For Journalists

University Communications’ spokespeople and editorial associates are the go-to sources of institutional information for journalists, answering their questions when news breaks and connecting reporters with faculty experts for features and in-depth stories.

Media Inquiry Contacts

Portrait of Stephanie Reitz

Stephanie Reitz
University Spokesperson
stephanie.reitz@uconn.edu
860-486-0871

Portrait of Mike Enright

Mike Enright
Deputy Spokesperson
mike.enright@uconn.edu
 860-486-3607

Portrait of Gina Czark

Gina Czark
Health Information Officer,
UConn Health
czark@uchc.edu

Contact a UConn Faculty Expert

UConn faculty experts are available to respond to inquiries from journalists, conference organizers, and more. Expert profiles contain detailed biographical information and media files to help you find the most relevant expert for your needs. Use the search bar to refine your search by name or subject matter, and contact the desired expert by clicking the “Contact” button on their profile and filling out the form.

On Deadline? Contact Stephanie Reitz, University Spokesperson at stephanie.reitz@uconn.edu.

Public Records Requests

University Communications works in close collaboration with the Office of the General Counsel to manage and administer the important public function of providing access to University records. Visit the Public Records at UConn website to make a public records request, view the request log, or learn more about the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act.

Emergency Communications

University Communications manages all communications involving emergencies on campus, including weather issues. Please use alert.uconn.edu as a resource and contact one of the University spokespeople for further information.

Our websites may use cookies to personalize and enhance your experience. By continuing without changing your cookie settings, you agree to this collection. For more information, please see our University Websites Privacy Notice.

What are cookies?

Web cookies (also called HTTP cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small pieces of data that websites store on your device (computer, phone, etc.) through your web browser. They are used to remember information about you and your interactions with the site.

Purpose of Cookies:

Session Management:
- Keeping you logged in
- Remembering items in a shopping cart
- Saving language or theme preferences
Personalization:
- Tailoring content or ads based on your previous activity
Tracking & Analytics:
- Monitoring browsing behavior for analytics or marketing purposes

Types of Cookies:

Session Cookies:
- Temporary; deleted when you close your browser
- Used for things like keeping you logged in during a single session
Persistent Cookies:
- Stored on your device until they expire or are manually deleted
- Used for remembering login credentials, settings, etc.
First-Party Cookies:
- Set by the website you're visiting directly
Third-Party Cookies:
- Set by other domains (usually advertisers) embedded in the website
- Commonly used for tracking across multiple sites

Authentication Cookies

Authentication cookies are a special type of web cookie used to identify and verify a user after they log in to a website or web application.

What They Do:

Once you log in to a site, the server creates an authentication cookie and sends it to your browser. This cookie:

Proves to the website that you're logged in
Prevents you from having to log in again on every page you visit
Can persist across sessions if you select "Remember me"

What's Inside an Authentication cookie?

Typically, it contains:

A unique session ID (not your actual password)
Optional metadata (e.g., expiration time, security flags)

Analytics Cookies

Analytics cookies are cookies used to collect data about how visitors interact with a website. Their primary purpose is to help website owners understand and improve user experience by analyzing things like:

How users navigate the site
Which pages are most/least visited
How long users stay on each page
What device, browser, or location the user is from

What They Track:

Some examples of data analytics cookies may collect:

Page views and time spent on pages
Click paths (how users move from page to page)
Bounce rate (users who leave without interacting)
User demographics (location, language, device)
Referring websites (how users arrived at the site)

Opt Out

Here's how you can disable cookies in common browsers:

1. Google Chrome

Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy and security > cookies and other site data.
Choose your preferred option:
- Block all cookies (not recommended, can break most websites).
- Block third-party cookies (can block ads and tracking cookies).

2. Mozilla Firefox

Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
Under the Enhanced Tracking Protection section, choose Strict to block most cookies or Custom to manually choose which cookies to block.

3. Safari

Open Safari and click Safari in the top-left corner of the screen.
Go to Preferences > Privacy.
Check Block all cookies to stop all cookies, or select options to block third-party cookies.

4. Microsoft Edge

Open Edge and click the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > cookies and site permissions.
Select your cookie settings from there, including blocking all cookies or blocking third-party cookies.

5. On Mobile (iOS/Android)

For Safari on iOS: Go to Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security > Block All cookies.
For Chrome on Android: Open the app, tap the three dots, go to Settings > Privacy and security > cookies.

Be Aware:

Disabling cookies can make your online experience more difficult. Some websites may not load properly, or you may be logged out frequently. Also, certain features may not work as expected.