Dr. Mark Overmyer-Velázquez is the inaugural Dean and Chief Administrative Officer of the University of Connecticut–Hartford, where he also serves as Professor of History and Latino Studies. A nationally recognized leader in urban higher education, he directs a vibrant campus of 3,000 students and 400 faculty and staff. UConn Hartford is a federally designated Minority Serving Institution (AANAPISI, HSI), offering undergraduate courses in 36 departments and graduate studies, including MA, PhD, and certificate programs in five disciplines. Academic strengths span seven schools and colleges, with notable excellence in business, social work, and public policy.

During his tenure, Dr. Overmyer-Velázquez has guided significant campus growth, expanding enrollment, enlarging the downtown footprint, launching new research initiatives, and advancing equity and inclusion. He has led the campus’s first development efforts; overseen the opening of new residence halls and research spaces; established the interdisciplinary Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, and Equity initiative; and elevated the reputation, impact, and visibility of UConn’s R1 research mission in the state capital.

His commitment to student success is reflected in the creation of the Academic Achievement Center (AAC), the Office of Advocacy & Community Engagement (OACE), and the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Innovation Hub. The AAC integrates data-informed coaching, mentoring, and holistic support for students, faculty, and staff. Through community-focused partnerships, the OACE has organized civic dialogues, voter registration initiatives, a campus food pantry, and large-scale donation drives supporting Hartford residents experiencing homelessness. The TRHT Hub provides the framework for dismantling racism at UConn Hartford, anchoring the university’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice efforts.

Beyond the university, Dr. Overmyer-Velázquez actively builds public–private partnerships across the region and nationally. He serves as Chair of the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education, Chair of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and a member of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities. He also sits on the Boards of the MetroHartford Alliance and the Hartford Public Library.

Prior to his current role, he taught History and Latino Studies at Pomona College, Wesleyan University, and UConn Storrs for 15 years. He was the founding Director of UConn’s El Instituto: Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies. His publications include Visions of the Emerald City: Modernity, Tradition and the Formation of Porfirian Oaxaca, Mexico (Duke, 2006; Spanish translation, 2010); Latino America: State by State (Greenwood, 2008, two volumes); Beyond la Frontera: The History of Mexico-U.S. Migration (Oxford, 2011); and Global Latin(o) Americanos: Transoceanic Diasporas and Regional Migrations (Oxford, 2017). His scholarly contributions have been supported by appointments as a Fulbright Scholar, Peggy Rockefeller Visiting Scholar at Harvard, visiting lecturer at universities in Mexico, Chile, and China, and Research Professor at the University of Jordan’s School of Human Rights.

Dr. Overmyer-Velázquez earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of British Columbia and his master’s and doctoral degrees in History from Yale University. He was the first Latino elected official in West Hartford, serving as Chair of the Board of Education (2011–2017). His leadership in advancing equity and access in higher education has been recognized with the Charter Oak Cultural Center’s Vision Award in Social Justice, the Urban League of Greater Hartford’s Beyond Academics Award, and the Educational Leadership and Community Engagement Award from Real Art Ways.

He keeps his commitment to the arts by playing keyboard in the UConn faculty band, Blues without Borders.