By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas and Keith M. Phaneuf

CTMirror.org

January 17, 2012

The Board of Regents for Higher Education is recommending a 3.8 percent increase in tuition and fees at the four Connecticut State Universities and 3.1 percent at the 12 community colleges for the upcoming school year.

This recommendation will be voted on Thursday by the full board, just two days after the proposal was released. A spokeswoman for the regents was unable to say whether a public hearing was ever held on the proposal.

The increase does not require legislative approval. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy last year asked the system not to increase tuition more than inflation when substantially cutting their budget, a goal they met. When the University of Connecticut, which is not part of the CSU system, voted to increase tuition faster than inflation -- or about 25 percent for next four school years -- to hire more 290 more faculty, Malloy's office did not come out in opposition.

Continue reading

By Daniela Altimari

The Hartford Courant

January 5, 2012

FARMINGTON -- Critics of the state's partnership with a Maine-based medical research firm specializing in the cutting-edge field of genomic medicine repeatedly asserted that the $291 million deal was too risky for Connecticut taxpayers.

But when the final paperwork needed to launch the project was signed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy with much fanfare Thursday, it included several provisions designed to protect the public's investment, including one that gives the state a slice of the royalties from any lucrative drug therapies born from the research.

"We're moving as rapidly as we can to create a new and more vibrant and stronger Connecticut,'' a beaming Malloy said during a ceremony marking the agreement between the state and Jackson Laboratory at the University of Connecticut's medical campus in Farmington. "There is no reason that we could not be the center of genomic personalized medicine for all of the country, perhaps all of the world."

Continue reading

Associated Press

Boston.com

January 5, 2012

STORRS, Conn.— Four New England schools are among 100 public colleges and universities offering quality education at an affordable price.

That's according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, whose newly released rankings placed the University of Connecticut at No. 30 nationwide -- the highest among New England institutions.

Continue reading

By Arielle Levin Becker 

CTMirror.org

January 1, 2012

Mice are central to The Jackson Laboratory, to its history, its financing and its role in understanding human diseases. The fast-reproducing mammals give researchers a model to use to examine and test how genetic distinctions can cause diseases, and how they could be cured.

The lab's production side raises and sells some 3 million mice a year to researchers around the world. Last fiscal year, the sale of JAX Mice and Services generated $144.4 million in revenue for the nonprofit lab, more than two-thirds of its operating income.

Now Jackson is planning to build an institute in Connecticut, and in doing so, plans to take its work beyond mice, to play a more direct role in translating genetic research into tests and therapies for human diseases.

The vision behind JAX Genomic Medicine -- to be located on the UConn Health Center's Farmington campus and developed with $291 million in state funds -- is based on the increasing ability to quickly and inexpensively decode the genes that make up individuals, and the goal of tailoring treatments, even preventive plans, to each person's particular makeup.

Continue reading