The Connecticut State Universities are part of the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities, the largest public higher education system in Connecticut, and the second largest in New England. The four comprehensive state universities enroll almost 35,000 students and 180,000 alumni. The first of the universities to be founded was Central Connecticut State University, established in 1849 as a normal school for teacher education. Over time the other three institutions were founded as normal schools and in 1959 they were converted into state colleges to reflect their expanded mission. From their founding until 1965, they were overseen by the Connecticut State Department of Education. In 1965 the General Assembly transferred control of the then-colleges to an independent Board of Trustees. In 1983 the four institutions were converted into universities, together constituting the Connecticut State University System.The universities are governed by the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education, established in 2011 to license and accredit the institutions and their programs, approve budgets, support planning, and coordinate technology operations. The president of the Board is Mark E. Ojakian. The Connecticut State University System Foundation, provides financial support from private donations to assist the missions of the universities.The system publishes a regular magazine, Universe, highlighting the academic and civic initiatives of the universities, and a semi-annual journal of contemporary literature and essays known as the Connecticut Review that was founded in 1967 by the Board of Trustees.
