The University of Connecticut appointed Susan Herbst as its first female president. Herbst was executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer at the University System of Georgia and, before that, acting president of the State University of New York at Albany. Her brother, Jeffrey Herbst, is president of Colgate ...]]>

The University of Connecticut appointed Susan Herbst as its first female president. Herbst was executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer at the University System of Georgia and, before that, acting president of the State University of New York at Albany. Her brother, Jeffrey Herbst, is president of Colgate University.

Meanwhile, New England will have to learn to live without two of America's greenest college presidents.

College of the Atlantic President David F. Hales, who announced he will step down after graduation in June, will go on extended leave beginning Jan. 1, 2011. The COA  board named current Administrative Dean Andrew Griffiths as interim president.

Unity College President Mitchell Thomashow steps down as the ninth president on July 1, leaving the small environmental college in rural Unity, Maine, with a national niche as a champion of sustainability.