Foundation Ushers in New Board Chair

Dan Toscano of Darien Pledges To Support UConn’s Mission

“I’m really, really amazed at what has happened over the last couple of years with the board and the foundation. This board is amazing and I couldn’t be more excited,” he said.

Toscano has served on the Foundation board since 2008 and chaired the search committee that brought in new Foundation President and CEO Joshua R. Newton. He has also been a generous donor. He and his wife, Tresa, established two four-year, need-based, full-ride scholarships to UConn’s School of Business.

Newton said Toscano represents the new vision and philosophy of the Foundation to engage alumni.

“He represents the true passion and loyalty that I admire and think will engender others,” Newton said. “Dan’s done it all. He’s shown his involvement, he’s made his investment and now he’s stepping up chairing the board. He’s showing us in the truest sense that this is the model for engagement.”

Toscano replaces Coleman B. Levy ’61, ’62, ’66, a law partner at Hinckley Allen in Hartford, who has led the board for two years. Under Levy’s leadership, the board endorsed a five-year, $150 million fundraising initiative to double the amount of support the Foundation raises for scholarships. In addition, the Foundation had its two best fundraising years in history and successfully integrated the UConn Alumni Association with the Foundation, bringing all institutional advancement activities under one roof.

“Coleman has done an amazing job and we’re incredibly grateful for his leadership, friendship and tireless work on behalf of the foundation and the University,” said UConn President Susan Herbst. “And we could not ask for a better incoming chair than Dan, who is also brilliant, creative, and absolutely committed to ensuring that UConn and the foundation are successful.”

Levy described his successor as a loyal UConn supporter. “He’s dedicated, he’s true blue, he even has a Huskies license plate.”

Originally from Bristol, Toscano graduated from UConn in 1987 with a bachelor of science in finance and earned his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999. He is currently co-head of global leveraged and acquisition finance at Morgan Stanley and previously, he served in a similar position at HSBC Holdings PLC. Prior to that, he spent most of his career at Bankers Trust Co. and its successor Deutsche Bank.

In addition to engaging students, he said he hopes to raise the public awareness and perception of the Foundation so that it continues to grow. He also wants to make sure the Foundation, the university’s fundraising arm, keeps pace with the University.

“The truth of the matter is it’s really about trying to keep up with the university,” he said, such as the Foundation’s initiative to raise additional funds for student scholarship.