West Hartford, as a new member. Greenspan, who graduated from the UConn School of Law in 1985, is vice president and chief litigation counsel for United Technologies Corp. and a trustee of The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts.